Propaganda

Trump’s Ukraine Phone Call Transcript Doesn’t Need a Quid Pro Quo to Impeach Trump

Posted by on September 24, 2019 at 2:22 pm. 3 Comments :

This has been a disastrous week for Donald Trump. With the emergence of a White House whistleblower disclosing that Trump illegally extorted the President Of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the prospects for his impeachment have escalated exponentially. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just announced that Congress is now “moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.” And Trump’s deteriorating demeanor is showing the intensity of his fear and panic.

Donald Trump Impeach

Trump is so desperate that he has caved into demands that he release the transcript of his July phone call with Zelensky, that he previously refused to do, saying that it would set a bad precedent. While that’s a good start, it is not nearly sufficient to clear up this controversy. For one thing, Trump is still refusing to release the whistleblower’s report that his own National Intelligence Inspector General said contained “serious” and “urgent” allegations that impact national security. Without that report we don’t know what the whistleblower was referring to, or even if it involved this phone call.

As for the question of a “quid pro quo,” there isn’t any requirement that an explicit demand be attached to Trump’s threat in order to constitute a breach of law and/or ethics. The Mafia had a way of insuring that their victims knew what was expected of them without saying so directly. “Nice little country you have here,” Trump might say, “Sure would hate to see something happen to it.” And Trump has plenty of experience with that mobster mentality as a Manhattan real estate developer. In his announcement that he would be releasing the Ukraine phone call transcript he tweeted:

It remains to be seen if any transcript made public by Trump is actually unedited. As a documented pathological liar, nothing he says can be taken at face value. This is especially true on the day that he made remarks about the charges against him wherein he managed to contradict himself within a single sentence (video below). “There was no pressure put on [Ukraine] whatsoever,” Trump began. Then he continued, “but there was pressure put on with respect to Joe Biden.” Well, that’s crystal clear. There was no pressure except that there was pressure of a blatantly political nature.

Trump went on to say that “What Joe Biden did for his son, that’s something they should be looking at.” So even now he is still making improper demands on Ukraine that can still be regarded as ultimatums associated with future foreign aid. What’s more, the accusations aimed at Biden, that Trump is using to deflect from his his own crimes, have all been investigated and there was zero evidence of any wrongdoing. Biden was delivering a message to dismiss a corrupt prosecutor. It was the official policy of the U.S. government, not a personal matter involving Biden or his family. And it was also aligned with the policies of the Ukraine parliament, the European Union, the World Bank and other international institutions.

Trump also made the familiar and tiresome claim that he is the victim of a “Witch Hunt.” He said that Democrats are fixed on impeaching him because he’s leading in the polls and they can’t beat him any other way. That would be an interesting argument if it weren’t for the fact that most polls show him losing to every Democratic opponent, even the polls from Fox News. That’s the sort of “real” news that is driving Trump insane. And it’s another reason why he needs to be impeached as soon as humanly possible.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Crazed Trump Declares Biden and Son ‘Corrupt’ and Subject to ‘Getting the Electric Chair’

Posted by on September 23, 2019 at 2:06 pm. 6 Comments :

The scandal over Donald Trump pressuring Ukraine officials to conduct a bogus investigation of Joe Biden just hit a new level of totalitarian barbarity. Trump is sinking rapidly into the Mariana Trench of desperation with his latest outrageous defense for extorting a foreign government to help him steal an election.

Donald Trump Zombie

In a press avail at the United Nations (video below), Trump was asked about the Ukraine affair and lashed out with what has become his robo-response. Building on prompts from Fox News, Trump has been trying to divert attention from his crimes to false allegations that Biden was guilty of what Trump is being accused of. Nevermind that there is zero evidence of any wrongdoing by Biden, and even Fox News confirmed that in a report on Monday afternoon. But in this exchange Trump crossed over to the most nauseating torrent of slander imaginable. With an evil sneer and deafening hostility in his voice, Trump unleashed this abomination:

“Joe Biden and his son are corrupt. But the fake news doesn’t want to report it because they’re Democrats. If a Republican ever did what Joe Biden did, if a Republican ever said what Joe Biden said, they’d be getting the electric chair by right now.”

