Fox News

Desperately Dumb Trump Embraces ‘Fake News’ CNN Poll

Posted by on August 17, 2020 at 2:00 pm. 1 Comments :

On the first day of the Democratic National Convention, Donald Trump has embarked on his “Narcissistic DNC Disruption Tour“ in order to satisfy his relentless compulsion to always be the center of attention. Unfortunately for Trump, the more attention he gets, the more people are disgusted by him and his infantile, dishonest, and hostile antics.

Donald Trump

Trump began his Monday morning with an embarrassingly bad interpretation of a new poll by CNN/SRSS. The survey found that Joe Biden continues to lead nationally by a 50-46% majority. Taking comfort in what appears to be a narrower margin of Biden’s lead, Trump giddily hammered out a tweet saying…

As with nearly everything that Trump says, this is a starkly shallow analysis that ignores reality on multiple levels. First of all, Trump begins by asserting that there is something wrong with a poll that he regards as favorable to him. There’s probably a name for that sort of psychosis, but I’ll leave that to the mental health professionals.

Secondly, Trump is encouraged that the poll seems to be “increasing me by 10 points in a short period of time.” What he doesn’t seem to know is that this CNN poll has been all over the map in the past few months. The previous poll had Biden ahead by 14 points. Before that it was 5 points. And before that it was 11 points. For some reason CNN’s numbers are bouncing around without any evident reason. As for Trump’s claim that the alleged increase took place in a short period of, that’s only true if you think two months qualifies as short.

Finally, Trump takes a swipe at his own Ministry of Propaganda (aka Fox News). But it’s hard to figure out what he’s whining about. It appears he’s saying that CNN wants to “take over” from Fox as the network most biased in his favor? But then why does he characterize that as being wrong? And which network does he believe is “fake” news now? Does he even know what he’s talking about anymore? There is clearly a problem if he’s praising CNN and bashing Fox (although he has been bashing Fox with some frequency lately).

For the record, Trump’s polling is dreadful. He has good reason to be frightened. After all, he is losing to someone that he says is a mentally deficient socialist. What does that say about him? Of the 122 polls tracked this year by RealClearPolitics, Trump has led in a grand total of one. That was way back in February. The average Biden lead for the whole year of polling is 7 points. Biden’s average lead for the past week shows an acceleration of support to 8.3 points.

No wonder Trump is frantically trying to suppress the vote and subvert democracy. He knows his prospects for reelection are slim to none. What’s more, he knows the legal jeopardy he is likely to face when he returns to civilian life. Consequently, he’s spending most of his time preparing to contest the election results and diminish confidence in democracy overall. It’s a path that is not only unpatriotic, it’s dangerous. And it’s up to the American people to make sure he doesn’t get away with it.

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

According to Trump, He’s Losing Bigly to a Mentally Deficient Socialist

Posted by on August 15, 2020 at 1:29 pm. 5 Comments :

Desperate politicians have been known to make monumental mistakes. And in the case of Donald Trump, numerous mistakes and even purposeful malfeasance. This often occurs when they observe their campaign circling the drain and everything they try to reverse the trend fails miserably. They end up in a downward spiral that only accelerates their descent into madness. It’s ultimately a self-destructive, but unyielding compulsion.

Donald Trump Circling the Drain

As Trump’s fortunes continue to disintegrate, he resorts to the most infantile and hostile components of his character, or lack thereof. He lashes out with insults, flagrant lies, and attempts to tarnish the reputations of his perceived enemies. He knows he can’t rehabilitate his abhorrent public image, so he tries to bring his opponents down to his level. That’s a long walk.

What we are seeing from the Trump campaign these days is the manifestation of that strategy. He is devoting virtually all of his campaign rhetoric to maligning Joe Biden as “sleepy,” “corrupt,” and/or “a far-left radical socialist” who will “destroy America.” But how Biden can be both mentally deficient and an evil genius has not been explained.

There is, however, an unintended consequence of this tantrum throwing tactic. If Trump defines Biden as a wild-eyed leftist radical, as well as suffering from cognitive decline, Trump is admitting something devastating about himself. After all, he is losing to Biden in most national polls by double digits. He is also losing in almost every crucial swing state. And it isn’t just the popular vote where Biden has a commanding lead. Electoral College estimates are currently predicting a landslide victory for Biden.

