With four days left before election day, Donald Trump somehow managed to get Fox News to publish his closing arguments in an op-ed on their website. That should really juice his reelection prospects by putting his views in front of an audience that has heard them a thousand times and is already committed to voting for him.
The article is precisely what you would expect from Trump and Fox News. It is riddled with self-serving lies and preposterous allegations against his opponent, Joe Biden. The article is headlined “Donald Trump: Reelect me and I will continue to deliver safety, prosperity and opportunity for all Americans.” So if you are a voter who wants more of the “safety” (280,000 dead), “prosperity” (a nation in recession), and “opportunity” (15 million still unemployed and thousands of businesses bankrupt), then read on. What follows is a collection of some of the ludicrous appeals Trump is throwing at his brainwashed disciples, with brief rebuttals:
“Four years ago, Americans elected me president to go to Washington, drain the swamp and produce real results for them. Now they have a choice: continue the record of prosperity that my administration delivered or return to the old Washington status quo, where Beltway insiders enriched themselves at the expense of hardworking Americans across the country.”
Trump’s idea of prosperity is putting more Americans out of work than ever before. And while his accusation that “the old Washington status quo” sought to enrich themselves has some truth to it, they had nothing on him and his corrupt family of grifters.
“In my first three years in office, our country added more than 7 million new jobs.”
What Trump is leaving out is that in his first three years he presided over the loss of 22 million jobs. So we are still suffering a net loss of 15 million, many of which are permanent.
“My administration’s policies put America in a position to recover quickly from the unforeseen and unprecedented pandemic from China.”
Trump’s policies – or more accurately, lack of policies – have resulted in the world’s worst expansion of the coronavirus pandemic measured by cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Contrary to a recovery, we are currently getting worse, and healthcare experts predict that the worst is yet to come. This is happening as Trump keeps repeating that we have “rounded the turn.”
“Thanks to my emergency economic relief legislation, more than 159 million Americans received direct financial assistance during the pandemic.”
For the record, that emergency economic relief legislation was produced by the Democrats in Congress and was opposed by Trump and the Republicans for most of the time it was being debated. They continue to block new legislation for additional, much-need relief.
“The American economy grew at an annualized rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter, another example of the economy beating expectations under my leadership.”
Once again, Trump is leaving out the most important part. The economy shrunk by more than 36% prior to this quarter. So we are still in a financial hole, and worse off than before the pandemic hit.
“The largest threat to our great American comeback is a Joe Biden presidency. Biden is running on a platform that would destroy all our economic progress.”
That’s not what most economists are saying. Goldman Sachs recently wrote that “a blue wave would likely prompt us to upgrade our forecasts.” Moody’s wrote that “Biden’s economic proposals, if enacted, would create 7.4 million more jobs than would Trump’s.”
“Joe Biden has openly pledged to eliminate my tax cuts for middle-income Americans, implement radical environmental regulations that would bring our domestic energy revolution to an abrupt halt, and bring back Obama’s disastrous health care calamity.”
Indeed, Biden has pledged to reverse Trump’s Tax Scam for the Rich, which didn’t help the middle-class. Biden also favors an environmental agenda and a healthcare package that Trump is actively opposing, but which the majority of Americans support.
“Biden’s scare tactics extend to America’s seniors with false claims about my record on Social Security.”
The claims about Trump’s record on Social Security come straight form his own lips. He is trying to eliminate the Payroll tax that funds Social Security, and without which it would go bankrupt by 2023.
Trump closes his op-ed with a familiar promise that “we will make America great again.” But if he hasn’t done that in the past four years, why would anyone think he’s going to do it in the next four? In fact, it’s an admission that he’s failed, which is abundantly clear even without his admission. The American people know that the only way to make America great again is to throw Trump out of office let Biden try to fix the problems Trump created. And that’s precisely what they are preparing to do next week.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