Trump is no longer speculating about the already debunked charges against Biden. He is now stating them bluntly as a matter of fact. This is the Commander-in-Chief, to whom the Attorney General reports, asserting absolutely that Biden is guilty of a treasonous act. And he even goes so far as to suggest that Biden be punished by death.

If there’s one thing this insanity reveals it’s that Trump is terrified of what is unfolding in this Ukraine matter. He clearly fears the consequences if the truth about him comes out. These comments about Biden are not his typically childish name-calling and awkward deflections. This is much more destructive and dangerous. And therefore, more illustrative of his panic and mental collapse. There’s nothing subtle about it. It’s a blaring signal that he’s on the brink of a nervous breakdown due to his knowledge that his world is falling apart.

For the record, nothing in his wild-eyed accusations is remotely true and independent analysts affirm that. Biden went to Ukraine to articulate the position of the United States government, not his own personal position or that of his son. Plus, he was addressing a corrupt prosecutor whose dismissal had been demanded by a majority of the Ukraine parliament, as well as the European Union and other international institutions. There is no parallel between that and Trump’s efforts to bully Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, into helping him smear a potential political opponent.

What’s more, Trump has actually confessed to what he’s been accused of. After denying it for days, Trump finally admitted that he did indeed discuss Biden with Zelensky. And on Monday he even conceded that U.S. foreign aid was part of the threat he made to get Zelensky’s cooperation. He went on to argue that “it would probably, possibly have been ok” to use American foreign aid as a cudgel to extract political favors that amount to election fraud.

This is trump being Trump. He routinely denies allegations against him until the evidence is just too solid. Then he accuses others of what he’s been accused of. Then he insists that it would be perfectly fine if he did it. The he blames the media. But in this case it’s hard to imagine any lower rung on this ladder of immorality and illegality. However, if there is one, trust Trump to find it. He will surely not be satisfied with with death threats against Democrats if his legal jeopardy continues to get worse.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

After a Ludicrous Litany of Lies, Trump Admits He Pressured Ukraine to Smear Joe Biden

Posted by on September 22, 2019 at 12:05 pm. 5 Comments :

The President is drowning in his own flop sweat. What Donald Trump has asked us all to call the “Ukraine Witch Hunt” is boiling over with new revelations of his criminality and his own absurd utterances that, more often than not, just get him into even hotter water. His behavior illustrates how desperate and fearful he is. On Saturday he posted twenty (20!) tweets on this subject alone, including one that completely contradicted his flagrantly false allegations against Joe Biden and the media.

Donald Trump Sweating

Trump’s charges against Biden are widely repudiated by credible journalists and people with inside knowledge of the matter. There have been investigations that found no wrongdoing on the part of Biden or his son, Hunter. Biden’s role in lobbying for the dismissal of a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor was only to inform the Ukrainians of the official diplomatic position of the United States, as well as that of the European Union and Ukraine’s own parliament. At no time did Biden press for any action that inured to the benefit of himself or his family.

That’s in stark contrast to Trump threatening to withhold foreign aid that was allocated by Congress unless Ukraine complied with his demand to fabricate dirt on Biden. Trump was extorting Ukraine to actively interfere in the U.S. election to help him malign a possible opponent. That violates at least half a dozen laws and is an abhorrent act of betrayal.

However, that hasn’t stopped Trump and his cadre of worshipful defenders in politics and punditry from concocting and disseminating ridiculous conspiracy theories that challenge rational thought. Naturally, Fox News took the lead with surreal presentations from the usual suspects (Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends). For his part, Trump unleashed at least eight different excuses for the Ukraine story on Twitter. And each one is wholly without foundation or any semblance of sanity. For instance:

  • The media is making up facts and sources
  • They’re turning a Biden scandal into a Trump scandal
  • Someone was spying on the president
  • A seditious effort to protect the Obama/Clinton gang
  • The whistleblower was “highly partisan”
  • It’s the “Deep State”
  • The whistleblower wasn’t really a whistleblower
  • It’s a Witch Hunt
  • Trump’s conversations were “perfectly fine”

Notice that none of these wild-eyed rants actually deny that Trump pressured the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to dig up dirt on Biden. That should be the first signal that Trump is lying and is conscious of the risk that his lies will be discovered. But we didn’t have to wait long for Trump to out himself. On Sunday morning’s episode of “Chopper talk,” Trump finally admitted that he did indeed talk about Biden with Zelensky. Trump said that…