So Trump’s fantastical fictions about Biden’s ideology and psychological state have the effect of humiliating himself for not being able to prevail over such an allegedly pathetic opponent. If Trump can’t beat a commie with dementia, he might as well drop out of the race. He’s already been reduced to a previously unthinkable act: praising Hillary Clinton:

If the biggest difference between 2016 and 2020 is how much “smarter and sharper” Clinton was, then why is Trump still getting crushed by Biden? What’s more, while the enthusiasm for Trump among his cult disciples is pretty good, he isn’t counting the the enthusiastic opposition to him that is powering Biden’s campaign. And the numbers aren’t in yet for the boost Biden will get from selecting Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Finally, Trump takes another swipe at Fox News, something he has been doing with frequency lately, despite simultaneously running to Fox for cover every few days. But he does have a point. Even some reliable Trump-fluffers on his State TV network are noticing his weaknesses. Fox’s political editor, Chris Stirewalt just published an op-ed that made the case that “Trump is starting to sound desperate.” Starting to?

Trump himself is falling off the far side of the sanity fence, and the American people can see it. He is embracing the QAnan conspiracy. He’s plotting to heckle the democrats during their convention next week. And his defiling of democracy – and the Constitution – by sabotaging the Postal Service is Trump’s most brazen step toward tyranny to date.

Yet this brand of perverse politicking can only prove to be futile. The American people don’t support such anti-patriotic, power hungry, viciousness. And they certainly won’t get behind a loser who can’t compete with someone he claims is worse than Stalin with Alzheimer’s. Not only is the accusation preposterous, it highlights how impotent Trump is going into the final days of the campaign.

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

Trump’s Egomaniacal Plot to Upstage the Democratic Convention

Posted by on August 13, 2020 at 1:20 pm. 9 Comments :

There is nothing that irritates Donald Trump more than when he is not the center of attention. His malignant narcissism kicks in bigly if something in the news cycle is deemed more important than his promulgation of lies, undeserved boasts, infantile insults, or relentless hostility and petulant whining. After all, this is the man-baby who once bragged that he is “the most fabulous whiner.”

Donald Trump, Subway

The Democratic National Convention will begin on Monday, August 17, and run until Thursday August 20. This is the quadrennial event where the Party’s nominee is officially designated and the campaign’s themes are rolled out as the election season gears up for the last lap to Election Day. Ordinarily, both parties suspend their political activities during their opponents’ convention. It’s a courtesy that allows each to present their best case to the American people without belligerent interruptions.

Of course, nothing about the Dystopian Era of Trump is ordinary. And his arrogance and vanity won’t allow him to shut his mouth for a few days to honor the respectful traditions of a functional democracy. Trump is succumbing to his unique brand of snotty conceit with the announcement that he intends to spend his time during the Democratic convention heckling them and otherwise making an ass of himself. USA Today reports that…

“President Donald Trump will hit the road next week while Democrats rally around Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention. […] A week-long series of events will include a visit to the city where Biden was born — Scranton, Pennsylvania — on Thursday, Aug. 20, the same day the former vice president is scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech.”

Trump has a long history of trying to manipulate the media to upstage Democrats or grab attention for himself from whatever else the press deems newsworthy. He has been doing this at least as far back as the Republican presidential primaries in 2016, Trump bowed out of a Fox News debate because he was afraid to face moderator Megyn Kelly. Then he scheduled his own media event at the same time, pretending it was a benefit for veterans. However, he later lied about and failed to disburse the funds he raised until after he was caught by the press.

More recently, Trump tried to upstage the first joint appearance of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris by scheduling another of his pointless coronavirus briefings (which the media should not be covering at all). And today Trump attempted to grab the spotlight again by announcing a phony “peace” agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Trump even employs this tactic by saying something outrageous and despicable to deflect the outrageous and despicable thing he said the day before.

If Trump goes through with this cynical and self-serving charade during the Democratic convention, Democrats need to reciprocate during Trump’s Republican convention the following week. They should schedule newsmaking affairs during Trump’s most engaging events. Which should be easy to counter-program considering that the GOP’s speakers are likely to be less than compelling. They haven’t released a list yet, but in 2016 they featured such luminaries as Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson, has-been Scott Baio, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz.

