Month: June 2017

Lyin’ Trump Now Says He Has ‘No Idea’ If There Are Any Recordings of Him and Comey

Posted by on June 22, 2017 at 12:54 pm. 5 Comments :

Six weeks ago Donald Trump created a controversy that crossed several ethical and legal lines. Of course, that’s something he does with such frequency it’s impossible to know which one it is this time. Hint: It involves Twitter (hmm, that doesn’t narrow it down either). Let’s end the suspense. On May 12, Trump tweeted this:

Donald Trump

The immediate response to that was concern that Trump was emulating Richard Nixon and secretly recording conversations in the Oval Office. That, of course, would be a flagrant breach of privacy and protocol. It would make people reluctant to speak candidly when visiting the White House. And it would open the door to numerous legal vulnerabilities for both Trump and his guests.

Ever since that tweet, the nation has pressed Trump to reveal whether or not he was making such recordings. His response was always a smug dodge and eventual refusal to supply an honest answer. That resulted in an ongoing suspicion as to whether he could be trusted in otherwise private conversations.

In addition, the tweet was a blatant threat aimed at former FBI Director James Comey. Trump intended to throw him off balance with the suggestion that the covert taping might contradict his congressional testimony. It didn’t work. Comey’s cheeky reply was “Lordy, I hope there are tapes.” If nothing else, the tweet represented an unambiguous attempt at witness intimidation.

However, on Thursday morning Trump ended the mystery. He posted a couple tweets denying that there was any covert taping going that he was aware of:

Unfortunately, those tweets don’t end the controversy. The first question that has to e asked is: If he has “no idea” whether there are any tapes, then why didn’t he just say that weeks ago? He seems to think that being president is like being a contestant on a reality TV show. He obviously doesn’t believe he has any obligation to be truthful with the public he purportedly serves.

Secondly, with the confession that he didn’t make any recordings, he is affirming that his original comment was in fact witness intimidation. The only purpose of suggesting the existence of such tapes would be to influence Comey’s testimony. It is the behavior of a bully who thinks he can get his way with offhand threats.

Finally, it would be naive to accept Trump’s latest version of events as the gospel truth. His past is littered with so many shameless lies (see the Trump Bullshitopedia) that anyone assuming he’s telling the truth now is too mentally unstable to live outside an institution. It is entirely plausible that he does have tapes, but that they affirm Comey’s testimony and incriminate Trump. Under such circumstances it would behoove him to deny the tapes exist and try to destroy them.

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

In any case, Trump’s sudden and dubious confession doesn’t really clear the air. There is still confusion that is entirely the result of his own irresponsible deception and self-serving manipulation. It may still come to pass that recordings are discovered and made public. His own tweet implies that others might have made recordings without his knowledge. That in itself would be evidence of gross negligence for a president. But there is one thing in that regard that is in his favor. Everyone would readily believe that he could be both gross and negligent. Congratulations, Donnie.

Fox News Trump Fluffer Sean Hannity Kicks Off a Crackpot Crusade Against Rachel Maddow

Posted by on June 22, 2017 at 10:14 am. 5 Comments :

The signs of desperation by Fox News in general, and Sean Hannity in particular, are becoming ever more apparent. Their increasingly deranged creation, Donald Trump, ventures farther from reality every day. The bizarre antics on Fox News are reaching epic levels. Perhaps they feel unfettered since having abandoned their “fair and balanced” tagline. Not that it was ever taken seriously to begin with.

Sean Hannity Maddow

This is especially true of Sean Hannity, whose ranting is more unhinged now than ever. He is rapidly approaching levels of lunacy that would make Glenn Beck or Alex Jones proud. Take Wednesday night’s episode for example (video below). Hannity began by saying:

“Tonight we continue to expose the biggest black helicopter, tin foil hat, conspiracy in the Destroy Trump Media: NBC’s Rachel Maddow. This is off-the-hook out of control. And if it wasn’t so serious, it’s actually fully.”