“The conversation I had was largely congratulatory, was largely corruption, all of the corruption taking place. It was largely the fact that we don’t want our people, like Vice President Biden and his son creating to the corruption already in the Ukraine.“

https://twitter.com/Politidope/status/1175788903795703809

Setting aside Trump’s mangling of the English language, he is unambiguously admitting that the Biden matter was raised in his conversations with Zelensky. So now we have both Trump and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confessing that they strong armed Ukraine’s leaders into a conspiracy to undermine U.S. democracy.

In Trump’s Sunday morning rant he also made a point of repeatedly saying that he was not looking to hurt Biden or his family. But every time he said that he followed it up with baseless accusations that Biden had done something terrible. It’s the Trump version of a schoolyard bully assaulting his victim and asking “Why do you keep hitting yourself.” And it’s a textbook example of a passive/aggressive personality seeking to distance himself from his own viciousness.

Trump has too many psychoses to enumerate, the most prominent being his malignant narcissism. So we can expect more of this bizarre behavior as Trump finds himself sinking ever deeper into the abyss of his own immorality. We can count on him charging his perceived enemies with the crimes that he is committing. And we can reliably predict his manic meltdowns and infantile reactions whenever he feels threatened. Which will be occurring more frequently as his lies and misdeeds continue to unfold.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

President Idiot: Trump Posts a Video that Actually Contradicts His Lies About Joe Biden

Posted by on September 21, 2019 at 12:05 pm. 1 Comments :

The revelation that Donald Trump tried to strongarm the President of Ukraine into manufacturing campaign dirt on Joe Biden should be the final chapter of the Trump Horror Story. It doesn’t even matter if the allegations against Biden are true. Trump’s conspiracy to rope a foreign government into his political hit job is impeachable by itself. And using taxpayer funds in an international bribery scheme exacerbates the crime.

Donald Trump

Nevertheless, Trump continues to smear Biden, despite the fact that the allegations against him have already been investigated and no evidence of wrongdoing was found. The allegations against Trump, however, have not been investigated and he’s doing everything possible to suppress any probe into his unsavory communications with Ukraine. He claims that his conversations were “beautiful” and “perfectly fine,” but he refuses to release a transcript. He’s also withholding the whistleblower complaint that is required by law to be turned over to Congress. What’s he so scared of?

Now, in a desperate attempt to deflect from his own abhorrent and unlawful behavior, Trump posted a video on Twitter with the intention of redirecting attention to the already debunked charges against the Biden family (video posted below). The video features a montage of deceitfully edited clips from the media that Trump says make his case. That’s the same media that he calls “the enemy of the people.” The only problem for Trump is that none of the clips offer any evidence that Biden did anything wrong. They simply report that allegations were made. And in many cases they go on to disclose that the allegations were baseless and unproven, but Trump cut those parts out.

The video begins with Biden saying that “Not one single credible outlet has given any credibility to his assertion.” Then it stitches together a bunch of clips, many of which have the source cropped out, so it’s impossible to assess their credibility. And it ends with an out of context clip of Biden saying “If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.” What Trump is not showing is that Biden was articulating the position of the United States government, not his own personal position. Plus, he was referring to a corrupt prosecutor whose dismissal had been demanded by a majority of the Ukraine parliament, as well as the European Union and other institutions. And as for the money, Biden was referring to loan guarantees, not allocations from the U.S. Treasury.

So Trump’s video not only fails to prove his premise, it actually contradicts it. What’s more, much of his whining has been focused on his complaint that the media has failed to cover the allegations against Biden. But with this video Trump is providing proof that the media has covered this story extensively.