If Democrats place Barack Obama’s first public appearance with the Biden/Harris ticket during Trump’s acceptance speech on the 27th, how many people do you think will be watching Trump? We already know what he’s going to say: Democrats are radical leftists who want open borders, crime in the streets, gun confiscation, and Satan worship.

Plus, Democrats will give healthcare to all citizens, pursue racial justice, seek income equality through fair taxation and corporate responsibility, and reverse the perils of climate change. Oh wait, those are all things that the American people favor overwhelmingly. Along with restoring America’s reputation internationally, and taking steps to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

So bring it on, Don. The American people already despise you. Trump has never reached 50% in approval polling, a feat that no other president can claim. He is currently losing to Biden in every national poll, as well as in most polls of the crucial swing states. His desperate antics are not likely to rescue his floundering campaign now. All he has left is cheating and Russia. But those are indeed serious threats and Democrats need to be vigilant and determined to overcome them. While things are looking pretty good for Biden and the Democrats, this is not the time to stand down.

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

Scaredy Trump Flees to Fox News After Biden Chooses Kamala Harris

Posted by on August 12, 2020 at 1:25 pm. 3 Comments :

On Tuesday Joe Biden announced the selection of Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate. The choice was universally acclaimed by all those not affiliated with the Trump Cult or Fox News. For his part, Donald Trump – the KKK’s favorite president – slandered Biden as a racist for choosing a Black woman to join his ticket. And he’s trying on “phony” as his latest infantile nickname for Harris.

Donald Trump, Fox News

The stench of fear and desperation coming from the Trump camp is unmistakable. He is getting crushed by Biden in every national poll, as well as all of the crucial swing states. He has no substantive criticism of either Biden or Harris, so he resorts to elementary school taunts, shameless lies, and pitiful whining.

Naturally, the first place Trump went after getting the bad news about Harris was his safe place in the arms of coronavirus spreader, Sean Hannity at Fox News. He knows that Harris is unquestionably a strong, experienced woman with a sharp intellect and tongue. And there is nothing that scares Trump more. He also knew that Hannity would comfort him in his hour of need, and feed him potential attack lines for the days ahead as the Biden/Harris ticket rolls out.

In fact, that’s exactly what Hannity did with his opening wet kiss to Trump on the subject of race (video below). Unfortunately, Trump is too unfocused and mentally infirm to concentrate on anything for more than ten seconds. Consequently, his response lurched manically into unrelated topics, ignoring the far more relevant subject matter that Hannity hoped he could corral Trump into. Trump’s meandering reply touched on the few topics that his fractured mind is capable of retaining. Remember, these are responses to a question about race:

“Well, first of all, what you said about Russia, the New York Times is fake reporting. And the Washington Post likewise. I always try to figure out which is worse. And then you have CNN and, frankly, ABC, CBS, NBC. […] But you know the sad thing is you [Hannity} have so many incredibly talented writers, journalists, frankly, including yourself, cause I consider you really a journalist to the largest extent.”

“They got it [the Russia “hoax”] wrong and they got Pulitzer prizes. The Pulitzer Prize is worthless as far as I’m concerned.”

“Now it finds out that we caught Obama, Biden. That’s why I didn’t think that Susan Rice could get it because she’s part of this whole illegal thing that happened.”

“Look at Hillary Clinton where she paid for the fake dossier.”

Huh? These are just a robotic recycling of Trump’s Lamest Hits. He’s on auto-play, rewinding through the nightmares that have lodged like neuro-parasites in his diseased brain, feasting on what’s left of his frontal lobe. Even Hannity – who Trump considers a journalist – was utterly incapable of guiding Trump into a coherent cognitive dialogue.

The remainder of this “interview” weaved through a soggy morass of subject matter that had little to do with Biden or Harris. Trump shoveled nonsense about windmills lowering property values, rigged mail-in voting, and his paranoid obsession with Obama’s “crimes” against him. However, he only managed to address the coronavirus pandemic for about thirty seconds at the close, and only to lie about nonexistent vaccines and therapies.

This is the current state of America’s political leadership. It’s resting in the tiny hands of a sociopathic narcissist who can’t complete a thought, or stay on topic, even when guided by a bootlicking sycophant. It would be hysterical if there weren’t already so many tragic consequences for so many suffering Americans.

