Month: September 2020

Crybaby Trump Whines that Fox News Polls are Fake News

Posted by on September 3, 2020 at 3:12 pm. 3 Comments :

There is nothing more predictable than Donald Trump wailing like a colicky infant whenever he is criticized. His massive, yet fragile, ego simply can’t take the slightest bit of pushback, constructive or otherwise. So he throws petulant tantrums in the hopes that his critics will regret their offense and commit to unflinching adoration.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Fake

That’s a pretty accurate description of his relationship with Fox News. It’s a network that was built to disseminate right-wing propaganda. And in the Era of Trump it has transformed into the Ministry of Disinformation for the cult that he leads. It employs devoted Trump worshipers like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, etc., who are also his the staff advisors of his shadow cabinet. And it is practically the only network that he will grant interviews to.

But apparently that it isn’t enough. When there is a rare critical commentary by a host or a guest, Trump lashes out mercilessly as if he’s been betrayed by a close confidant. That happens every time that Fox publishes a poll that isn’t as enamored with him as he is himself. Take for instance this Thursday morning…

First of all, Fox News polls were in the middle of that pack with regard to accuracy in 2016. Trump still refuses to accept that the national polling was largely correct, but did not reflect state-by-state returns that produced the Electoral College result. Secondly, Trump can “believe” that he’s “leading BIG” all he wants, but it doesn’t make it true. He is, in fact, getting crushed by Joe Biden nationally, as well as in the crucial swing states. And thirdly, his attempt to connect the Fox News poll with the stock market is just too preposterous to even respond to.

For the record, Trump has taken this stance before. Last year Trump cried about how Fox News polls “have always been terrible to me.” But in reality they have just as often been positive. And when they were, Trump noticed and celebrated their findings, as News Corpse observed at the time:

“What is abundantly clear is that Trump has been more than pleased with the results of Fox News polls in the past. But when one is less than adoring he flips out and insists that they have always had it in for him. That’s a sign of a severe mental infirmity consistent with narcissism, paranoia, and sociopathic disengagement from reality.”

Trump is a well documented malignant narcissist whose psychotic self-absorption twists his perception of reality. He can only accept flattering appraisals and glassy-eyed adulation from the media and even his personal relationships. Anything else is met with abject scorn and unqualified rejection. It’s a sickness that is putting this nation at risk. And if it isn’t brought to an end this November, the damage may be irreversible for decades.

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

Throwback Trump: If You Told a Republican to Vote Twice They’d Get Sick at the Thought of It

Posted by on September 3, 2020 at 1:10 pm. 4 Comments :

On Wednesday Donald Trump’s desperation and fear drove him to suborn felony voter fraud by telling his cult followers to vote twice this November. That would not only be a crime for anyone who tried it, it’s also a crime for Trump to make the solicitation. An honest Justice Department would indict him immediately, but the Justice Department of the Trump administration is nobody’s idea of honest.

Donald Trump Red Face

Not surprisingly, Trump has had fluid opinions on this subject that change whenever he perceives the opposite opinion to be more to his benefit. Or maybe he’s just to cognitively challenged to recall his own views from one moment to the next. He doubled down on these felonious solicitations Thursday morning on Twitter. But last May he was interviewed by Senior Fox News Trump-Fluffer Maria Bartiromo and he told her that…

“The level of dishonesty with Democrat voting is unbelievable. If you told a Republican to vote twice, they’d get sick at even the thought of it. And you have people that vote numerous times. What’s happening is crazy. So now they want to send out vote-by-mail. Who knows who’s signing this stuff?”

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1301540686521667585

If what Trump said then was true, there are a lot of sick Republicans running around the country right now. Well … more than usual. And that isn’t even counting those with the coronavirus (which Trump thinks you can get from voting).

Due to the complicity of Trump’s traitorous Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, and the Senate GOP, Trump appears to be getting away with his crimes again – for now. But the record is clear and will be preserved for the next attorney general to investigate and prosecute. As is often the case, Trump documents his criminality on national television. “Let them send it in and let them go vote,” Trump said to the press. “And if their system’s as good as they say it is, then obviously they won’t be able to vote. If it isn’t tabulated, they’ll be able to vote.”