And with that, Hannity launches into a fiery diatribe on what he regards as a major conspiracy theory expose. Would it be on par with the Obama birtherism which he promoted for many years? Or the tragic death of Seth Rich, which Hannity attributes to a cabal of murderous Hillary Clinton associates? Well, hold on to your hats folks. Sean Hannity thinks that Rachel Maddow is behind a dastardly campaign asserting that Jon Ossoff’s election was foiled by the weather. He declares with astonishment that “You can’t make this stuff up.” Which is ironic, because that’s exactly what he’s doing.

The basis for Hannity’s charges of conspiracy theorism is that Maddow asked her colleague, Steve Kornacki, if rain on election day might have depressed turnout in certain areas. Of course, it’s simply reality that inclement weather can have an impact on any election. So without drawing any conclusions, Maddow asked Kornacki if he thought it might have had any impact Tuesday night. She never blamed the weather for the final results or even expressed an opinion on it. She only asked a question. But in Hannity’s cartoon brain she was raving wildly that Mother Nature had purposely sabotaged the Georgia Democrat.

Then Hannity takes up his post as Fox News’ most devoted Trump defender. He complains about Maddow’s frequent (and thoroughly factual) reporting on the allegations of connections to Russia by Trump and/or his campaign. Like many right-wing Trump-fluffers, he insists there is no evidence of any such thing:

“The night cannot go by without Maddow floating some sort of Trump/Russia collusion conspiracy theory, even though nobody says it. Nobody believes it. It’s been debunked. To date there is zero evidence of Trump/Russia collusion. Nothing whatsoever. It’s been a farce, a total fabrication, eleven months of lies and conspiracies made up by people just like Maddow. But despite these facts today, Rachel, she was at it again. Whipping up a new crackpot theory involving President Trump, the mob money, money laundering, and even Vladimir Putin made it into the mix.”

There is so much wrong with that it’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with the absurdity that nobody is talking about, or believes, that Trump & Co. have unsavory connections to Russia. Rather than being a debunked, fabricated, farce, it is a fact that has been grudgingly admitted by the very people involved. They include Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, and Jeff Sessions to name a few. In many cases their relationships were hidden and denied until discovered by the press. What’s more, Seventeen independent intelligence agencies agree that Russia engaged in deliberate actions to interfere with the election. Apparently Hannity thinks they are all lying as part of this massive conspiracy.

As for his charge that Maddow is “whipping up” a new conspiracy regarding Trump and mob money, he’s giving her too much credit. It was veteran reporter and executive editor Tim O’Brien who broke this story for Bloomberg News. He wrote a detailed and documented article on “Trump, Russia and a Shadowy Business Partnership.” All Maddow did was cover the subject and interview the author. Hannity never mentioned that or even bothered to cite any actual flaws in the story.

Hannity’s obsession with Maddow ignores the fact that she generally relies on established news sources. He demonstrates this by running a video montage of what he calls “Maddow’s craziest Trump/Russia conspiracy theories.” However, every one of the stories originated from other sources like Reuters or even government agencies like the FBI. And that’s the strategy behind Hannity’s baseless attacks. Even though Maddow gets her information from well researched and vetted journalists, her coverage of it makes it all her invention.

Of course, the real problem Hannity has with Maddow is unrelated to his ludicrous charges. He has a two-fold inspiration for attacking her. First, she effectively covers Donald Trump’s tsunami of scandals. She explains the often complex issues clearly and backs up her explanations with facts. Secondly, Hannity is scared to death because Maddow has overtaken Fox News in the television ratings. Her show is frequently the number one program on cable news. Hannity isn’t used to getting beaten in the ratings, but it is now fairly routine.

Consequently, he is coming out swinging, and swinging wildly, against a superior competitor. And the fact that he isn’t landing any blows must be making him all the more enraged and obsessed. Expect that pattern to continue playing out because Hannity doesn’t have the intelligence or the facts to support his positions. All he has is a drooling frenzy and a shrinking audience of Fox News cultists and Trump loyalists. That, in the end, isn’t going to get him very far, and he knows it.

