Wannabe Dictator Trump’s Campaign to Persecute His Political Rivals is Revealed on Fox News

It didn’t take Donald Trump long to convert his impeachment into what his diseased brain thinks is a plus for him. Deep down he knows that he’s been severely wounded and tainted for life. That’s evident by how obsessed he is with denying it. But he is now transferring his fear and desperation into a dangerous assault on American values and liberty.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

Less than forty-eight hours after the Republican majority in the Senate voted to let Trump off and cover up his crimes, Trump began a purge of the witnesses who were courageous and honest enough to tell the truth about him. He fired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother, as well as the Ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland. He’s in discussion now to fire the intelligence community Inspector General. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

One of the most loyal StormTrumpers in Congress is Sen. Lindsey Graham. Never mind that he once said that Trump is “a kook, crazy, and unfit for office.” Today Graham is another glassy-eyed disciple of the Cult of Trump. And he visited with Fox News Trump-fluffer Jeanine Pirro for a mutual worship session on Saturday night where he revealed the totalitarian aspirations of Trump and where it’s headed next.

Graham: Half the people behind the Russia investigation are gonna go to jail.
Pirro: Hopefully.
Graham: Well, just hang tight.

These are the sort of threats that plague the tyrannies that Trump so admires. Places like North Korea, China, and Russia. Now Graham is admitting that he and Trump will be implementing those policies here in the U.S. And it isn’t just Graham speaking out of turn. Trump is saying the very same things, and touting his partnership with Graham and the Senate Republicans:

What’s more, Graham’s appearance on Face the Nation included his assertion that there is an existing process by which Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is funneling dirt on Joe Biden to Trump’s Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr:

Graham: The Department of Justice is receiving information coming out of Ukraine from Rudy … He told me that they had created a process where Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.

To be perfectly clear, this is not a normal means of investigating possible criminal activity. Private attorneys do not work with federal prosecutors to collect and analyze alleged evidence. This is how totalitarian rulers engage their surrogates to suppress opposition and stoke fear into anyone that might consider being critical or even independent.

This is obviously Trump’s intention. It’s what he has been doing all along. It’s why he partners with the likes of Giuliani, Parnas, Fruman, etc. It’s why he attempted to extort the president of Ukraine. It’s what led to the ousters of everyone from Jeff Sessions to Gen. John Kelly to John Bolton, and so many more. It’s a mob style presidency that believes it can only survive via intimidation and punishment. And it’s why it is still so urgent that Trump be removed from office before he causes even more harm.

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

The PURGE: Trump Never Learns Anything, Remains Unrepentant and Unrestrained

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s impeachment, a flurry of frantic Republicans scurried out to insist that their irresponsible votes to let Trump off the hook for flagrant abuse of power were justifiable because Trump had learned his lesson and would sin no more. That will resonate throughout history as one of the best example of terminal naivete.

Donald Trump Zombie

It didn’t take Trump forty-eight hours to prove that he has no conscience or decency. He lashed out at his critics in Congress and then proceeded to embark on a totalitarian style purge of members of his administration who dared to tell the truth about him. And as if his frightening mental infirmities weren’t apparent enough, he stood before the press for an episode of his “Chopper Talk” parade of lies and put his clinically severe case of paranoia on full display saying that “I view everybody as a threat.”

Indeed he does. That’s why he fired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, his brother Yevgeny, and his ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland (who secured that post after donating a million dollars to Trump’s inaugural committee). And by rushing to exact this vengeance on his perceived enemies, Trump put the nation’s security further at risk, because he has no one to fill those positions at a critical time.

Now Trump is (predictably) claiming that he didn’t know Vindman, and is maligning his service to the country by commenting on his personnel record at the National Security Agency. First of all, that could be illegal as those records are confidential. Not that Trump cares about the law. But true to form, Trump is lying. Vindman’s service record in the Army and the White House is exemplary and without blemish.