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

‘Shocked’ Fox News Host Gets Schooled on Trump’s Lies about the Coronavirus

Posted by on August 10, 2020 at 1:10 pm. 6 Comments :

The endless stream of lies emanating from Donald Trump on a daily (hourly) basis continue without pause as the number of Americans infected by the coronavirus exceeds 5,000,000, and the fatalities surpass 163,000. Unmoved by these horrifying statistics, Trump persists in deflection and trivializing the suffering that the nation is enduring due to his negligence, incompetence, and egomaniacal refusal act responsibly.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Coronavirus

On Monday morning Trump took time away from his golfing regimen to express his desire to see more young people placed in danger by compelling them to participate in collegiate sports programs. Never mind that colleges around the country have already had to shut down due to spikes in coronavirus cases. Trump doesn’t care about kids, or anyone other than himself. As Trump told Fox News last week…

“My view is schools should reopen. This thing is going away. It will go away like things go away. And my view is that schools should be open. If you look at children, children are almost – and I would almost say definitely, but almost – immune from this disease.”

Exactly! COVID-19 will “go away like things go away.” Things like bone spurs and cancer and senile dementia. My view is that Trump is almost – and I would almost say definitely, but almost – completely insane. Trump’s view, though, is shared by his bootlickers on Fox News. In a segment on Fox and Friends (video below) discussing how the coronavirus affects children, co-host Ainsley Earhardt revealed her surprise that kids were affected at all:

Earhardt: 97,000 kids have tested positive? That was such a shock to me because we heard kids really don’t get it. If they do they’re all going to be okay. Do you have any details about that percentage of kids that do get it? Are they all doing okay? Do they have any deaths?
Dr. Natasha Kathuria: I don’t know about the mortality or morbidity right now in that group. That was just in two weeks. So about 100,000 new cases in pediatric kids just in two weeks. And I can guarantee you that number is much higher. We don’t really test kids that often. They’re usually asymptomatic, they have very mild symptoms, But they’re still shedding this virus.

This was a “shock” to Earhardt because she “heard kids don’t really get it” from her fellow propagandists on Fox News, where that lie has been a regular part of the disinformation that they disseminate every day. The data about the virus’s impact on children was revealed in a new study that tracked such cases and found a total of nearly 340,000 children have been infected to date. The number for the past two weeks (97,000) represents a 40% increase just as schools were reopening in some states, and includes at least 611 child fatalities.

Earhardt, however, wasn’t finished trying to shape the discussion to frame it more positively to align with Trump’s lies. Her follow up for Dr. Kathuria was couched in a false assumption that was quickly shot down:

Earhardt: We’re just going to have to be extremely careful. Most Americans want their kids back in school, but we want to do it safely. But it is true though that when the kids get it, they don’t have the – you said – it’s just minimal side effects, right? If they even see those at all.
Dr. Kathuria: That’s a majority of them. The likelihood of death and the likelihood of critical illness is lower. But it’s possible. A seven year old just died in Georgia with no medical problems. We hear about this and we see it all the time. Kids get sick.

Nice try, Ainsley. But reality demands recognition that children are not only susceptible to illness, they are also carriers who can bring the virus home to their parents, grandparents, and others in their community. The good doctor deserves credit for not buckling to Earhardt’s leading and biased questions. And if Earhardt was shocked to learn about kids getting sick, think how shocked she must have been that some morsel of truth managed to leak out onto the air at Fox News.

UPDATE: At his coronavirus briefing (aka 2020 reelection event) Trump was asked if he was concerned about 97,000 kids getting the virus. He replied that it didn’t concern him and then reiterated his false belief that kids are immune.

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

Trump Rips Obama’s Executive Orders as ‘Major Power Grabs of Authority’

Posted by on August 9, 2020 at 1:58 pm. 4 Comments :

Nobody is surprised anymore by the rank hypocrisy of Donald Trump and his sociopathic aversion to the ethical principles that most Americans hold dear. He has repeatedly revealed himself to be utterly devoid of the personal qualities that define human interactions: goodwill, empathy, charity, and compassion. In his world there is only Trump and what’s best for him.

Barack Obama, Donald Trump

As further evidence of his twisted and sadistic psychoses, Trump endeavored to brazenly politicize the debate over relief for a nation that is suffering the consequences of his incompetent mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic. It began with him ignoring the fact that Democrats had passed a relief bill in the House of Representatives three months ago that GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell stubbornly refused to allow a vote on. So Trump decided to follow his tyrannical aspirations and unilaterally impose his solutions by dictatorial edict.