Trump’s babbling about how mail-in votes would be tabulated before in-person voting is pure nonsense. In some states that process doesn’t even begin until after the polls close. Anyone who takes Trump’s advice will be in a heap of trouble. This isn’t a gray area. Both state and federal statutes unambiguously state that even attempting to vote twice is against the law. And every reputable law enforcement official will affirm that. For instance…

Karen Brinson Bell, Executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections: It is illegal to vote twice in an election … Attempting to vote twice in an election or soliciting someone to do so also is a violation of North Carolina law.

Michigan Attorney General Nessel: Don’t try this at home. I will prosecute you […] Let me be perfectly clear: voting twice is illegal, no matter who tells you do to it. The president’s idea is a great one for people looking to go to jail.

Ellen L Weintraub, Federal Elections Commissioner: It is illegal in all 50 states and under federal law to vote twice. As any federal officeholder or law enforcement official should know.

Well, any federal officeholder or law enforcement official other than Barr. In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Barr staggered around awkwardly as he tried to avoid contradicting his boss. He trotted out diversions about the point he thought Trump was trying to make, and absurd claims about not knowing state laws. Eventually, Blitzer had to educate him:

Trump was right about one thing. This is “crazy.” It’s so crazy, in fact, that it should trigger an indictment and his immediate removal from office. Or at least the 25th Amendment and a straitjacket. Unfortunately, Trump’s GOP confederates are as crazy as he is and wouldn’t hear of it. So we’ll just have to wait until November (actually January 20) to rid the White House of this madness. If we survive that long.

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

Trump Is Toast: Post-Convention Polls Show Biden’s Lead Growing

Posted by on September 2, 2020 at 12:24 pm. 1 Comments :

With both party’s nominating conventions over, the 2020 presidential campaign begins in earnest. There has been much speculation about how these unprecedented, pandemic-challenged conventions would impact the race. For most of the election season to date, Joe Biden has maintained a steady lead nationally, as well as in the crucial swing states. And now we have some early indication as to what effect the conventions will have on that.

Donald Trump Circling the Drain

There have been several polls released since the conventions concluded. Every one of them show that Biden still holds the lead by significant margins. However, it’s important to note that most of them show Biden’s lead actually growing. As reported by RealClearPolitics, four polls have Biden increasing his lead, two show the lead narrowing, and one remains unchanged:

Polls Date Biden Trump Spread Prior Spread
RCP Average 8/21 – 9/1 49.4 42.3 Biden +7.1
YouGov 8/30 – 9/1 51 40 Biden +11 Biden +9
IBD/TIPP 8/29 – 9/1 49 41 Biden +8 Biden +7
Emerson 8/30 – 8/31 49 47 Biden +2 Biden +4
USA   Today 8/28 – 8/31 50 43 Biden +7 Biden +12
Rasmussen 8/26 – 9/1 49 45 Biden +4 Biden +2
Selzer 8/26 – 8/30 49 41 Biden +8 Biden +4
The   Hill 8/25 – 8/28 47 38 Biden +9 Biden +9

This is bad news for Donald Trump who certainly hoped his “American Carnage 2.0” RNC speech would have helped him crawl out of his slump. It surely didn’t help that he lost in the ratings war with the Democratic convention drawing more viewers overall, and Biden drawing more viewers specifically. it also doesn’t help that Trump is incapable of articulating a second term agenda. And on top of that, Biden just pulled in some record breaking fund raising.

As a result, Trump has had to embrace a dystopian theme of fear and loathing, while seeking to encourage violence among his cult followers, which he cynically believes will benefit his campaign. And he will use anything to deflect from his failure to manage the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession, both of which are the result of his negligence and incompetence.

The most prominent lines of attack that Trump has hurled at Biden have been insinuations about his mental faculties. That has never been true (except for Trump himself), but it hasn’t stopped Trump from incessantly repeating his infantile nicknames and insults. And now that Biden has easily outperformed the low bar that Trump set for him, Trump’s entire campaign strategy is out the window. All he has left is to chase after the racist, white nationalists that have been his most loyal base of support.