These initial purges are surely just the beginning of Trump’s wholesale clearance of patriots who value honesty, service, and the principles that make America great. There is even discussion in the White House to fire Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community. This would be one of the most egregious acts of power-grabbing authoritarianism in U.S. history. And by the way, Atkinson was appointed by Trump in 2017. So how has Trump followed up on that Friday Night Massacre? He is gloating and celebrating what he mistakenly believes will be a political plus for him the Republican Party.

As with everything Trumpian, it all boils down to how it reflects on him personally. He has no regard for the welfare of the country or the people he is purposefully slandering. He leads off with his infantile nicknaming of Nancy Pelosi, mocking her for once losing the speakership. But he fails to recognize that she got it back in the most recent election that was a powerful rebuke of Trump and the GOP. The fact that Trump is focusing on politics at this time is evidence of how he trivializes the catastrophe he just suffered. It is also an indication of how scared he is, so he needs to deflect from the more serious aspects of his having been impeached forever.

Furthermore, Trump’s electoral analysis couldn’t be more delusional. Every poll shows that the House of Representatives will remain firmly in the control of Democrats who are predicted to pick up more seats. And numerous Republican senators are gravely at risk for losing their seats, even more so since the impeachment began. Their votes will not help them either as the vast majority of the America people wanted the Senate to hear witnesses, not to mention they want Trump removed from office.

The tyrannical aspirations of Trump have never been more obvious. And the prospects for his future betrayals and violation of the law are increasing exponentially as he descends further into his delusion, panic, and desperation for survival and the worship of his cult followers in congress, the press, and the public. This will not end well for him – or them.

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

CHOPPER TALK: Trump’s Paranoia Unleashed as He Shrieks ‘I View Everybody as a Threat’

It’s time for another episode of Chopper Talk, Donald Trump’s irregularly scheduled alternative venue for disseminating Alternative Facts (aka lies). Since the White House no longer holds press briefings, this is pretty much the media’s only access to the President’s festival of falsehoods (which they should be covering anyway). Of course, it’s an illegitimate platform that he controls by choosing who gets to ask questions and refusing follow-ups.

Donald Trump, Chopper Talk

In this episode (video below) Trump began by pulling some papers out of his coat and declaring another alleged “victory” in his ongoing crime spree. “We just won the big emoluments case,” he lied. “I think it was a unanimous decision. This was brought by Nancy Pelosi and her group…It was a total win. This was brought by 230 Democrats on emoluments.”

First of all, the lawsuit was filed by only 215 members of Congress, and it was not a Pelosi group. There were 29 senators and 186 representatives, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal. But more to the point, it was most certainly not “a total win” for Trump. A three judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit on a technicality saying that the members of Congress who filed the suit did not have legal standing to do so. But the court noted that they might have standing if they re-file with a majority of members signing on, which you can expect them to do.

What’s more, the dismissal is not a judgment on Trump’s blatant violation the emoluments clause in the Constitution. The suit’s contention that Trump “has a financial interest in vast business holdings around the world that engage in dealings with foreign governments and receive benefits from those governments” still stands and can be tried upon re-filing with a few more members signing on. This technical ruling doesn’t exonerate Trump from his criminal behavior any more than the “acquittal” in the Senate after a phony impeachment hearing that blocked all witnesses and documentary evidence.

Trump also addressed the dramatic moment at the end of his Dystopian State of the Union address when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped her copy of his speech. “I thought it was a terrible thing where she ripped up the speech,” whined Trump. “First of all, it’s an official document. You’re not allowed. It’s illegal what she did. She broke the law.”

None of that is true. It’s merely a copy provided to every member of Congress so they can follow along. Trump is fond of alleging that others have committed crimes despite having no idea what he’s talking about. It’s irresponsible for a president to make such allegations, particularly when he has a puppet Attorney General, Bill Barr, who is willing to pervert justice in order to pacify his wannabe dictator boss. It’s also brazenly hypocritical considering Trump constantly complains that he is being denied due process.