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

Congressional Black Caucus Rejects Trump’s Invitation to be Exploited at White House Photo-Op

Posted by on June 21, 2017 at 5:01 pm. 2 Comments :

The administration of Donald Trump is still struggling to get a foothold on support from members of Congress. His own Republican Party has been in such a state of disarray that they have failed to pass a single major plank of his platform. ObamaCare hasn’t been repealed. Taxes have not been cut for his wealthy pals. Federal courts keep striking down his Muslim ban. And there is no Mexican-paid wall.

Donald Trump

So perhaps in a move of desperation Trump dispatched his Apprentice flunky, Omarosa Manigault, to invite members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to the White House. The purpose was ostensibly to discuss issues that were raised in a prior get together. The only problem is that since the first meeting last March, things have only gotten worse. The letter sent by the CBC’s chairman, Cedric Richmond, provided explicit reasons for declining the invitation. For instance:

“Through an objective assessment, we have seen no evidence that your Administration acted on our calls for action, and we have in fact witnessed steps that will affirmatively hurt Black communities. While we agreed to explore possible future discussions when we first met, it has become abundantly clear that a conversation with the entire CBC would not be entirely productive given the actions taken by your administration since our first meeting. […] In fact, based on the actions taken by you and your Administration since that meeting, it appears that our concerns, and your stated receptiveness to them, fell on deaf ears.”

The letter enumerated several policy areas where the Trump administration fell short. They included his proposal to cut Pell Grants by four billion dollars; eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and re-escalating the failed war on drugs that “will continue to wreck the Black community and exacerbate our nation’s shameful scourge of mass incarceration.”

Also raised was Trump’s rollback of consent decrees and other methods of protecting the civil rights of all Americans. The administration’s record on education was a major point of contention. And the efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) were described as a dealing a “painful blow” by “mean-spirited legislation” that would strip millions of people of their health care.

The CBC’s letter went on to list several of their attempts to engage the administration to pursue issues of common interest. But they were all ignored. The letter closed saying:

“Given the lack of response to any of the many concerns we have raised with you and your Administration, we decline your invitation for all 49 members of the Congressional Black Caucus to meet with you. The CBC, and the millions of people we represent, have a lot to lose under your Administration. I fail to see how a social gathering would benefit the policies we advocate for.”

This is a stinging rebuke to Trump and his transparent attempt to manipulate a key congressional constituency. They were not about to be taken advantage of for a photo-op designed to benefit the floundering White House. Whatever made the President think that the Caucus would would be so naive as to fall for this PR stunt is a mystery. And it’s also an insult. Unfortunately, it’s Trump who will consider himself the victim and will learn nothing from the message the CBC sent. SAD!

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

FFS: Trump Seeks Cyber Security Alliance with Russia, the Country That Hacked Our Election

Posted by on June 20, 2017 at 12:45 pm. 6 Comments :

Just when you thought Donald Trump couldn’t dig himself further up Putin’s anus, he pulls out an even bigger jackhammer. The President appears oblivious to the fact that he is under investigation for colluding with Russia during the 2016 election. Many of his close associates have been caught with Russian agents in meetings they tried to cover up. Seventeen independent American intelligence agencies concluded that Russia engaged in extensive operations to hack our election to Trump’s benefit.

Trump/Putin

Nevertheless, it has now been learned that Trump’s Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is proposing a confounding alliance. Tillerson had numerous encounters with Russian government and businesses in his previous position as CEO of Exxon. But this new hook up is hard to believe. According to Newsweek, Tillerson is seeking to partner with Russia on projects “aimed at cybersecurity and cyberespionage.” Newsweek notes that this…

“…seems particularly odd given not only the investigations surrounding President Donald Trump and his former campaign but also the conclusion reached by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia intentionally meddled in last year’s election in order to ascend Trump’s candidacy. [and that] Complicating the matter is Trump’s consistent refusal to declare Russia had meddled in the election and reluctance to say anything negative about Putin or his government.”