Finally, Trump may be violating election laws by even posting the video. The prominent appeal at the top of the video to send him a text would serve as your consent to receive text messages from his campaign. That’s an improper melding of the presidency with political operations. The video itself says it was produced by Trump/Pence 2020. So Trump is using his official Twitter page to post free advertising for his reelection. But he’s kind of ripping himself off by having produced such an awful, dishonest ad.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Defends Trump’s State-Sponsored Political Extortion as Just ‘The Art of the Deal’

Posted by on September 20, 2019 at 2:00 pm. 6 Comments :

The news that Donald Trump may have promised the president of Ukraine hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid if he would open a bogus investigation into Joe Biden has captured the attention of the press. And rightfully so. This would amount to state-sponsored extortion by Trump in order to smear a political opponent. And it wouldn’t even be the first time that Trump has conspired with a foreign country to steal an election (see: Russia, 2016).

Donald Trump, Fox News, White House

As this scandal continues to build steam, Trump is managing to get himself into even more hot water. In a press avail with the Prime Minister of Australia, Trump gave contradictory answers about what he knew about the affair. In fact, when asked if he read the report he contradicted himself in the space of a single sentence saying, “No I haven’t. I just – I tell you, everybody’s read it. They laugh at it.” He went on to attack the press, as usual, saying that “Our media has become the laughingstock of the world […] You’re a joke.” Which only proves that he is pitifully incapable of recognizing who the world is actually laughing at.

In the midst of this unfolding melodrama, Fox News is adopting their routine position as Trump-fluffing propaganda disseminators. And taking the lead is Trump’s favorite morning show, Fox and Friends. Their defense of Trump is a bizarre spectacle of ludicrous justifications for Trump’s potentially treasonous behavior (video below). Co-host Steve Doocy began by telling his dimwitted viewers to…

“Keep in mind this whistleblower filed this report with the inspector general of the Intel community on August the 12th. That was over a month ago. Then they kicked it around, sent it to the Department of Justice, and said ‘We do not have to hand it over to Congress.'”

First of all, it is entirely improper for the Justice Department to interfere in this process in any way. It negates the whole purpose of the Whistleblower Protection Act if the President’s henchmen (Attorney General William Barr, et al) can suppress information provided in good faith by insiders concerned about national security. And it endangers the welfare of the whistleblower whose identity is disclosed to people who have motive to retaliate.

That said, after having improperly interfered, the Justice Department has no authority to rule that the complaint can’t be turned over to Congress. The law says unambiguously that it “shall” be turned over. So the Justice Department is wrong, and Fox News is wrong to excuse this breach of the law. But Doocy wasn’t finished. He continued…

“The reason the whistleblower apparently said that it was ‘serious’ and ‘urgent’ is because that designation usually automatically triggers it getting to Congress. The Department of Justice says that that is not appropriate, so we don’t have to give it to the Committee. Well, somebody with knowledge of this person’s story didn’t like the fact that Congress wasn’t gonna get it and it wasn’t gonna become public. So they leaked the story to the Washington Post.”

Again, none of this is the Justice Department’s call. But Doocy is also introducing something that was never a part of this. He implies that somebody wanted this to become public. But had the complaint been turned over to Congress, they would have reviewed it privately. The only reason any of this is becoming public is because the process was breached by the administration.

It’s ironic that Fox News is more worried about this complaint leaking than the substance of the complaint which is Trump’s attempts to extort and/or bribe a foreign country and to pressure them into aiding his election fraud. But if you thought that Fox was bothered by any of that, here’s what Doocy’s co-host Ainsley Earhardt had to say about it:

“They say the President was making promises, leaking delicate information to another heads of state. But this is what they do. They talk. They negotiate. And the President’s known for that. The art of the deal. Who’s leaking this? Is it someone that works at the White House?”

So to Fox News this is standard operating procedure in negotiations. They consider it acceptable for Trump to bully foreign leaders into manufacturing political dirt on his opponents. They regard it as simple dealmaking, despite the fact that there are no components of this deal that are in the interests of the United States. It is a purely hostile swipe at Biden, who Trump expects to run against next year. So Earhardt is defending dealmaking that is only intended to disrupt an election. But then again, that’s what Fox News does every day. Disrupting elections by airing distortions and lies is the whole reason Fox News exists.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Hack Lies About Having Seen Trump’s ‘New’ Border Wall – That Doesn’t Exist

Posted by on September 19, 2019 at 2:12 pm. 4 Comments :

The blatant partisan biases of Fox News have been well documented for many years. And yet the network continues to pretend that they have some measure of journalistic integrity. They claim that their “news” and “opinion” sides are clearly delineated and that viewers are smart enough to tell the difference. But that’s wrong on two counts. First, there is no real separation of what they call news and the opinions that permeate nearly every report they air. And second, they think their viewers are smart?