Other topics covered this morning included Trump’s opinion that his impeachment should be expunged, despite all the evidence of his guilt; his rancid insults of Democrats as “evil” and “crazy;” and his ludicrous “proof” of a united America because “All you have to do is look at our crowds.” He really believes that the attendance at his cult rallies is evidence that the whole nation is supporting him. Never mind that his approval ratings are still underwater, and they have been throughout his presidency.

Perhaps the most troubling moment in Trump’s tantrum was when he answered a question about potential political opposition saying that “Everybody is a threat. I view everybody as a threat.” That is undeniably true. Trump is a paranoid, malignant narcissist who trusts no one. He demands complete and unflinching loyalty. Any wavering from that will result in severe punishment, such as your head on a pike, as he was recently reported to have threatened. Just ask Republican Senator Mitt Romney, or former Chief of Staff General John Kelly, or former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, or former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Trump’s view of everyone as being a threat is something that all Republicans should keep in mind. If they think that sucking up to him will shield them from his wrath after some later disagreement, they will be sorely disappointed. The only measure of safety they have is to abandon their own principles and values and commit fully to the worship of Trump. And it looks like that’s exactly what most of them of done.

UPDATE: As if to drive home his psychotic view that “everybody is a threat,” Trump has begun a totalitarian style purge of his perceived enemies. He’s fired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified during the House impeachment hearings. Also his brother, who didn’t testify. Also Gordon Sondland, who testified, but is also noted for having donated a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration. Trump is punishing those he considers disloyal like a North Korean tyrant. And he didn’t even wait two full days to start fulfilling his dictatorship aspirations. Republicans in Congress who thought Trump had learned his lesson are just as culpable for this horrifying turn of events and those that will surely follow.

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

STFU: Why Did the Media Cover Every Word of Trump’s Post-Impeachment Gloating?

Here we go again. In 2016 the press disgraced itself by falling victim to the reality TV campaign of Donald Trump. They broadcast every rally and public address live and uninterrupted as if it had some news value. It didn’t. They were just providing Trump with millions of dollars of free air time.

Donald Trump Not Exonerated

The press utterly failed in its journalistic obligations during the 2016 campaign with their fixation on a candidate that stuffed his speeches full of lies, insults, and self-exaltation. Their preference for featuring Trump’s cult rallies was blatantly unfair. They were not giving the same amount of time or exposure to any of his opponents during the Republican primary or the general election. Some of the media recognized their profoundly biased and unprofessional conduct after the election and even apologized to the nation for letting them down.

Well, they seem not to learned a damn thing. On Thursday morning Trump gave an address from the White House that he previously tweeted would be “to discuss our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!” That preview was bad enough, serving as a warning that the speech would be a feast of falsehoods and a celebration of having escaped accountability for his obvious crimes.

Why would the press rush to cover something that Trump himself falsely described as the “country’s victory” and a “hoax”? He telegraphed his intention to exploit the event for his own selfish purposes. And that’s exactly what he did.

The hour plus speech was a rambling disgorgement of a bloated ego combined with back-slapping of the sycophantic, Republican bootlickers in the audience. Trump rattled off the names of every Trump-fluffing apologist who ran his defense in Congress. and he told brief stories about how brilliant they were for adoring him.

Of course, Trump also used this time to lash out at his perceived enemies. He repeated his tiresome charge that he was the victim of a “witch hunt.” He revived his obsession with President Obama, baselessly alleging that “a lot of people would have been in jail” if he had his way. He rehashed the Mueller probe, calling it “bullshit” despite the fact that it affirmed numerous breaches of the law and blatant obstruction of justice. He went off, again, on America’s intelligence community, complaining about “dirty cops” and other evil people. He singled out former FBI Director James Comey for special condemnation, calling him a “sleazebag.” This is the behavior of a “president” whose cult followers are currently denouncing the “decorum” of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for tearing up a copy of his Dystopian State of the Union speech.

