Messiah Complex? Fox News on Why Trump Got COVID-19: ‘He’s Doing It For Us’

The cult worship of Donald Trump by his ardent and dimwitted disciples has long been a troubling indicator of the iron grip he has on America’s Most Wretched. However, that confederacy of dunces has nothing on the Trump-fluffing propagandists at Fox News, whose devotion to Dear Leader is unwavering and resolute. There is literally nothing that Trump can do or say that won’t trigger unbridled reverence from the Fox hole.

Donald Trump Messiah

Evidence of this glassy-eyed adoration can be seen in Friday’s episode of The Five on Fox News. During a segment on Trump having tested positive for the coronavirus, co-host Greg Gutfeld sought to explain how this was a selfless act of sacrifice by an unparalleled humanitarian whose only interest was the welfare of others. But his commentary devolved into a sermon that characterized Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis as akin to the crucifixion of Christ (video below):

“He didn’t hide from the virus. And the reason why he didn’t hide from the virus is he didn’t want America to hide from the virus. If he was going to ask America to get back to work, right? To get back to work and experience a risk, he was going to do the same thing.” […]

“He had to walk that walk. He had to do that. He could have scared the crap out of everybody but he refused, and it goes back to his original point about trying to make sure the positive attitude is maintained along with a sense of concern. So he took the risk, he got the virus, but it’s because he was — he was doing it for us.”

And there you have it. Trump was willing to die for our sins, so that we may have eternal life. Gutfeld doesn’t accept the more logical explanation that Trump was just reckless about rejecting the safety and health guidelines of his own medical experts. Gutfeld doesn’t fault Trump for refusing to wear face masks or engage in social distancing. In the world of Fox News not only did Trump do nothing wrong, he went beyond any reasonable expectations of charity and courage to offer himself as atonement for the sins of us peasants.

In the real world, Trump’s negligent behavior is responsible for the deaths of more than 208,000 Americans, not mention a total of some seven million cases, many of which will result in permanent disabilities. Gutfeld and his Fox News comrades fail to make that obvious connection. In fact, some of his colleagues are making similarly abhorrent remarks that lavish praise on Trump or defend him from criticism. For instance:

Laura Ingraham gushed, “So while you’re recovering, Mr. President, don’t worry. We’ll take up the slack because you fought for us.” That’s true so long as what Ingraham means is that Trump “fought for us” and our families to get sick and die. He certainly never fought to preserve life or control the pandemic.

Tucker Carlson managed to construct one of the most offensive similes ever by associating criticism of Trump with sexual assault. Carlson falsely asserted that lefty Trump critics were saying essentially that Trump “asked for it. He was dressed provocatively.” So according to Carlson, observing correctly that rejecting masks makes it more likely that the virus would spread, is the same thing as justifying rape because the of the victim’s attire.

WTF is wrong with these cretins? They are not only taking sides against science and the practices that could actually mitigate the suffering and loss caused by a deadly pandemic, but instead they are celebrating the callous and dangerous agenda that Trump has pursued and that has produced nothing but misery. And they are doing all of that in the most nauseating way imaginable. Which for Fox News – and Trump – is really just business as usual.

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

Fox News is Already Speculating About Super Trump Beating COVID-19

The news that Donald Trump and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19 came as a surprise Thursday night, but not because it could not have been predicted. Trump’s disregard for practicing the most rudimentary safety guidelines stipulated by his own health experts (Dr. Fauci, CDC, Surgeon General, etc.) provided a reliable foreshadowing of what has now occurred.

Donald Trump, Coronavirus

The nation sends its thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. Never mind that Trump didn’t share that concern for the more than 200,000 Americans who have already died (and seven million plus infected). This is a nation with compassion that exceeds the callousness of its current “leader.” It’s just so sad that so many had to suffer because of Trump’s negligence and vanity to refuse to promote the sort of behavior (social distancing, mask wearing, etc.) that would have saved tens of thousands of lives. Even now, his administration has still not adopted a consistent, coherent strategy for the safe reopening of businesses and schools.

Throughout the past eight months, Fox News has been Trump’s accomplice in misinforming the public about the very real risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. And that role hasn’t changed now that the President is among its victims. On Friday morning the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends engaged in their typical banter, exalting Trump and maligning his critics. And in the course of their daily propaganda production, co-host Brian Kilmeade had this to say:

“Let me take it to another level. People think – and there’s a lot of people out there who say that ‘If I get it I die.’ Seven million people have it, it’s terrible. Now what if the most famous person in the world gets it and in ten days it’s back out? Doesn’t that also send a message that you could say whatever you want in stats and graphs but I give you an example of somebody who’s in that danger age of 74 who is out there, gets it, and beats it? Could that also send a message?”