Donald Trump, Fox News, Fake

On Thursday morning a segment on Fox and Friends featured an interview of Donald Trump by the network’s Chief National Correspondent, Ed Henry. Theoretically a correspondent with Henry’s title should be one of Fox’s alleged journalists. Nevermind that he’s a regular co-host of the ultra-opinionated Fox and Friends Morning Trump-Fluffing Show. This interview was jam-packed with Trumpian falsehoods and propaganda on subjects ranging from the Federal Reserve to gun reform.

However, one subject was highlighted by Henry when he bantered with his “Curvy Couch” potato colleagues back in the studio. Henry was interviewing Trump near Otay Mesa, California, where the President was visiting a section of the border wall that he claims to be building. And in his summation of their talk, Henry put his own spin what he encountered (video below):

“We’ve had Democrats on the show saying that the President is not telling the truth. That’s what they claim when he says and boasts that there’s new wall being built. I’m here to say the President is right and they are wrong. And that’s not an opinion. That’s my reporting with my own two eyes. I was there. There is in fact miles and miles of new wall being built and it’s working.”

Well then, that settles it. If Henry was there and saw a brand new wall with his own two eyes, it must be a box of wholesome fact morsels wrapped in golden ribbons of truthiness. Except for the fact that Henry was shamelessly lying. He was actually standing at the site where there was already an 18 foot wall that had been there for years. He even mentioned it himself in a long-winded response to questions from Mediaite.

What’s more, a photo taken in April of 2013 shows a wall already in place at the Otay Mesa site. And the Washington Post reported that the construction at the site where Trump and Henry talked was actually just “a 24-mile section of replacement barrier.”

In addition, Henry didn’t explore the length of the wall he was observing so he couldn’t possibly know if there were “miles and miles” of it. And as for it working, he merely cited some data that migration had slowed during the past few months. But it always slows during the summer due to the excessive heat that makes traveling on foot difficult and dangerous.

So Henry’s indignant insistence that Trump’s Democratic critics were wrong was pure, partisan bullcrap. And his reliance on his own two eyes suggests that his “vision” is seriously impaired by his blind allegiance to Trump. But this also puts the lie to the claim by Fox News that they differentiate between news and opinion. In fact, they don’t seem to have any news content at all. It’s a 24/7 right-wing opinion factory that is about as committed to truthtelling as Trump or his bootlicking lackey, Corey Lewandowski, who admitted to Congress that he has no obligation to be honest. That describes pretty much everyone in the Trump regime from top to bottom. And make no mistake, Fox News is a fully subscribed member of the Trump regime.

Here is how the Trump campaign promoted the Fox News propaganda piece by Ed Henry:

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Flunky Lewandowski Admits Lying to the Media, AKA the American People

Posted by on September 18, 2019 at 11:39 am. 7 Comments :

On Tuesday the House Judiciary Committee tried to get former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to respond a few questions about his interactions with Donald Trump. It predictably descended into a chaotic spectacle of deflection, lies, and bogus claims of “privilege” in order to avoid providing honest answers to simple questions. Lewandowski demonstrated a keen ability to parrot the obnoxious rhetorical patter of Trump as he showed complete disrespect for the truth.

Corey Lewandowski

In his testimony, Lewandowski repeatedly tried to claim that he could simply refuse to answer questions because Trump asked him not to. That has no basis in the law or reason. In fact, it is brazen contempt of Congress, which members of the Committee are reviewing to determine whether or not to press charges. Lewandowski also implicated himself and Trump in a conspiracy to obstruct justice by putting pressure on then-Attorney General Jeff sessions to drop or otherwise hamstring the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

However, the most striking remarks by Lewandowski came when he was asked by the Committee’s legal counsel, Barry Berke, about comments he made on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber. Lewandowski told Melbar that he had no conversations with Mueller regarding Trump’s efforts to interfere with the investigation. But, as Berke got Lewandowski to admit, that was not true. Then, in his defense, Lewandowski said that “I have no obligation to be honest with the media.”