But he wasn’t nearly through. He slandered House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff as “corrupt” and a “vicious, horrible person.” Trump unwound his frequent lie that Schiff had misrepresented his remarks in the phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. He continues to insist that people read the memo that he calls a “transcript” of the call, even though it clearly indicates that he extorted Zelensky to get dirt on Joe Biden.

Naturally, Trump didn’t forget to attack Pelosi. He called her a horrible person also. But he went on to make reprehensible remarks about her faith, asserting that he “I doubts she prays at all.” Earlier in morning he made similar remarks the National Prayer Breakfast, where he attacked Mitt Romney’s faith as well, saying that he “used religion as a crutch.” and that “I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong.” This, coming from someone who pretends to be a devout Christian but can’t cite a single passage from the bible and brags that he has never asked god for forgiveness because he’s never done anything wrong.

The entire address was nothing but a propaganda filled campaign rally with an audience of StormTrumpers engaged in idol worship. It allowed Trump to lie about being exonerated (he wasn’t) and to malign his critics for a solid hour without any pushback, fact-checking, or concessions to reality. And the media chose to air the whole thing live and without interruption.

For what purpose? There was nothing remotely newsworthy about it. They could have have easily recorded it and aired it later if they found anything that served the public interest. And then they would also have been able to provide context and corrections of his numerous untruths. If this is any indication of how they are going to cover the election between now and November, America is big trouble.

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

Trump’s Reality TV SOTU: From ‘American Carnage’ to ‘The Mentality of American Decline’

Donald Trump has outdone himself again. His 2020 State of the Union address was a steaming heap of negativity, institutionalized hate, and flagrant lies. He has followed up his infamous “American Carnage” inaugural address with a speech that was rife with disrespect for the nation and its diverse people. By disparaging our recent history as “the mentality of American decline,” he is proving again that he despises what actually makes America great.

Donald Trump TV Set

Trump’s SOTU most closely resembled another episode of his reality TV game show past. He was handing out medals, staging family reunions, and most of all, bragging about himself and insulting his predecessors. He set the tone at the beginning by refusing to shake Pelosi’s hand. and the Republicans tainted the affair politically with chants of “four more years.” The awarding of the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh, a notorious racist, misogynist, and knee-jerk partisan wingnut, is a massive depreciation of the honor that award used to represent.

Trump went on a morning-after tweet rampage aimed at his hurt feelings because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up a copy of his speech. Of the 28 tweets he posted early Wednesday morning, 23 were about Pelosi’s fully justifiable act of conscience. Let that sink in. He was far more upset with Pelosi than he was satisfied with his own oratory. And it takes a lot to get Trump to divert from glorifying himself. But what will surely be most personally unbearable to the Narcissist-in-Chief is that the ratings for the SOTU declined 21% from last year. Although that won’t stop him from lying about it, like he did so brazenly in 2018.

Throughout the speech Trump validated what is the most recognizable element of his presidency: full-throated, shameless, deliberate lies. He covered so many subjects with his falsehoods and fabrications that it was hard to keep count. Here are just a few of the smugly delivered dishonesties:

“…our values are renewed, our pride is restored.”
Trump is widely regarded at home and abroad as an embarrassment. And his “values” of racism, misogyny, greed, and reverence for foreign tyrants, are not generally considered a source of pride.

“I moved rapidly to revive the U.S. economy, slashing a number of job killing-regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements.”
The U.S. economy was growing faster under Obama than it has under Trump. And what he calls “job killing-regulations” were actually protections for workers, healthcare, and the environment.

“Our agenda is relentlessly pro-worker.”
The Trump administration has presided over the most anti-worker policies in decades, including altering overtime rules, obstructing collective bargaining, and placing a higher percentage of tax burdens on working Americans, while cutting them for corporations and the wealthy.

