Day: 12/20/2019

The Chosen One: Trump Attacks Christianity Today’s Call to Impeach Him for Gross Immorality

Posted by on December 20, 2019 at 3:19 pm. 7 Comments :

One of the most perplexing subplots of Donald Trump’s Soap Opera Presidency is the devotion he is shown by Christian evangelicals for a pathological lying, serial adulterer and sexual predator, who is greedy, lazy, prideful, gluttonous, profane, vengeful, and stuffs all of those faults into a wrapper of infantile egocentrism.

Donald Trump Messiah

The religious right has long demonstrated that they are way too eagerly willing to abandon their principles in exchange for some rewarding political bone to chew on. But even so, Trump seemed like too long a stretch for people who allegedly aspire to higher morals. That turned out not to true. The evangelical community found ways to ignore Trump’s failings and embrace him as one of their own, despite his life of public irreligiosity.

However, there may now be a small crack opening up in the spiritual dam. The popular evangelical magazine, Christianity Today, (founded by Billy Graham) just published an opinion piece calling for Trump to impeached and removed from office. They did not mince words either. Addressing the recent impeachment of Trump, CT’s editor in chief Mark Galli wrote that…

“…the facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”

Galli went on to enumerate some of Trump’s more egregious sins, such as his association with “people who are now convicted criminals,” as well as his “immoral actions in business and his relationship with women.” Galli described Trump as “a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused,” with a “grossly immoral character.” And Galli implored his readers to…

“Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency. If we don’t reverse course now, will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come?”

Well, Trump didn’t wait long to condemn the magazine in stark, personal, and as always for Trump, dishonest terms:

No honest, objective person would ever describe Christianity Today as a “far left” or “progressive” magazine. And typical of Trump’s wrath, he blindly and falsely demeans the success of his perceived foe, just as he has done with CNN, the New York Times, Alec Baldwin, and others. Trump feels he needs to make his critics look small in order to feel big himself.

Then Trump insults every person of faith by asserting that they are not capable of assessing his behavior during his fateful phone call with the president of Ukraine. Trump repeats his contention that the call was “perfect,” even though his own transcript reveals that he conditioned foreign aid on Ukraine’s agreement to help him smear Joe Biden.

Naturally, Trump also lashed out at his political rivals, accusing them of wanting to “take your religion & your guns,” which is an odd juxtaposition. Needless to say, the Democrats that Trump is maligning have all been strong advocates for freedom of religion. But he seems to have forgotten that if he is removed from office, they wouldn’t be moving into the White House. It’s his devoutly Christian vice-president, Mike Pence, who would be sworn in.

Worst of all, Trump, as he has done many times before, exalts himself as the world’s foremost agent of Christ. As with everything else for which he rates his performance, he insists that no one “has ever done what I have done,” in this case “for Evangelicals, or religion itself!” Let that sink in: “for religion itself.”

This is coming from someone who once described himself as “the Chosen One.” It’s coming from someone who has said that he doesn’t need to ask God for forgiveness because he’s never done anything wrong. This is a man that who,, like many cult leaders before him, preaches to his disciples that he – and only he – can be believed. So while Trump may like to call himself the “Chosen One,” there are other names for what Trump really is.

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

HUH? Fox News Trump-Fluffers Float Bizarre Theory that Trump Hasn’t Been Impeached

Posted by on December 20, 2019 at 11:49 am. 2 Comments :

The capacity for total delusion on the part of Donald Trump and his Fox News defenders has never been, and can never be, overstated. However, there are times when they exhibit such utterly ludicrous behaviors that it astonishes even the most jaded media observers. And on Thursday evening we passed that threshold once again.

Fox News, Laura Ingraham

On an episode of Laura Ingraham’s White Nationalist Hour, our intrepid host attempted to impart her version of wingnut intellectualism by presenting a theory so devoid of reason that it sucked all the remaining grey matter from her already nearly vacant skull. It’s a theory that Trump’s White House is also entertaining.

Ingraham delivered a monologue (video below) that began with the absurd contention that “I think one can make a decent argument that the President wasn’t really impeached.” Her explanation sprung from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to delay sending the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate until Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer finalized the rules under which they would be debated. Ingraham thinks that an impeachment hasn’t really taken place until the House transmits it to the Senate.

To support her silliness, Ingraham mocks Pelosi’s grasp of the Constitution and attempts to cite it saying that “the Senate has the sole power of impeachment.” That, however, is not what the Constitution says. What it actually says is that “The House of Representatives…shall have the sole power of impeachment.” So Ingraham got it completely wrong. It later says that “The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments.” Which is something else entirely. Pelosi, therefore, was right and Ingraham was making a fool of herself.

This disinformation then spread to other Fox News programs. On Friday morning it was regurgitated by anchor David Asman who said that “We may not have an impeachment if it hasn’t been passed to the Senate.” But as we now know, that isn’t true. It’s just part of an ongoing campaign by Fox News to keep their viewers mired in ignorance and falsehoods.

Additionally, this baseless theory relies on the assumption that the House will never transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Nobody is betting on that. Pelosi is wisely insisting that the Senate trial be conducted fairly and that relevant witnesses to presented. That’s a critical demand considering that McConnell has already publicly stated that he has no intention of being impartial and that he will “take his cues” from White House lawyers. Eventually McConnell will have to concede because Trump doesn’t want the impeachment hanging over his head without at least an attempt to exonerate him by the Senate. Although, exoneration is not something that is actually achievable.

Like or not, Fox News, and Trump’s congressional bootlickers, have to accept that Trump has indeed been impeached. They cannot pretend otherwise. It is a disgrace that will follow him and the GOP throughout history. And clinging to these nonsense notions and wishful thinking only makes them look desperate and dumb. Well, more desperate and dumber.

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