None of this, however, will dampen Trump’s resolve to lie and cheat his way victory. He will continue to malign Biden as being stuck in his basement (which is false), or being unwilling to hold press conferences (which he did today). Ironically, it’s Trump who is stuck in a media bunker wherein he only allows Fox News bootlickers to interview him. But whats really sad is that he fouls those up, even as Trump-fluffers like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends struggle to throw him lifelines.

Nevertheless, Democrats must remain determined to see this through until November 3, without any let up or over confidence. We must run like we’re behind 10 points behind. And we must not let Trump get away with any of his deceitful messaging and hate mongering. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and every day counts.

Trump and the GOP have not yet exhausted their capacity for dishonesty and criminality. They are unlawfully exploiting federal agencies from intelligence to the census to the Postal Service and more, in order to achieve their nefarious ends. And they still have Russia on their team. So stay vigilant. Stay strong. And stay committed to winning for America.

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

Big Baby Trump Says AOC has ‘the Mind of a Child’

Posted by on September 1, 2020 at 4:20 pm. NO Comments :

In another demonstration of pure projection, Donald Trump is maligning Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a manner consistent with his well documented misogyny. His notorious disrespect for strong women who have the audacity to challenge him has been aimed at political opponents, journalists, and those who have been unfortunate enough to crossed paths with him in their personal lives.

Donald Trump

On Monday Trump was “interviewed” by Laura Ingraham on Fox News. It was another embarrassing tongue bath by a devoted sycophant whose job is to promote Trump’s propaganda and disinformation. In the course of the program Trump began to dispense his routine lies about Joe Biden’s tax proposals. However, Trump’s mental infirmities prevent him from engaging in a coherent discussion or staying on any topic for more than ten seconds. So we end up with this bizarre blowup (video below):

“[Biden’s] going to do $4 trillion in tax increases. He’s going to do things that are going to cost so much on the Green New Deal, which is — which is done by a child, OK? That’s the mind of a child. Because the Green New Deal is ridiculous. It doesn’t work. They’re going to do things under the Green — you know, the Green New Deal, if you actually did it, is $100 trillion. That’s more money than this country could make in a thousand years.”

First of all, Biden has no plan to raise $4 trillion in taxes, He has said that he will reverse Trump’s tax scam, which was a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy, and drastically inflated the national debt. But that is not a $4 trillion dollar plan and it is only going to raise taxes for those making more than $400,000 a year.

More to the point, Trump’s remarks about Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, one of the key congressional proponents of the Green New Deal, are blatantly insulting and reflect his hatred for women. And it isn’t the first time he insulted Ocasio-Cortez’ maturity. Last month he said that her Green New Deal proposal was “written by a foolish child.” However, the woman he says has “the mind of a child” (and whom he previously said is “dumb as a rock“) is an elected representative from the state New York. She also graduated cum laude from Boston University with degrees in international relations and economics. And, unlike Trump, she didn’t have to get someone to take her SATs for her to get into college.

Ocasio-Cortez has both the academic background and professional experience to advocate for the Green New Deal and other initiatives to address the climate crisis. Trump, on the other hand, has no idea what he’s talking about and believes that climate change is a hoax. His assertion that it would cost $100 trillion dollars was pulled straight out of his astonishing supply of ignorance. The same is true for his claim that the United States couldn’t make that much money in a thousand years.

Fact Check: Trump didn’t specify what he meant by how much the country could make. So here are a couple of likely scenarios: The gross domestic product of the United states is about $20 trillion dollars, so by that measure it would only take five years. Annual federal tax revenue is about $3 trillion, so by that measure it would only take 33 years. In either case, it wouldn’t take a thousand years no matter how you figure it.

The bottom line is that Trump is the one acting like a child. He has these ludicrous outbursts that are completely removed from reality. He is focused intently and solely on his egomaniacal needs. He attacks critics in the most infantile manner imaginable. He throws tantrums if he doesn’t get his way. And his capacity to understand complex ideas is stuck at about a second grade level, if that. To say that he has the mind of a child would an an insult to children.

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