“…lifting our citizens of every race, color, religion and creed very high.”
It was Trump who defended neo-Nazis and white nationalists as “very good people.”

“Seven million Americans have come off food stamps.”
What Trump means is not “come off” food stamps, but being thrown off.

“After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast.”
The only rise in wages is due to the increase in the minimum wage enacted by Democrats in the states and localities. Trump and the GOP have been ardent opponents of that.

“The United States has become the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas”
Actually, the U.S. achieved that milestone in 2012, under Obama.

“We are restoring our nation’s manufacturing might.”
Not exactly. The truth is that manufacturing in the U.S. is currently in recession.

“…replace the disastrous NAFTA trade deal.”
What Trump continues to conceal is that the USMCA is just NAFTA with a few minor changes.

“Our new [healthcare] plans are up to 60% less expensive, and better.”
The plans to which Trump is referring are covering very few people. And they are less expensive because they hardly cover anything at all.

“We will always protect patients with preexisting conditions.”
This is just a blatant lie. Trump ran on repealing the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), and the protections for people with preexisting conditions therein. He has joined a lawsuit that is aimed at declaring Obamacare unconstitutional. And neither he, nor the Republican Party, have an alternative, even after ten years of opposition.

“We have now completed over 100 miles.”
Not a single mile of new border wall has been built. And Mexico still isn’t paying for it.

“The cost of prescription drugs actually went down.”
This is another blatant falsehood. The cost of prescription drugs actually went up.

“…radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegal aliens.”
Wrong. Not a single politician is advocating sanctuary for criminals. Local authorities have jurisdiction over these matters, and they are protecting the rights of law abiding undocumented immigrants.

“My administration is also defending religious liberty…America has always been a Christian nation.”
Trump is not defending religious liberty unless you are Christian. In fact, he’s imposing religious barriers for non-Christians in schools and those who wish to emigrate. And the Founders explicitly declared that America is not a Christian nation, but one that “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

“I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Trump’s “groundbreaking plan” was contrived without even talking to Palestinians. Consequently, they have rejected it along with the Arab League. It is going nowhere.

“My administration is restoring the rule of law.”
This may be the most ludicrous and flaming dishonesty of the whole speech. Donald Trump has been impeached for breaching the Constitution. He committed extortion against a foreign ally in order to coerce him to help Trump steal an election. He engaged in witness tampering by threatening and firing career public servants and even military officers. He violates campaign finance and self-dealing laws on a daily basis. And he has obstructed justice by withholding subpoenaed documents and prohibiting the testimony of administration staff. This is not the conduct of someone who claims to be “restoring the rule of law.”

Nancy Pelosi did the right thing by ripping up Trump’s speech. It is a document that extols the division of the American people, while disseminating pure propaganda. It seeks to glorify Trump in the most trivial terms, emulating his fictional reality TV character. And the behavior of the Republicans in the chamber, who rose to applaud after every piffling lie, only cements their reputation for being fully indoctrinated members of the Cult of Trump.

Meanwhile, this is how all of Trump’s speeches should be done.
https://twitter.com/ChiVoltage66/status/1225049136392740866/

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

Trump Gloats Over Iowa Caucus Glitches While Covering Up Prior GOP Debacles

There is no point in trying to understate the unfortunate problems delaying results from the Democratic primary in Iowa. It’s the sort of thing that only reflects badly on the party, despite the cause and/or blame still being unknown. However, there are ways to overstate it. And Republicans are doing their best to demonstrate that with wild and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

Donald Trump, GOP

Chief among the mudslingers, of course, is the always hysterically hyperbolic master of harangue, Donald Trump. He eagerly embraced the botched returns as a welcome deflection from his impeachment affair. The morning after the Iowa caucuses, Trump took his usual post on the Twitter machine and blasted out missives intended to malign his Democratic rivals who had nothing to do with the glitches.