Trump characterized his proposals as “Executive Orders” intended to bypass the lawful jurisdiction of Congress. But what Trump actually signed were one executive order and three presidential memoranda, none of which have the force of law. However, they still pose threats to the welfare of the American people and the stability of constitutional governance.

To Trump the law is just an inconvenient obstacle that makes him struggle to figure out ways to defy, disregard, or twist it cynically to his advantage. His attempt to peddle these phony executive orders is a perfect example of his contempt for the ethical administration of the law. In fact, when President Obama was in office, Trump had an entirely different opinion of the use of executive orders:

So when his arch nemesis, Barack Obama, uses executive orders, they are an affront to freedom, an embrace of tyranny, and an admission that you’re a failure at “the art of the deal.” Trump elaborated on this in an interview on Fox News. When the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends asked Trump if Obama could be impeached for his executive orders, he replied…

“Well, he certainly did something that was unconstitutional […] I mean, I think certainly he could be impeached and certainly they could shut down the government.”

Elsewhere on Fox News there were additional assertions of Obama’s alleged tyrannical leanings, here and here.

This is the same Donald Trump who just signed an executive order mandating that all insurance policies must cover preexisting conditions. Apparently no one bothered to tell Trump that Obamacare already does that and has been law for the past ten years. In the meantime, Trump is still trying to repeal Obamacare, including the protection for preexisting conditions, with a lawsuit that is headed for the Supreme Court.

If your head is spinning at this point, just sit down and strap yourself in, because it’s only going to get worse between now and November. We are all witnesses to this blatantly political charade by a demented president whose future is circling the drain, and whose hypocrisy is wildly out of control.

For the record, here’s a quick primer on Trump’s political trickery:

One memorandum purports to provide a $400.00 enhancement to unemployment benefits. That represents a $200.00 cut from the previous benefit. But it is also deceptive in that Trump is only offering $300.00 and asking states to make up the $100.00 difference, which they cannot afford during these pandemic times. And if the states don’t contribute, it’s possible that the federal contribution is voided.

The second memorandum claims to defer student loan payments. But a deferral still means that the students will be required to make up those payments in the still uncertain future.

The third memorandum is especially grotesque. Trump calls it a “payroll tax holiday.” Which means that this will also result in a massive balloon payment next year. Although Trump tries to soften the blow by attempting to blackmail Americans into voting for him with an unfulfillable promise to waive the payroll taxes and terminate any in the future. What’s more, payroll taxes are the sole funding source for Social Security and Medicare. Consequently, terminating them would kill those programs entirely.

Finally, the single actual executive order in the bunch addresses assistance to renters and protection from eviction. However, this “order” merely instructs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to look into the matter with no guarantee of any benefit being delivered to the people.

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

Sean Hannity Freaks Out Because Biden Declined an Interview with Fox News

Posted by on August 8, 2020 at 3:18 pm. 3 Comments :

The quantity of certified bull… oh, let’s just say malarkey, that is spun by Donald Trump continues to flow like an avalanche of asininity. Just this week he has waxed idiotic about the presidential debates, about politicization of the coronavirus, about voting by mail, and too much more to summarize here.

Fox News Sean Hannity

Naturally, Trump’s Ministry of Disinformation (aka Fox News), has been quick to buttress his lies and the infantile hostilities that are the staples of his reality TV act. And first among the Fox News Trump-fluffers is his “shadow” Chief of Staff Infection, Sean Hannity, who has been scientifically linked to increasing COVID-19 fatalities.

On Saturday morning Hannity posted a tweet intended to embarrass Joe Biden by implying that he is afraid of Fox News and is dodging Chris Wallace who recently interviewed Trump. The tweet read “HIDIN’ BIDEN: Biden Campaign Tells Chris Wallace He’s ‘Not Available’ For Interviews at This Time.” It linked to a two week old article that claimed that Biden “is refusing to speak with the journalist” because he “is ‘not available’ at the moment.'”

First of all, informing a reporter that you’re not available “at the moment” is not the same as a refusal. It just means that another time might be better. After all, Biden is in the midst of a search for a vice-presidential running mate, and he’s planning an unprecedented virtual convention. On top of that, Biden is masterfully allowing Trump to take center stage and deliciously sabotage his own campaign with ever more bizarre outbursts and demented ravings.