Let that sink in. A top associate of the President of the United States admitted before Congress, and on national TV, that he lies to the press. Of course, we all know that Trump lies shamelessly nearly every time he opens his mouth. And his official spokespersons openly admit that they employ “alternative facts” to avoid telling the truth. But this admission is particularly galling because it was said with pride as if it were a virtue.

What the American people need to remember is that lying to the media is actually lying to them. No one tells anything to the press because they want the press to know it. They talk to the press in order to relay their comments to the public. So when Lewandowski says that he has “no obligation to be honest with the media,” he really saying that has no obligation to be honest with the American people. And that is also the established doctrine of the Trump administration.

Lewandowski proved that he couldn’t care less about lying to the public when he appeared on CNN the day after his congressional hearing. Why CNN even bothered to interview someone who brags that he will lie to them is troubling in itself. But Lewandowski was, ironically, true to his word by lying flagrantly throughout what turned into a mud-slinging shoutdown by Lewandowski (video below). Among the glaring untruths were his contention that the Mueller Report concluded that there was “no collusion, no obstruction” by Trump. That was contracted by Mueller himself when he testified before Congress. Also, Lewandowski was forced to admit that he had never even read the Mueller report. He also lied about whether the report he hadn’t bothered to read contained ten documented instances of Trump obstructing justice.

The media really needs to show better judgement when booking guests. They should not be helping admitted liars gain a national platform to propagate their lies. That is a disservice to their audience and it stains the reputation of the press. People like Lewandowski, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, amd Kellyanne Conway should be confined to Fox News where their their lies are appreciated and disseminated to glassy-eyed Deplorables who consume lies like candy. And that may also apply to the biggest liar of all, Donald Trump.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Crybaby Trump is Still Whining About the Mueller Report and It’s Triggering His Obama Envy

Posted by on September 16, 2019 at 1:53 pm. 3 Comments :

It’s been nearly two months since special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress about his investigation of Donald Trump’s unsavory associations with Russia and his efforts to obstruct justice. That testimony contained abundant evidence of illegal and/or unethical conduct during his campaign and as President.

Barack Obama, Donald Trump

Among the unarguable findings were that Trump “welcomed and encouraged” Russia’s interference in the election on behalf of Trump and to the detriment of Hillary Clinton. Mueller also confirmed that Trump had deliberately lied to cover up his activities and impede the investigation. Three exchanges in particular capsulized the core of Trump’s unambiguously unlawful behavior.

Nevertheless, Trump has relentlessly banged on his “no collusion, no obstruction” drum for months. He is apparently convinced that if he keeps repeating these lies they will be accepted as truths. So even after the Mueller Report has receded somewhat from the news cycle, Trump continues to revive it and remind everyone of his treasonous criminality. On Monday morning he did just that with a series of panicky tweets:

First of all, the House Judiciary Committee has not given up on the Mueller report. They are continuing to review, affirm, and expand on its conclusions despite the obstacles that Trump and his administration are throwing into the path. However, Trump is correct that the Committee is also looking at other Trump transgressions – of which there are many – ranging from financial corruption to witness tampering to bribery and more.

Lacking any coherent defense for his actions, Trump tries to deflect to what he implies are legal breaches by President Obama. But his overreach is so absurd it’s laughable. Obama is a private citizen and free to enter into agreements to produce books, films, sneakers, or anything else he can think of. He has no governmental influence to sell or otherwise improperly exploit. Trump’s ranting is based wholly on his jealousy and his intent to divert attention away from himself. But he wasn’t finished:

Once again, the Mueller investigation was anything but a failure. It was 400+ pages of indictable crimes. Indeed, dozens of people affiliated with Trump were indicted, and several have already pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors. But Trump’s ludicrous denial that he’s attempting to enrich himself is perhaps the most bizarre claim of all. He says that he’s losing billions even though he has never actually made billions. He is carrying massive debt to foreign banks that was incurred before he was elected. And his attempt to diminish his profit-seeking ventures by mischaracterizing them as “a hotel room” or “filling up a gas tank” is purposefully deceitful. He is actually generating millions of dollars from both foreign entities and his sycophants at home by directing them to book his facilities for numerous large events. He has even billed the federal government for millions of dollars for his stays at Mar-a-Lago or his other golf resorts.