Trump’s attack began with a tweet calling the caucus “an unmitigated disaster” and declaring “a very big victory” for himself. He followed that up with a bizarre tweet asking “When will the Democrats start blaming RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA?” No Democrat has even hinted at that although, it is not unreasonable to assume that Russia would exploit this event after the fact to cast aspersions on Democrats on behalf of their “useful idiot” in the White House. Then Trump closed with this:

Naturally, Trump had to draw a comparison between himself and the object of his obsession, Barack Obama. And just as predictably, Trump misrepresented the truth. While he did garner more votes, his percentage trailed that of Obama (Obama 98.9% vs. Trump 97.1%). However, Trump’s boast that “The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not,” was very short-sighted.

In 2012 the Iowa Republican caucus had its own fiasco. Immediately after the results were tabulated the party declared Mitt Romney the victor. Two weeks later they announced that there was no clear winner. That was followed by another announcement that Rick Santorum had actually won. And even then they said that the real winner might never be known. It took them two weeks to arrive at that non-decision.

And that’s not all. Trump himself was suspicious of the results of the 2016 Iowa GOP caucus. In fact, he regarded it as so tainted by fraud the entire vote should be nullified:

Consequently, it’s ludicrous, hypocritical, and dishonest for Trump and the GOP to be feigning shock and outrage over the comparatively minor problems with this year’s Democratic caucus. At least there was no incorrect result announced, and no fraud alleged. And it will be resolved in less than 24 hours. But “ludicrous, hypocritical, and dishonest” could be the official tagline for the Trump presidency and for today’s Republican Party. So what, other than that, should we have expected?

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

Adam Schiff’s Closing Arguments on Trump’s Impeachment Dare the Senate to Be Decent

As the impeachment trial of Donald Trump enters into its final phase, the litigants on both sides are presenting their best arguments to persuade senators to vote for or against conviction. The President’s counsel are sticking to their complaints about the process and the partisanship of the Democrats. The Democrats, on the other hand, are pleading with members to act on the facts that many of them have publicly conceded have been proved.

Donald Trump, Adam Schiff

Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman and lead manager for the Democrats, delivered a powerful closing argument that is certain to have a place in history. He distills much of what has been revealed in testimony and documentation into a concise indictment of Trump and the justification for removing him from office. In short, Schiff warns that Trump “has betrayed our national security and he will do so again. He has compromised our elections and he will do so again. You will not change him. You cannot constrain him. He is who he is. Truth matters to you. Right matters to you. You are decent. He is not who you are.”

Well, that last bit may be debatable as Republican senators fall in line behind Trump despite conceding that what he did was wrong. Some – for example Joni Ernst and Lamar Alexander – even said they believe that Trump won’t repeat his crimes now that he’s been impeached. However, there is no evidence that Trump has ever been chastened by attempts to hold him accountable.

The six minute oratory (video below) is profoundly moving and worth listening to in its entirety. The passages quoted below are from the very beginning and the very end of Schiff’s remarks. They serve as elegant bookends to the information contained in between.

“History will not be kind to Donald Trump. I think we all know that. Not because it will be written by never-Trumpers, but because whenever we have separated from the values of our nation we have come to regret it. And that regret is written all over the pages of our history. If you find that the House has proved its case and still vote to acquit, your name will be tied to his with a cord of steel and for all of history. But if you find the courage to stand up to him, to speak the awful truth to his rank falsehood, your place will be among the Davids who took on Goliath. If only you will say ‘enough.'”

“I put my faith in the optimism of the founders. You should too. They gave us the tools to do the job. A remedy as powerful as the evil it was meant to constrain. They meant for it to be used rarely, but they put it in the Constitution for a reason. For a man who would sell out his country for a political favor. For a man who would threaten the integrity of our elections. For a man who would invite foreign interference in our affairs. For a man who would undermine our national security and that of our allies. For a man like Donald J. Trump. They gave you a remedy and they meant for you to use it. They gave you an oath and they meant for you to observe it. We have proved Donald Trump guilty. Now do impartial justice and convict him.”

Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate are going to vote against the Articles of Impeachment regardless of the facts. They are only interested in preserving their power and demonstrating loyalty to the Cult of Trump. But thanks to Schiff and others on the House Managers team, the historical record will outlast their cowardice, complicity, and deceit. And the consequences for their weakness may be dealt out as soon as this November.

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

Trump’s Jealousy of Bloomberg Kicks Off Hannity’s Super Bowl Suck-Up on Fox News

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and Fox News has decided to turn the traditional presidential interview into a Trump-fluffing pageant of propaganda. While Fox likes to pretend that it’s a credible news organization, they can’t help taking every opportunity to prove that that’s a lie. So rather than assign the interview of Donald Trump to one of their alleged “journalists” (Chris Wallace, Bret Baier), they hand it to the Pope of the Cult of Trump, Sean Hannity.

Donald Trump Sean Hannity

Hannity long ago abandoned any pretense of impartiality. He has appeared on stage with Trump at his rallies. He has turned his program into the media campaign headquarters for Trump’s reelection. And he has launched untold smear campaigns against anyone who dared to criticize Trump or tell the truth about him. Hannity’s show is a fountainhead of conspiracy theories and lies in the service of Dear Leader.

So as a teaser to the Super Bowl Sunday Trump interview on Fox News, Hannity released a brief clip to entice potential viewers. Generally the goal of these promos is to offer up something compelling that would make people anxious to tune in. And here is what Fox News and Hannity decided was just the sort of soundbite that would drag in a big audience. Hannity asked Trump what he thought of Mike Bloomberg. And Trump replied…

“I just think of ‘little.’ Now he wants a box for the debates to stand on. Okay, it’s okay, there’s nothing wrong. You could be short. Why should he get a box to stand on, OK? He wants a box for the debates. Why should he be entitled to that? Really? Does that mean everyone else gets a box?”

WOW! Now that’s powerful television. The president of the United States of America blasts one of his potential electoral rivals as being “short.” And that’s the only thing that Trump thinks of when asked about Bloomberg. Naturally, Trump doesn’t think about the fact that Bloomberg, unlike Trump, is an actual billionaire with an estimated net worth of $54 billion. And Trump isn’t thinking about Bloomberg’s promise to spend a billion of that to defeat Trump – even if he isn’t the Democratic nominee. The only thought that flitters around in his empty skull is how he can attach infantile nicknames to a man he is painfully jealous of. As for Bloomberg, he responded with a stinging tweet that refuted Trump’s box blather, for which there is no evidence whatsoever:

So if you’re keeping score:

Trump: Mini Mike is short.
Bloomberg: Trump is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.

Trump spent the night before this interview road-testing his childishness. He posted a tweet that whined “Mini Mike is part of the Fake News. They are all working together.” This reflects Trump’s crippling paranoia of an all-encompassing cabal that is determined to destroy him. Another tweet asserted that Bloomberg “is getting the DNC to rig the election against Crazy Bernie.” Here Trump manages to fire preadolescent taunts at two rivals at once. All the while pretending to care about the fairness of the Democratic primaries. And Trump’s final midnight tweet raged about the fake box controversy and the imaginary battle “to have the right to stand on boxes.”

If the clip above is what Fox News considers to be the most riveting segment from the Trump/Hannity drool-fest, it’s safe to say that there won’t be anything remotely newsworthy coming out of it. Well, other than further evidence that Hannity is a devoted StormTrumper and Fox News doesn’t give a damn about having any journalistic integrity. But we already knew that. So there really isn’t any reason at all to watch this puerile charade. And low ratings for his Super Bowl butt-kissing with his harlot Hannity would be like needles stabbed into his eyes. So feel free to change the channel, America. Or you could spend that eight minutes whipping another bowl of guacamole.