However, Hannity’s attack tweet left out a fairly important piece of information. Biden had already done an interview with Wallace last March, months before Trump did. What’s more, if anyone is afraid of the press, it’s Trump. The vast majority of his interviews have been exclusively with his bootlicking pals at Fox News. He has not done a single interview with CNN or MSNBC as president.

Biden would have legitimate reasons to decline to be interviewed by the blatantly biased right-wing shills on Fox News. But he hasn’t done that. That makes Hannity’s lies all the more egregious. Particularly when you compound that with the fact that Trump is so obviously frightened of being challenged by the press when they aren’t his sycophants, or when he isn’t in a position to bully them or run away.

Trump’s rambling and incoherent rants are typical of a deeply disturbed narcissistic sociopath. And the attempts by Trump and Fox News to characterize Biden as unfit for the office of the presidency just seem more ridiculous every day. The bad news for Trump is that no one is buying his rancid assaults and viciousness. Even a poll by Fox News found that majorities of Americans say that Trump does not have the mental soundness to serve. Suck on that Bunker Boy.

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

Trump is Lying About – and Trying to Manipulate – the Presidential Debates

Posted by on August 6, 2020 at 3:20 pm. 2 Comments :

Apparently it hasn’t been enough for Donald Trump to rail maniacally about voting by mail. Or to attack his own medical experts for truthfully warning about the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Or to threaten to ban TikTok, a Twitter app that sometimes hosts messages that are critical of Trump. Or to whine incessantly about Fox News (aka State TV) when they aren’t sufficiently worshipful.

Trump Fear

Nope. It has not been nearly enough to satiate Trump’s massive and fragile ego. Now he is turning his wrath on the Commission on Presidential Debates, the independent, non-partisan organization that has been producing these general election encounters for almost fifty years. True to form, Trump cannot enter into any activity without angrily stomping his bone spurred feet until he gets the undeserved attention demanded by his addled-brain, malignant narcissism. Consequently, Trump took to his Twitter machine to bellow…

In order to give his imperious grumbling some additional oomph, Trump dispatched his equally schizoid personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to fire off an urgent missive to the Commission with a set of utterly irrational, albeit self-serving, requests. However, it’s hard to take seriously a plea that opens and closes with a disparaging remark about Joe Biden finally being, “available to leave his basement for the fall debates.” Stay Classy, Rudy.

Giuliani’s letter sought to change the terms of the already agreed upon debate schedule to add another meeting between Trump and Biden in early September because…

“By the time of the first presidential debate … as many as eight million Americans in 16 states will have already started voting. [Giuliani claimed to want to] avoid having millions of Americans disenfranchised by not being able to see and hear the two major party candidates debate before they have ballots in-hand.”

For Giuliani and Trump, or any Republican, to complain about disenfranchising voters after having gutted the Voting Rights Act, and worked so hard to eliminate early and weekend voting, close polling places, purge registration rolls, and draw preposterously gerrymandered districts, is Olympic-grade hypocrisy.

There is, however, a notable logical fissure in Giuliani’s demands. The vast majority of the states don’t allow for any voting prior to the first debate, which will be held on September 29. And the few that do provide ballots before then, do not require that they be returned until election day. Which means any voter who receives a ballot can simply hold onto it until after any or all of the debates before making their decisions and mailing it in. Although it is best to return ballots as soon as possible to facilitate tabulation, it is not required.

What’s more, voters this year are particularly committed to their presidential preference already. According to a recent poll by CBS News, most voters say that they “strongly support their candidate” (77% of Trump supporters / 74% of Biden supporters). Nine in ten say they would never consider the other candidate. So barring a catastrophic meltdown, the debates may not have much influence over the election outcome. And by all appearances, it’s Trump who would be most susceptible to the meltdown scenario.

In addition to Trump’s ludicrous scheduling alterations, he also weighed in on who he thinks should moderate the debates. Note that the candidates have never selected the moderators for these debates in the past. And the reason for that is perfectly illustrated in Trump’s ultra-partisan list of preferred moderators. Out of 24, nine of them are from Fox News, including notorious Trump-fluffers like Maria Bartiromo. The list also includes some shameless bootlickers from the New York Post, Christian Broadcasting Network, and the Wall Street Journal.

