It must be Halloween, because Donald Trump is getting even uglier. But sadly, it’s not a costume. The reprehensible and boorish behavior of our beastly President has been problematic since his nightmarish inauguration. He has persisted in governing like the dictators that he fawns over, and continues to dispense a flagrantly racist and hateful message to his frighteningly ignorant and glassy-eyed cult followers. Now, as his presidency sinks further into an abyss of historically low approval, he is acting like the wounded beast that becomes even more irrational, violent and dangerous.

Last week was a painful microcosm of what the Era of Trump has brought to the United States. But neither the attempted mail bombings, nor the murder of Jewish worshipers, was enough to prod Trump from his throne of arrogant insensitivity and all-consuming narcissism. He refuses to take any responsibility for the horror that he is unarguably contributing to via his racist rhetoric and embrace of a doctrine of pure bigotry and hatred.

Rather, Trump is projecting the blame onto his favorite target for contemptuous vilification: the media. He incoherently argues that the press is responsible for the decline in civility merely because they report what he actually says and does. And his hostility toward the media is escalating in concert with his rejection by decent Americans. As the nation worries about mail bombs, and mourns the senseless loss of life, Trump is making matters worse by hate-tweeting the press. It bagan Sunday night and continues into Monday:

The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly. That will do much to put out the flame…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

….of Anger and Outrage and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace and Harmony. Fake News Must End!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

This is a series of unhinged outbursts that is unsupported by any factual data – or reality. It is just Trump throwing a deranged tantrum because he has no other outlet for his irrational anger and fear. I makes no sense whatsoever to assert that the media is responsible for the the sort of hatred that was expressed by last week’s acts of domestic terrorism. Surely the media hasn’t been directing any violent rhetoric at the victims of those assaults. That is all Trump. The media is only guilty of reporting his blatantly bigoted frenzies as they occur.

Worst of all in this tirade of venomous animosity toward the press is Trump’s demand that the “Fake News Must End!” Let’s be clear about this. He is literally calling for an end to the free press. Like all wannabe dictators, Trump doesn’t want to be bothered with journalists telling the people about the malicious and criminal activities he is up to. So he either wants the press silenced or delegitimized, at least in the eyes of his most rabid disciples. And we know that when he says the “Fake News Must End,” he is referring to most of the media because he told us so. Just a couple of months ago he attempted to make a distinction between the media and the “fake” media. But he qualified it by saying that “It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!”

So he wasn’t talking about a few bad apples. He explicitly said that what he calls the “fake” media is the largest percentage of the press corps. And if he now insists that the “fake” media must end, he is, therefore, calling for an end to the largest percentage of the media. Presumably that means he would be cool with just keeping Fox News around to continue in their role as State TV. And that would be a frightening prospect for America – and the world – as Trump tries to rule in the mold of Joseph Stalin, from whom he stole the “enemy of the people” line about the media.

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

The circle of fascist aspiration is rapidly closing. But next week Americans will have an opportunity to throw a wrench into the works. However, the only way to effectively put obstacles in the way of Trump’s neo-Nazi trainwreck is to show up at the polls with five or six of your friends and family. Don’t let this chance to save the country slip away by being complacent or pessimistic. This is for real. Vote as if your life depends on it. Vote early if you can. But VOTE!