UPDATE: The interview was even worse than expected. Hannity was a flaming suck-up. And Trump led off with whining about impeachment. Then he just rattled off his petty hatred for Democrats:

  • Biden: He’s Sleepy Joe
  • Sanders: I think he’s a communist.
  • Warren: I call her Fairy Tale.
  • Clinton: I think of emails.
  • Pelosi: I think she’s a very confused, very nervous woman.

This is just further proof that Trump is a low functioning dotard who can’t form a coherent thought or substantive opinion on anything. He just blurts out lame slogans and talking points that might have been written by a temperamental child. And Hannity succeeded in producing a total waste of time, fumbling whatever opportunity he had to be relevant.

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

Trump’s Dementia Shifts to High Gear as Impeachment Trial Winds Down

On Friday afternoon the cowardly and compromised Republicans in the Senate voted to allow Donald Trump to become America’s first de facto emperor. They endowed him with blatantly unconstitutional powers that would permit him to openly violate laws, suppress dissent, and engage in overt acts of tyranny so long as he deems it in the public interest. That is not what the Founders and Framers intended.

Donald Trump

This congressional betrayal was justified by the flimsiest of arguments. The Senate GOP has taken the position that Trump’s crimes were merely “inappropriate,” as opposed to criminal, and therefore not subject to reprimand. Emboldened by these events, Trump has withdrawn into his Mar-A-Lago bunker to wallow in this ascension to monarchism and virtually unchallangeable reign. In the morning hours of Saturday he celebrated with tweets that exalted himself as “America’s Greatest President” who is putting on “The Greatest Show On Earth.”

Setting aside Trump’s slobbering, narcissistic adoration of himself, everything else in those tweets was either grossly misrepresented or utterly false. Lou Dobbs of the Fox News business channel is one of the Fox family’s most ardent Trump-fluffers. But his show is hardly a national success. It has no business programming competition because CNBC is airing reruns of shows like Shark Tank at the same time. And Dobbs’ audience is about a quarter of the size of his time period competition on MSNBC. As for Dobbs covering Trump “fairly & objectively,” that’s so hysterically ludicrous it hardly warrants a response.

Trump’s claim that his “poll numbers are the highest since election,” is a pitiful statistic to brag about. His approval rating is sitting on an abysmal 44 percent, and has never hit 50 at any time during his presidency. That’s an achievement no other president can claim. Even the Fox News poll shows Trump is broadly unpopular. His disapproval, however, remains well above a majority of the American people, as it has for the last three years. There is even a majority favoring his impeachment and removal from office.

Trump’s ego is now reliant on being fed by his evermore frequent cult rallies. He believes that the glassy-eyed disciples who show up for the free, Trump-vangelical, revival meetings represent the mainstream of America. But what’s even more indicative of his mental infirmity is that he thinks he puts on a “great” show. That’s only true if you really like the tedious repetition of moldy lies and fetid talking points.

Trump also posted a picture of himself “exercising” on the golf course. That’s his way of pretending that he isn’t bothered by having been impeached, which regardless of how the Senate votes next week, will permanently stain his legacy that is already bursting with failures and embarrassments. For instance, he is conspicuously ignoring the news that 2019 was a dismal year for the U.S. economy. It achieved a paltry 2.3% growth rate. 2018 and 2017 weren’t any better (2.9% and 2.4% respectively). And that’s after Trump had promised that his tax scam and other economic policies would produce growth of up to six percent:

TRUMP (Dec 16, 2017): The economy now is at 3%. Nobody thought it would be anywhere close. I think it could go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6%, ultimately.

Trump also ignored the 600+ point drop on the Dow Jones on Friday. That brings the decline of the last two weeks to 1,100 points. Trump is always quick to tweet about stock market gains, but then clams up when it goes the other way. That’s how his psychotic obsession with exalting himself as all-knowing and infallible drives his obsessive behavior. But as time wears on him, his mental state is showing signs of deterioration. And that is evident in his public appearances more than anywhere else. As seen here:

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