Trump is Soliciting Donations for His Campaign, But Hasn’t Asked for Hurricane Harvey Relief

Republicans already have a reputation for callousness and insensitivity toward Americans in need. Much of that is coming out in the manner in which they are responding to Hurricane Harvey. Of Texas’ twenty-six members of congress, twenty-five of them voted against aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. That includes their two GOP senators. Now they they are begging Trump for assistance from the federal government.

Donald Trump

As for Donald Trump, he’s begging for assistance as well. Not for the suffering people of Texas, but for himself. In the midst of an historic natural disaster, organizations like the American Red Cross and the Greater Houston Communities Association are in dire need of funding. [For a list of organizations taking donations, click here]. And the American people, as usual, are demonstrating their generosity and compassion.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has yet to make an appeal to the nation to help out. He has tweeted about everything from his pardon for Joe Arpaio, to his imaginary border wall, to the size of his rally crowd. He even posted a pitch for a book by a corrupt crony. But he hasn’t posted a single link to the Red Cross or any other aid provider.

However, Trump is on the money trail. He just sent out another of his relentless appeals for donations for his reelection. That campaign is still three years away, if he manages to avoid impeachment. The campaign letter pleaded with supporters to cough up cash because:

“All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE who’ve been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class.” […]

“[T]he media will be waiting to see if the American people have walked away from our movement.” […]

“I didn’t run for president to be a puppet for the political class. I ran to be a champion for the people.”

If the only thing Trump wants is the love of the American people he must be sorely disappointed. He is still languishing at the bottom of the polls, and doing worse than any president before him. The majority of the people were never part of his movement. And as we all know, Vladimir Putin is the puppeteer who holds his strings.

The letter also hit on common Trumpisms like his bragging about economic gains that he had nothing to with with. And he seemed so proud of his alleged disassociation from lobbyists, corporations and politicians. Never mind that his cabinet is cram-packed with those very same swamp-dwellers. And what could be more political than soliciting campaign donations three years before an election?

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

It’s amazing that no one on Trump’s staff has advised him to stop watching Fox and Friends long enough to tweet a link to hurricane relief. It’s a cost-free way to drive up donations to something that can actually help people. But the only thing Trump is concerned about is his own PR. That’s why when he showed up in Texas on Tuesday he marveled at his reception saying “What a crowd. What a turnout!” This was his way of acknowledging the citizens of a state in turmoil. You almost wonder if he knows that thousands of people didn’t turnout because they are stranded in raging flood waters.

Is America Next? Fox News Booted Off the Air in the U.K. for Lack of Viewers

We have good reason to celebrate the intelligence and common sense of our friends in Britain. They have been suffering from Donald Trump’s reign from afar and have not been especially pleased. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, asked him not to visit. Massive protests were being organized to greet him should he come. And last June Trump himself told Prime Minister Theresa May that he wouldn’t come at all until she could promise a warm welcome. The fact that he still hasn’t been there should tell you something.

Fox NOT News

Now it’s being reported that the PR division of the Trump administration, Fox News, has been dumped in the U.K. The Guardian published the report Tuesday morning and Fox News confirmed it:

“[Fox] has decided to cease providing a feed of Fox News Channel in the UK,” said a spokeswoman for the company. “Fox News is focused on the US market and designed for a US audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the UK. We have concluded that it is not in our commercial interest to continue providing Fox News in the UK.”

The failure of Fox News abroad is not as trivial a matter as they seek to make it. England is a nation that is closely aligned with the U.S. and deeply concerned about our policies and politics. The dearth of viewers has nothing to do with the “focus” of the network. The Brits are more likely repulsed by the obvious bias and propaganda. They have many other news sources, including several from the U.S., to find out what America is up to. CNN isn’t having any trouble attracting a British audience.

What’s more, Fox’s excuse that their programming is America-centric is an admission that it isn’t actually news. Honest journalism is the collection and reporting of facts that reflect reality. It is not impacted by geography. Reports on the war in Afghanistan, a hurricane in Texas, or trade relations with the EU, should be identical regardless of the place of publication. But Fox’s programs are littered with an extraneous spin that reeks of American superiority. How could anyone in Liverpool or Dublin listen to two minutes of Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson without retching?

Fox News may have another reason for ditching their British flank. Fox’s chairman, Rupert Murdoch, has been trying to acquire the sixty percent of Sky Broadcasting that they don’t already own. But there are regulators in the UK that have to approve the deal. At present it is under investigation by Ofcom to ascertain whether they meet broadcasting standards. And there is some question as to how that will come out. The Guardian reports that:

“In the past decade, Fox has notched up 22 breaches of its licence and Ofcom’s codes and rules. Of those, seven were against Fox News, with four last year including against a programme which featured a guest who said that Birmingham was a city ‘where non-Muslims just simply don’t go’.”

Add to that the hacking scandal a few years back where Murdoch’s newspapers were found to have illegally accessed the emails and cell phones of politicians, celebrities, and even a murdered schoolgirl. It’s that sort of behavior that caused Murdoch to temporarily suspend his acquisition aspirations. But he is now actively pursuing the matter again.

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

Having a “news” network that is notorious for lying and disparaging foreign nations, while disseminating White House propaganda, cannot be particularly helpful when trying to persuade British regulators to give it even more power. In the meantime, the UK will enjoy the relief of not having Fox News polluting their airwaves and insulting their viewers. America awaits its opportunity to enjoy such relief.