Set aside for the moment the absurdity of favoring Russia with such a privileged relationship after their activities last year. Any program that joins the United States and Russia in efforts to combat cyber attacks is wrought with obvious peril. The intelligence sharing would give the Russians access to confidential information that could aid them in future attacks on the U.S. They would undoubtedly be pleased to learn what areas the Americans regard as vulnerable. This would include risks far beyond election tampering. Cyber attacks can also be launched against infrastructure, power grids, commerce, and even military operations.

Additionally, this sort of coalition would make American technology available to our new partners. Procedures aimed at investigating digital intrusions would have to be shared. Likewise, methods of correcting and securing systems that have been compromised would become common knowledge. And that knowledge would be invaluable in plotting new attacks.

These ham-handed efforts to engage with a hostile adversary make no sense at all. Even strictly with regard to appearances, it is utterly unjustifiable. Russia, based on its unacknowledged and unremorseful activities, surely doesn’t deserve this special treatment. If anything, they should be subject to further sanctions and explicitly excluded from cooperation on technology matters.

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

The fact that Trump’s State Department is openly seeking to reward Russia, despite their bad behavior, suggests something ominous. Could it be a payoff for some past or future benefit for Trump? Does Putin have something on the President that he would release without accommodations like this? Are these questions too conspiratorial? Perhaps they are. But what possible incentive would Trump have for endangering the nation by sharing sensitive technology and cyber security plans with an enemy and international cyber criminal? At the very least, these are questions the media should asking.

Trump White House Sinks Into a Bunker Mentality to Avoid Answering Questions from the Press

Posted by on June 19, 2017 at 3:27 pm. 1 Comments :

There’s a lot going on in Washington these days. Perhaps more of a serious nature than at any time in modern history. Donald Trump has demonstrated ineptitude across a broad array of issues and responsibilities. He’s under investigation for obstruction of justice and unsavory connections to Russia as they sought to interfere with the election. Add to that the President’s improper financial dealings that may violate the Constitution. Then throw in the floundering Republican agenda to repeal ObamaCare, reform taxes, build walls, and defeat ISIS. What you have is a super-heated goulash of White House controversies boiling over.

Trump Bunker

All of these matters are of critical importance to the American people. And the institution that keeps the public informed is the press corps whose freedom is guaranteed by the First Amendment. That makes this a bad time for the White House to build a wall between the President and the people. But that’s exactly what Trump’s White House is doing. In a bold move to silence the media, the White House Press Office has cut back on briefings. And when they hold them, they are prohibiting the use of cameras or recording devices. On Monday, CNN’s Jim Acosta expressed some of his frustration on the air (video below):

“The White House press secretary is getting to a point where he’s just kinda useless. If he can’t come out and answer the questions, and their not gonna do this on camera or on audio, why are we even having these briefings or gaggles in the first place?”

Acosta went on to lament the “stonewalling” by the White House that has refused to answer questions even after promising to do so. Left dangling are queries into whether the President has secret Oval Office tapes, and if he believes in climate change. And so much more:

“I don’t know what world we’re living in. We’re standing at the White House and they bring us into the briefing room here at the White House and they won’t answer these questions on camera or let us record the audio. I don’t know why everybody is going along with this. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.

“And it just feels like we’re slowly but surely being dragged into what is a new normal in this country where the President of the United States is allowed to insulate himself from answering hard questions. He hasn’t had a full blown press conference since February.”

That’s four months of cowering the bunker for the embattled and frightened President. Concluding that the briefings conducted in this manner were “pointless,” Acosta reiterated his surprise that the press corps goes along with the administration’s tactics. He complained that “this isn’t how we do things in this country.” But Acosta may not have factored in how this country does things under a wannabe tyrant like Donald Trump. He did however note in a tweet that:

To make matters worse, Trump’s press team may be looking to shake things up. According to Politico they have interviewed Laura Ingraham as a replacement for Sean Spicer as press secretary. That would put a Fox News contributor in front of a press corps that is already being lied to on a daily basis. This must be what they call “winning.”