Trump closes out this series of tweets with another peculiar swipe at “Obama Netflix.” Is that any relation to “Tim Apple?” And Trump has the audacity to call Democrats “crazy.” Virtually everything Trump does is aimed at fattening his bank account. Even his incessant badgering of the Federal reserve to lower interest rates. All economists know that rates are only lowered when the economy is weak. But Trump’s $350+ million dollars in debt is held in variable rate loans. So he stands to save millions with every tick down of the interest rates.

Trump is obviously scared witless about the prospects of his being impeached for the myriad crimes he knows he has committed. And his fear exacerbates his deranged outbursts. But he’s also consumed with envy of Barack Obama, whose presidency wasn’t marred by criminal controversies. Obama reformed healthcare, providing access to millions of people who were previously shut out. He cut the budget deficit in half. He led the recovery from the worst recession in nearly a hundred years. He expanded civil liberties for people of color and women.

Meanwhile, Trump’s record is rife with failure. He promised to build a wall that Mexico would pay for. He said he would repeal and replace ObamaCare. He swore that he would lock up Hillary Clinton. He gave lip service to “draining the swamp.” Virtually every campaign promise he made remains unfulfilled. Except for cutting taxes for the rich, which exploded the national debt, and nominating ultra-conservative, racist, unqualified judges. No wonder Trump is so frightened and inconsolably jealous.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump’s Bizarre Defense of Fellow Sexual Predator Brett Kavanaugh is Legally Incomprehensible

Posted by on September 15, 2019 at 11:50 am. 4 Comments :

The New York Times published a story this week that contained new and credible allegations of sexual assault by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While the article buried the charges in the body of the story, the victim, Deborah Ramirez, provides a harrowing account of Kavanaugh’s behavior that is consistent with the experiences of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and others.

Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh

The renewed controversy over the Donald Trump nominated Justice has stirred the debate over Kavanaugh’s fitness to serve on the Court. There are already calls for investigations and even inquiries into whether Kavanaugh should be impeached. Among the justifications for his ouster from the bench is the now apparent fact that he lied to the Senate during his confirmation hearing. And he had no business being confirmed at all considering the fact that the FBI failed to investigate the charges against him, including those by Ramirez.

Enter Donald Trump. It comes as no surprise that Trump would rush to the defense of his nominee. Not just because he needs to validate his choice, but also because they share so much in common. Trump is also a serial sexual predator who has been accused by more than twenty women of harassment and/or assault. So naturally Trump lashed out on Twitter to protect Kavanaugh from the truths that are emerging.

Trump’s first inclination is always to blame everything on the media. It’s his way of telegraphing to his cult followers that, despite the facts and the evidence, what they are hearing is not to be believed. Trump’s assertion that Kavanaugh is “an innocent man who has been treated HORRIBLY,” has no basis in reality. And it’s absurd to suggest that he has been treated worse than his victims.

However, Trump goes completely off the ledge when he offers his advice that Kavanaugh should sue the press and his accusers for libel. Trump has often threatened to sue his own accusers, but always chickens out. During the 2016 campaign he swore that “All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.” Those lawsuits never came to pass. His lawyers surely told him that truth is a defense against libel, and the proceedings would subject him to discovery, wherein he would have to provide all relevant documents and evidence in his possession. There is no way he would do that.

Even worse, Trump said that “the Justice Department should come to [Kavanaugh’s] rescue.” This is further proof that Trump believes the Justice Department serves as his personal attorney, and can serve the same function for Kavanaugh. Clearly Trump has no idea how government works. But, unfortunately, he does have an Attorney General, William Barr, who doesn’t care how government works and is willing to violate the Constitution on behalf of a criminal president.

Trump’s glaring ignorance is apparent throughout these tweets. He obviously doesn’t know what “recrimination” means. Just retaliating against the women in these matters by calling them “liars” is recriminatory. And they have also been disparaged as drunks and sluts. Trump’s complaint that his critics are trying to “scare [Kavanaugh] into turning Liberal,” and to “influence his opinions,” makes no sense whatsoever. How would holding Kavanaugh accountable for his past behavior – and more recent lies – cause him to rule more favorably for the people causing him so much trouble? If anything, it would have the opposite effect.