Fox Business host Stuart Varney initially suggested that people might become more cautious about following safety guidelines and be more resistant to the opening of bars, restaurants, etc. But he quickly shifted course and agreed with Kilmeade that a rapid recovery by Trump would “mitigate concern about the virus.” And they clearly regarded such a relaxation of concern as a good thing.

There is so much wrong with that attitude. First of all, people need to be concerned about a virus that has killed 200,000 Americans and counting. Any “mitigation” of concern is a sure path to more deaths. Secondly, if Trump recovers quickly, that tells us nothing about how the virus would affect anyone else. How many Americans have teams of physicians and first-class hospital facilities catering to their exclusive needs 24/7?

What Kilmeade is suggesting is that the “message” of a rapid recovery by Trump is that it affirms the belief among his cult disciples that Trump is omnipotent; a Superman in the White House who can rescue us from any and all threats. It’s a dangerously tunnel-blind faith in the false divinity of someone who has more in common with a sociopath than a savior.

For several weeks Trump has tried to distract the nation from the tragic consequences of the pandemic that he so badly mismanaged. He’s tried to shift the public discourse to civil unrest, the Supreme Court, phony assertions of election fraud, and whatever other manufactured controversy he recently saw on Fox News. But now the coronavirus is back at the top of the news cycle, and likely will remain there for the remainder of the campaign. And if there is anything positive to take away from this, it’s that it may result in people becoming more committed to safer behavior. And that alone could save thousands of lives.

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

Trump Says He ‘Won the Debate Big’ – According to Imaginary Polls

In these increasingly divisive days of the dwindling Era of Trump, there are rarely matters that achieve anything approaching a consensus. However, the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has managed to produce a fair amount of agreement that Trump’s behavior was disruptive, petulant, asinine, and harmful to both his candidacy and the nation’s pride.

Donald Trump

Despite the overwhelmingly negative response to Trump’s incessant and insolent interruptions, Trump himself is pleased with his performance and is celebrating the aftermath of the muddy mess he made Tuesday night. That’s to be expected of a malignant narcissist who is incapable of forming any connection to reality. Consequently, on Thursday morning Trump tweeted this…

Notice that Trump didn’t bother to cite even a single poll that reported his allegedly big win. But there’s a good reason for that. There aren’t any. He is thanking an imaginary compilation of polls that exist exclusively in his diseased brain. These pseudo-surveys are in stark contrast to the actual polls released since the debate that all show Joe Biden crushing Trump by substantial margins ranging from seven to 32 points. Here are five of those polls:

  • 538/Ipsos: “Biden got higher marks (59.7-32.9%) for his performance.”
  • CNN/SSRS: “Six in 10 debate watchers said former Vice President Joe Biden did the best job in Tuesday’s debate, and just 28% say President Donald Trump did.”
  • CBS/YouGov: “Forty-eight percent said Biden won, while 41% thought Mr. Trump was the winner.”
  • Politico/Morning Consult: “The survey, conducted the day after the candidates’ clash in Cleveland, found that 50 percent of debate watchers surveyed said Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, performed the best during the debate. Just 34 percent said the same about the Republican incumbent”
  • Vox/Data for Progress: “A new poll by Data for Progress provided exclusively to Vox shows that viewers thought Democratic nominee Joe Biden decisively won Tuesday’s first presidential debate against President Donald Trump, by a 52-39 margin.”
  • CNBC/Change Research: “A CNBC/Change Research poll conducted Tuesday night and Wednesday found 53% of likely voters nationwide said Biden did a better job in the debate, compared with 29% for Trump.”

So where did Trump get his fantasy polling results? From Fox News, of course. Sean Hannity giddily reported the “instant polls” that some media conduct by simply asking the opinions of whoever happens to be reading their tweets at the moment. “I’m sure the mainstream media will have corrupt polls,” Hannity cackled, “as they always do, but those [CSPAN and Telemundo] are the two flash polls that we have already.” And Trump’s Minister of Propaganda (aka press secretary), Kayleigh McEnany, tweeted much the same thing:

None of these numbers that the Trump toadies are touting are rooted in statistical reality. They have no scientific basis and represent nothing more than the ditzy clicking of amped up Internet Trolls for Trump. But it is all that Trump can cling to given the stinging truth that he is profoundly unpopular and widely despised. Which is what the real polls show conclusively.

With specific regard to the debate, Trump’s abysmal personality was so glaringly on display that there can be no escape from the well-deserved deluge of disgust he’s receiving. After acting out like a psychotic toddler, refusing to denounce white supremacy, lying every time he opened his mouth, and reaffirming his loathsome reputation for belligerent incoherence, Trump is lucky he wasn’t carted off to the psyche ward. Which, according to another recent poll, is something that a majority of the American people would deem appropriate.

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