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

Trump Brags About Having Higher Approval Ratings than Obama – In His Warped Imagination

Posted by on June 18, 2017 at 5:01 pm. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump is reportedly holed up at Camp David this weekend. It’s the first time that he’s visited the official presidential retreat since taking office. He prefers to stay at his own luxury golf resorts where taxpayers have to shell out for his lodging. Taxpayers also foot the bill for the dozens of staff and security personnel who accompany him.

Obama Trump

But while at Camp David, Trump still found time for exalting himself on Twitter. He boasted about how well his agenda is doing, despite a record of profound failure. All of his most prominent campaign promises have gone unfulfilled. He has been unable to repeal ObamaCare. There is no hint of a wall along the southern border. Tax reform hasn’t even begun. Terrorism is just as big a problem as ever. His attempts to implement a ban on immigration were repeatedly struck down by federal courts.

The most peculiar tweet of this Sunday morning TwitFit is one that sought to pump up his ego. Yeah, I know that applies to most of his tweets. But this one was more flagrant than most:

First of all, no one regards Rasmussen as an especially reliable survey outfit. They are brazenly biased toward Republicans and conservatives. And their accuracy lies closer to the bottom of the pack. What success they have is only because they often rejigger their findings at the end of a campaign to be more in line with other polls. That improves their averages, but is wholly dishonest. FiveThirtyEight gives them only a C+ rating. Their survey method employs automated phone calls to landlines. Most polling services regard operator-assisted calls as more reliable. And capturing the opinions of cell phone users is a requirement for accurate results.

That said, Trump’s assertion that his fifty percent approval rating is higher than President Obama’s is just plain false. According to Rasmussen’s website, Obama had an approval rating of fifty-five percent at this point in his presidency. During his first five months, Obama got as high as sixty-three percent, and never dropped below fifty-three. Trump, on the other hand, has marked record lows for a president in his first five months. This new personal high of fifty percent comes after an unlikely and unexplained seven point leap in two days.

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

Let’s set aside for the moment the fact that Trump outright lied about beating Obama’s numbers. And also the fact that Rasmussen is overtly biased. The spectacle of Trump getting excited about an approval rating that leaves half the country dissatisfied is kind of pathetic. What’s more, Rasmussen breaks down his numbers to reveal that only thirty-one percent “strongly approve” of Trump while forty-two percent “strongly disapprove” (a net negative index of -11%). Yet this is something that Trump thinks is cause for celebration. That’s the sign of a desperate and delusional man.

Trump’s Lawyer Repeatedly Contradicts President’s Claim that He’s Under Investigation

Posted by on June 18, 2017 at 1:59 pm. 1 Comments :

Donald Trump and his administration are not known for their ability to communicate a consistent, coherent message. They have a history of wildly contradictory statements and absurd deflections from reality. So it isn’t surprising that Trump’s new lawyer, Jay Sekulow, has continued that tradition. He made several appearances on the Sunday morning news shows that did nothing but contribute to the confusion surrounding the investigation into Trump’s obstruction of justice.

Sekulow Trump CNN

On all of these programs the discussion was related to a story in the Washington Post saying Trump is under investigation. The Post reported that on the basis of five (count ’em, five) sources who requested anonymity. Of course, Trump has previously railed against the use of anonymous sources despite using them himself when it suits him. However, professional journalists have relied on such sources with great accuracy for as long as there has been journalism.

Trump’s response to the story was expressed in a tweet that apparently confirmed the Post’s account:

That’s simple enough. The President is explicitly agreeing with the Post that he is being investigated. And the investigation concerns, in part, the events leading to the termination of former FBI Director, James Comey. He’s also blaming it on someone at the Justice Department who told him to do it. Never mind that he told NBC’s Lester Holt it was his decision alone. A decision that he made before consulting the DOJ. The bottom line is that everyone is on the same page with regard to the existence of an investigation. Right?