Let’s be clear. The only reason Trump is even bothering to make a stink about this is that he’s afraid for his own fate. He even said as much in another tweet where he asked if it “sounds familiar” that Kavanaugh’s criticisms were based “on threats of Impeaching him over made up stories.”

Trump regards this as an attack against him. He doesn’t care about Kavanaugh or the Supreme Court, and certainly not the law. He sees this as criticism of his choice for the nomination and his own sex crimes. And anything that reflects negatively on him must be attacked with the full force of his viciousness and dishonesty. That’s how the diseased minds of malignant narcissists work. And Trump is, once again, providing a textbook example of this. Sadly, it’s also an example of why no one with these hostile and destructive psychoses should ever serve as president.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The ‘It’ Fracture: Crybaby Trump is Afraid of Joy-Ann Reid and Thinks Journalism is Showbiz

Posted by on September 14, 2019 at 1:14 pm. 1 Comments :

If it’s Saturday, it’s time for another regularly scheduled Donald Trump Tweetstorm. And the “stable genius” occupying the White House doesn’t disappoint. In fact, he even reminded everyone of his alleged stability in a tweet thanking some unnamed admirer for recognizing his alleged genius. In a normal world that would be sufficient proof that he’s a flaming fruitcake.

Donald Trump, Pennywise

Among the Twitticisms that Trump posted was a celebration that Republicans son a couple of seats in bright red districts that they were always favored to win. Although one of them was pulled out by a razor-thin two point margin. Another tweet bragged about his 94 percent support among Republicans, which in reality is only 83 percent. Which is irrelevant anyway because, contrary to his dementia, he isn’t running for president of the GOP. Then he dropped a couple of tweets that consisted only of his tiresome campaign quotes (MAGA, KAG) that he’s hammering into the numb skulls of his cult followers.

However, the most Trumpian eruption of the morning was one that attacked the media, of course. It’s his goto wankery when nothing on Fox News ignites his smoldering emotional tinder. And this time Trump lashed out at MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid for something that Trump didn’t bother to explain:

To answer Trump’s first question, Joy-Ann Reid has been a commentator and host on MSNBC for five years and currently hosts her own popular Saturday morning program, AM Joy. Not that Trump really needed this prompting. Despite pretending that he doesn’t know Reid, his own tweet goes on to reveal that he’s pretty familiar with her show, her reputation, her network, her reporting, and her ratings (she averages more than a million viewers each week). Although much of what he thinks he knows is wrong, as usual. Reid is also the author of a New York Times bestselling book that Trump surely knows about, but hasn’t read: “The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story,”

What’s troubling about Trump’s attack on Reid – besides being another assault on an African-American journalist – is his bizarre characterization of her as lacking “the ‘it’ factor,” something he asserts is “needed for success in showbiz.” That’s right, “Showbiz!” Because that’s what Trump thinks journalism is. In fact, that’s what Trump thinks his presidency is. His job before becoming president was hosting a reality TV game show, which he did for 14 years. That’s not a hobby, it’s a career. And he still sees everything from within that Hollywood bubble.

So what might have triggered this outburst by Trump? He frequently insists that he never watches MSNBC, but with all of the whining he does about it, it’s obvious he watches every day. And today Reid did an extended segment on impeaching Trump (full video below). Undoubtedly he was watching while getting drool all over his Egg McMuffins. And his tweet tantrum makes much more sense when we know what he was almost certainly responding to.

Reid’s guests itemized a long list of impeachable offenses by Trump, beginning with obstruction of justice and continuing through encouraging Russia to interfere with the election, exploiting the presidency to enrich himself, violating campaign finance laws by paying hush money to his mistresses and not reporting it, defying subpoenas and suppressing evidence, and much more.

It’s easy to see why Trump is so afraid and desperate this morning. He knows what he did, and he knows that the truth is coming out. And he knows that changing the channel to Fox News won’t prevent the inevitable accountability he will be forced to face. So he resorts to this sort of deranged panic-tweeting. Expect more of this madness as Congress uncovers more of Trump criminal behavior. And expect it to get worse before it gets better.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.