The Commission sent Giuliani their response that can be summarized as a big “NO” on every count. Surely Trump will regard that as a personal slight and throw a Twitter tantrum casting himself as the victim of a “Deep State” plot to destroy him. Because, sadly, that’s what we’ve all come to expect from the Crybaby-in-Chief. But his infantile tactics won’t help him get his way this time. And his well-founded fear of being humiliated is driving him to ever more deranged outbursts, such as…

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

Crybaby Trump Runs to Fox News Following His Latest Media Fiascoes

Posted by on August 5, 2020 at 2:03 pm. 5 Comments :

The flop sweat gushing from Donald Trump is flowing like a tsunami the closer we get to Election Day. His polling continues to languish near historic lows for both reelection and job approval. And even his traditional allies are politically distancing from him for fear of being swept away themselves. it’s a downward spiral that shows no sign of slowing down.

Donald Trump, Mask, Fox News

Trump’s response to the imminent peril that he finds himself in has been to triple down on the lies, insults, and fear mongering, that have been the staples of his campaign. As a result he lashed out at Dr. Deborah Birx, his hand-picked Coronavirus Task Force medical expert, as “pathetic” just because she told the truth for a change. He flip-flopped on his opposition to mail-in voting (but only in Florida where he needs the votes of senior citizens who might not otherwise cast ballots). He made a ludicrous and unconstitutional proposal to delay the election. And he even threatened to ban TikTok from the United States in retaliation for criticism on the app from people like Sarah Cooper.

But that’s not all. Trump’s recent interview by Jonathan Swan of Axios exposed his shallow and hostile knee-jerk defensiveness and inability to engage in a coherent discussion. A PolitiFact analysis identified 22 false statements in the interview. And in a desperate effort to counteract the pitiful image he displayed, he immediately sought refuge in the warm embrace of his Fox News sycophants.

In the past three days Trump has done three phone-in interviews on Fox. One with his BFF Sean Hannity. One with Fox’s Senior Trump-Fluffer, Lou Dobbs. And on Wednesday morning, a full hour (video below) with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. Here are a few of the lowlights:

ON SUSPENDING THE PAYROLL TAX:

FOX: What’s your plan for businesses when it comes to the payroll tax cut?
TRUMP: Well, I may do it myself. We’re negotiating right now. I have the right to suspend it. And I may do it myself. I have the absolute right to suspend…ah, the payroll…ah, do the payroll tax. We call it a payroll tax suspension.

Did our “stable genius” president come up with the idea of calling suspending the payroll tax a “payroll tax suspension” himself? More importantly, does he know that the payroll tax is used exclusively to fund Social Security, and that his proposed suspension would put the program at risk? And finally, he clearly doesn’t know that he has no authority whatsoever to suspend or otherwise alter tax laws passed by Congress. To his great dismay, he is not the American Dictator.

ON OPENING SCHOOLS:

FOX: What is the latest in your view as to how these schools should reopen?
TRUMP: My view is schools should reopen. This thing is going away. It will go away like things go away. And my view is that schools should be open. If you look at children, children are almost – and I would almost say definitely – but almost immune from this disease.

My view is that Trump is almost – and I would almost say definitely – but almost completely insane. He repeats himself ad nauseam without ever answering the question or making an intelligible point. And above all, he is comfortable with exposing children and their families to a deadly virus that is still out of control due to his negligence and incompetence.

ON OBAMA’S EULOGY FOR JOHN LEWIS:

FOX: Do you agree that [Obama’s eulogy for John Lewis] seemed like a campaign speech and less of a eulogy?
TRUMP: I thought it was a terrible speech, it was an angry speech. It showed there’s anger there that people don’t see. He lost control and he’s been really hit very hard by both sides for that speech. That speech was ridiculous.

You really have to wonder if Trump even saw Obama’s inspiring and heart-felt tribute. It is Trump’s review that is “terrible” and “angry” and utterly “ridiculous.”

ON HIS 2ND TERM:

FOX: Mr. President, what is your second term agenda? What are your top priorities?
TRUMP: I want to take where we left – we had the greatest economy in the history of the world. We were better than any other country. We were better than we were ever. We never had anything like it in this country […] What I want to do is take it from that point and build it even better.

Trump went off on a deranged rant about everything from unemployment to the stock market to how awful our allies are. What he never bothered to mention was anything about his second term agenda.