Wrong. Mr. Sekulow, Trump’s attorney, objects. On each of his Sunday interviews he blatantly contradicted his client. He repeated that the President is not now, nor has he ever been, under investigation. But his attempts to support that argument were ludicrous. Let’s begin with the most friendly forum for Trump’s representative, Fox News. Chris Wallace noted that Sekulow himself said that Trump is being investigated.

Sekulow: [Trump] is being investigated for taking the action that the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, recommended him to take by the agency that recommended the termination.
Wallace: First of all, you’ve now stated that he is being investigated after saying that he …
Sekulow: No.
Wallace: You just said that he’s being investigated.
Sekulow: Let me be crystal clear so you completely understand. We have not received, nor are we aware of any investigation of the President of the United States.

Wallace deserves some credit for not letting Sekulow get away with contradicting both himself and Trump. But Sekulow’s attempt at crystal clarity just dodges the substance of his own prior remarks. So let’s move on to Meet the Press with Chuck Todd:

Todd: Let me begin with getting some clarification here. The President tweeted this week “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director.” When did the President become aware that he was officially under investigation by the special counsel?
Sekulow: The President is not under investigation by the special counsel. The tweet from the President was in response to the five anonymous sources that were purportedly leaking information to the Washington Post about a potential investigation of the President.

Sekulow’s reply doesn’t begin to answer the question. In fact, it makes no sense. How does Trump’s alleged response being aimed at the Post’s story change the meaning of it? That question comes up again when Sekulow appears on CNN’s State of the Nation with Jake Tapper (video below):

Tapper: The President said “I am being investigated” in a tweet and people take his word on that. But you’re his attorney. You’re saying that when the President said that he was not accurate.
Sekulow: No. The President was – It was 141 (sic) characters. There’s a limitation on Twitter, as we all know. And the President has very effective utilization of social media. So here’s what we have. The President issued that tweet, that social media statement based on a fake report, a report with no documented sources from the Washington Post. […] The President’s response was as it related to the Washington Post report. He cannot in a Twitter statement include all of that in there. But the Washington Post statement came out that morning. There should be no confusion. The President is not under investigation.

Now Sekulow is asserting that the Post’s story is fake. Of course, he doesn’t provide any evidence to substantiate that allegation. As a lawyer he should know better. But even that reckless remark doesn’t explain why Trump said that he is being investigated. Sekulow tried to bolster his defense by asserting that Twitter’s character limit is what prevented Trump from being clear. But Trump’s tweet contained only 111 characters. So he had twenty-nine to spare. And according to Sekulow, “the President has very effective utilization of social media.” So he could easily have added “WaPo Says,” or even “the fake news WaPo says.” So there was no impediment by Twitter on Trump making an accurate statement.

At this point it should be noted that Sekulow is not telling the truth about whether Trump is under investigation. All he can say honestly is that he isn’t aware of any investigation. He cannot say that there isn’t one. Wallace called him that and he agreed. Nevertheless, he repeated the same falsehood on the other programs. It’s a propaganda tactic aimed at convincing people that Trump is pure as the driven snow. But his execution is so inept that he just winds up muddying the waters and making his client look guilty. Which I suppose is a professional hazard for lawyers with guilty clients.

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

Good Grief: Now an Angry and Frightened Trump is ‘Yelling at Television Sets in the White House’

Posted by on June 17, 2017 at 4:43 pm. 5 Comments :

The walls are closing in around Donald Trump. At least that’s the way he must be feeling as the investigations into his criminal misconduct proceed. Every day seems to produce another incriminating discovery. And the scope of the investigation grows to encompass more associates and more disturbing improprieties. Everything from his his unsavory Russian connections to his financial conflicts and constitutional breaches are being scrutinized.

Donald Trump

Trump and his handlers have been struggling to change the narrative from the administration’s collapse to one phony agenda item or another. But traveling overseas didn’t do it. Nor did “Infrastructure Week” or “Apprentice Week.” And his big announcement that he was turning back the clock on America’s relations with Cuba fell flat as well. Even the tragic news that a lunatic shot at a group of Republicans practicing for a charity baseball game didn’t take the nation’s attention away from Trump’s scandals for very long.