Needless to say, no one on Fox News challenged Trump’s lies or even bothered to ask a follow up question. They merely tossed him softballs and let Trump ramble on incoherently for twenty minutes. So Trump gets away with claiming he can unilaterally undo tax legislation, baselessly project his own anger onto Obama, and failing to articulate an agenda for the future. And for the record. Trump unleashed another 20 falsehoods on the Fox interview.

Which is why the one thing Trump said that is remotely connected to reality was just slightly off the mark. Referring to his prediction about the forward course of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump babbled that “This thing is going away. It will go away like things go away.” However, that typically inane Trumpism is more aptly applied to his presidency. And for those of you with exceptionally strong stomachs and nothing better to do, below is the full Fox and Friends interview.

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

In Desperate Reversal Trump Pleads with His Supporters to ‘Vote By Mail’

Posted by on August 4, 2020 at 12:22 pm. 5 Comments :

For several weeks Donald Trump has been ranting in his customary incoherent manner about the risks of voting by mail. He insists that it is a process that is rife with fraud, despite not having any evidence to support his alarmist raving. To the contrary, all the evidence shows that it is safe and secure, and has been for decades.

Every study conducted to ascertain the reliability of mail-in voting has concluded that there is no problem other than trivial numbers of incidental errors. David Lublin, an elections expert and professor at American University in Washington, D.C. told ABC News that…

“Voter fraud has not been a widespread problem in the United States. It’s just not remotely a widespread problem that, in fact, usually when claims are made, the more they’re investigated the more they disappear.”

Even a Commission on Election Integrity set up by Trump himself in 2017 failed to document any fraudulent voting and, humiliated, was disbanded a few months later.

So it is with particular curiosity, although not remotely surprising given his penchant for hypocrisy and lies, that Trump has reversed himself completely and is now embracing mail-in voting, but only because it is now in his interest to do so

Trump’s tweet starts off with the tacit admission that he has been deliberately misrepresenting an alleged difference between mail-in voting and absentee voting. But everyone other than Trump knows that there is no difference whatsoever in the processes for requesting or casting ballots. They are just different names for the same thing. What’s more, Trump concedes that voting in this manner is both “Safe and Secure, Tried and True.” While he singles out Florida, the same is true for every other state.

This striking turnaround comes just hours after Trump reiterated his baseless charge that voting by mail is an attempt to rig the election and will result in massive fraud. A few days ago Trump unleashed a maniacal tirade declaring that, due to mail-in voting, “This is going to be the greatest election disaster in history.” He likely meant that not as a warning, but as a promise of what he intends to do.

The reason for this frantic u-turn is likely that Trump has finally been convinced that his anti-voting harangues are actually hurting his own reelection prospects. Republicans across the country have been begging him to stop this rhetorical nonsense because they see how badly it is affecting their campaign efforts for both the White House and down-ballot races for Congress, the Senate, and local offices.

The real purpose of Trump’s assault on democracy has been to suppress the vote. He and the GOP have been focused on reducing voter participation for years. They know that when more people vote, Democrats win. Trump even admitted this last April when he told Fox News that it “doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” He went on to complain that Democrats were “crazy” for supporting vote-by-mail, saying that “They had levels of voting, that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” For once, he’s right.

To achieve his nefarious anti-democratic ends, Trump is attempting to sabotage the Postal Service. He is refusing to allocate necessary funding for continued operation. He has advocated for privatization, which would utterly destroy the 250 year old, constitutionally mandated institution. He recently installed Louis DeJoy, a major campaign donor, as the new Postmaster General. DeJoy is already ordering slow-downs and other measures to impede service with the intention of disrupting the election.

Trump obviously doesn’t care about the adverse effect this will have on voting. And he certainly doesn’t care that a majority of Americans support mail-in voting. But he is also ignoring the fact that a crippled post office would have trouble delivering Social Security checks, prescription medicines, and other critical necessities. It could literally cost lives. But Trump’s purposeful mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic has already taught us that he couldn’t care less about any of that.

However, now that Trump has become aware that he might also suffer some ill effect of his campaign against mail-in voting, he is callously and selfishly changing his tune. Whether this will have any effect on his cult disciples is another question. They have already initiated demonstrations to protest mail-in voting by burning their own applications. If MAGAts don’t want to vote, that’s something Democrats should eagerly encourage. Feel free to retweet/share this:

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