So this may be a good time to check into the mental state of our President, which has been questionable for some time. His incoherent outbursts and self-destructive tweets paint a picture of a troubled mind. And when the Associated Press sought answers from within the Trump circle, what they found should be of concern to all Americans.

“Trump advisers and confidants describe the president as increasingly angry over the investigation, yelling at television sets in the White House carrying coverage and insisting he is the target of a conspiracy to discredit — and potentially end — his presidency.”

It isn’t difficult to imagine Trump yelling at the TV. It fits his psychological profile. Anyone – or thing – that he perceives to be less than adoring is an enemy deserving of his wrath. It doesn’t matter if it was once a close ally. Trump will turn on you in a hot flash if you don’t maintain a posture of unwavering idolatry. That’s particularly noticeable with regard to his relationship with television. It is what thrust him into the public eye with his Apprentice program. And it’s what focused so intently on him throughout his campaign. But now, with news reports disclosing his malfeasance in office, TV is persona non grata (except for Fox News). He’s abandoning his bestest friend.

The frustration and anger that Trump is displaying is evident in his tweets and other communications. To have it affirmed by insiders speaking anonymously just underscores how frustrated they are as well:

“Aides have counseled the president to stay off Twitter and focus on other aspects of his job. […] Yet Trump’s angry tweets on Friday underscored the near-impossible challenge his advisers and legal team have in trying to get him to avoid weighing in on an active probe.”

Trump’s temperament has always been one of the most worrisome concerns about his holding office. And pretty much everything that’s happened since he was inaugurated is confirmation that those worries were justified. He has praised America’s enemies and alienated our allies. His tantrums over Hillary Clinton and the election last year are never-ending. And the fact that he would appear on television and effectively confess to obstruction of justice with regard to firing James Comey is more than enough proof that he is unfit to serve. Now the question is, will his Republican colleagues choose to put country over party in order to save the nation?

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

Pro-Trump Crackpot Gets Booed Off Stage After Interrupting Shakespeare in the Park (VIDEO)

Posted by on June 17, 2017 at 2:03 pm. 4 Comments :

New York’s Public Theater has been providing free performances of Shakespeare in Central Park for more than sixty years. It’s a non-profit, public service that contributes to the cultural advancement of the community and is available to everyone. It is generally not the scene of political controversy, however, last week became a rare exception.

Shakespeare Protester

The theater group staged a stylized performance of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Taking creative license, they cast Caesar as a Donald Trump lookalike. Consequently, when the scene in the play that depicts Caesar’s assassination came, the character was brutally stabbed to death. Unable to distinguish between reality and fiction, conservatives went into a frenzy asserting that the play was advocating Trump’s assassination. It didn’t take long before the alt-right media was accusing all liberals of being violent and bloodthirsty.

Friday night the performance suffered further attacks when a pro-Trump extremist blogger leaped onto the stage. She began screaming feverishly about alleged “political violence against the right.” Ironically, Laura Loomer writes for a website called TheRebel, a name that implies militant violence.

The interruption was clearly not appreciated by the audience. They immediately burst into a chorus of boos as the cast surrounded Loomer and waited for security to escort her from the stage. And as she was led away the audience cheered and applauded. Surprisingly, Loomer posted video of this embarrassment as if she were proud of it.

following the incident, Loomer had her accomplices video her arrest. Of course, she regarded this as a travesty of justice since all she was doing was defending her Dear Leader, Donald Trump. But her harangue drifted into some peculiar, paranoid territory:

“I really think that the left wants there to be another civil war in this country because they’re so polarizing and they’re so violent. They’re so disgusting. They lack morals. And they really want there to be an assassination so there’s not only a full blown race war, but they want there to be political wars.”

How she concludes that this play makes any statement related to race wars is a mystery only her psychologist can resolve. Perhaps it’s an admission that any criticism of Trump would be countered by his devoted racist supporters. But the hypocrisy is glaringly evident. She attacks the left as polarizing mere seconds before insulting them as disgusting and devoid of morals. That isn’t polarizing at all, is it?

Loomer tries to portray herself as an investigative journalist. But her resume betrays that as absurd. She got her start working for the disgraced and irrelevant confessed criminal, James O’Keefe. For a brief period of time O’Keefe made headlines by producing widely debunked, and deceptively edited, videos intended to slander Democrats. Now his reputation is so toxic that even Fox News won’t publish his nonsense anymore.

So it’s easy to see where Loomer got her idea that interrupting a play with incoherent hollering would be a reasonable act of protest. The only thing she achieved was attracting praise from the alt-right true believers who already worship this sort of idiocy. Disreputable folks like Mike Cernovich, Dinesh D’Souza?, and Jim Hoft (Gateway Pundit) rushed to her defense. Alex Jones of Infowars tweeted that she was a “patriot.” And Laura Ingraham of Fox News had this say:

First of all, President Obama was the target of innumerable attacks that included stabbing, lynching, and other forms of assassination. The right finds it convenient to forget about that. But Ingraham’s remarks about how liberals would behave in circumstances similar to this one are painfully ignorant. In 2012, the same play was staged with an Obama character in the role of Caesar. There were no protests or juvenile interruptions of the performance.

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

Hypocrisy is no stranger to the right. When Tea Party activists stormed congressional town halls, conservatives hailed them as heroes. When liberals did the same thing earlier this year, the same conservatives condemned them as subversives. When liberals protest speeches on college campuses by white supremacists they are accused of being against free speech. But when Trump and his cohorts advocate government control of the media, the right cheers and agrees. So if you’re looking the differences between left and right responses to expressions of political viewpoints, you need look no further than people like Laura Loomer and the censorious president she idolizes.

Death Spiral? Trump’s Support From REPUBLICANS Craters as His Presidency Flatlines

Posted by on June 16, 2017 at 3:36 pm. 9 Comments :

The political anchor that is Donald Trump continues to sink ever deeper. The latest poll by the Associated Press shows him with a flaccid approval rating of only thirty-five percent. His disapproval (64%) matches the nation’s distaste for his policies. On his handling of healthcare, sixty-six percent disapprove. Sixty-four percent of Americans object to his withdrawal from the Paris Accords on climate change.

Donald Trump

However, the bad news for Trump is far worse than than what is revealed by that already dismal poll. Gallup just updated their tracking poll of Trump’s popularity (or lack thereof) by party affiliation. The President’s historically depressed job ratings have been routinely dismissed by him and his cohorts. They have relied on their base to provide a cult-like bottom of devotion. But Gallup’s numbers just put an end to that self-deception:

“Republicans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. took a hit since last month. Forty-one percent of Republicans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., down 17 percentage points since May.”

When four-in-ten of your most faithful fans are dissatisfied with your performance, you have achieved an epic level of failure. And the precipitous seventeen point collapse ought to be especially worrisome. The time span during which these numbers plunged were notable for several initiatives that Trump regarded as potentially positive. He took his first trip overseas. He announced his position on an international agreement on climate change. The stalled effort to repeal ObamaCare was restarted in the Senate. A tax reform agenda was outlined. But none of these issues moved the needle in favor of Trump.

Of course, at the same time the investigation into the Russia intrigue that has consumed his administration grew more precarious. Additional facts were revealed and more people were implicated. There were congressional hearings that featured former FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Most recently, reports (and Trump) affirmed that he is under investigation for obstruction of justice. Surely these events are weighing on his approval ratings.

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

Other presidents have suffered through periods of low voter satisfaction. What makes Trump’s dilemma unique is that his own party is abandoning him like rats from a sinking ship of state. It is unlikely that Trump will find many Democrats or independents to buttress his decline. So if he can’t bring back Republicans he is doomed to a continuing free fall. When elected GOP representatives conclude that their constituents are hopelessly repulsed by Trump, they will be less likely to back him up. And at some point they will decide that defending Trump, even against impeachment, exposes them to more risk than benefit.