Fox News

Lying Fox News Host Lies that Trump Has Never Lied to the American People

Posted by on August 30, 2019 at 12:23 pm. 3 Comments :

The mission of Fox News from its inception was to advance the goals of the nationalist right-wing and the Republican Party. But when Donald Trump came along they transformed noticeably into a State TV propaganda outlet devoted single-mindedly to this president and his hostile and demented ravings. Virtually every program lavishes praise on Trump and viciously maligns his critics.

Fox News, Donald Trump

What’s worse, is that there is no lie that is beneath the already sunken principles of Fox News. They are taking their cues from a president who has already told more than 12,000 lies since his inauguration. The legacy of the Trump presidency (contrary to his delusional hopes) will surely include this historically depraved achievement, along with caging babies and being a puppet for Vladimir Putin.

As if to to emphasize the enthusiasm Fox News has for lying about Trump, one of his favorite Fox hosts, Stuart Varney, conducted a dumbfounding interview with conservative Republican Joe Walsh who is challenging Trump for the GOP nomination for president. Walsh is hardly a pristine representative of political ethics, but in this segment (video below) of Varney’s program he shines with uncharacteristic virtue, and makes Varney look like a flaccid Trump sycophant and cult follower.

Walsh began by correctly observing that “We’ve never had a situation like this where we have a president that we fundamentally cannot believe.” A surprisingly skeptical Varney asked Walsh for an example. That was his first mistake. Walsh quickly provided an example from just the day before when Trump’s own staff admitted that Trump lied at the G7 summit when he said that he held high level phone calls with China about tariffs. Walsh’s example led to this bizarre exchange and ludicrous denial:

Varney: That’s not a lie. Let’s not get technical. If the man said – and he did – that high level talks had been held with China, that is not a lie. They were held with China.
Walsh: Stuart, he said there were high level phone calls with Chinese officials. His staff admitted that was not true, that he lied in order to manipulate the market.
Varney: Okay, give me another one.
Walsh: Stuart, you really don’t believe that that’s a lie?
Varney: No I don’t.

It is impossible to have a coherent discussion with someone who hears a flagrant falsehood, but denies what he just heard and tries to move past it in complete blindness. Varney simply accepts whatever Trump says as the truth, even if his own staff says that it isn’t. This isn’t political loyalty. It’s cult worship. And it continued further as the interview progressed:

Walsh: Do you believe this president lies?
Varney: No.
Walsh: You don’t believed he’s ever lied?
Varney: He exaggerates and spins.
Walsh: Okay, do you believe he’s ever told the American people a lie?
Varney: No.

Walsh finally gave up in exasperation as he realized that Varney’s doctrinal programming was impenetrable. He has clearly adopted the first order of a cult: Believe only the Leader. Everyone else is lying. And this isn’t even the first time this week that a Trump shill has claimed that Trump never utters anything less than the God’s honest truth. On CNN Chris Cuomo interviewed Trump’s 2020 campaign Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. She also insisted that Trump has never ever told a lie. Trump’s new press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, said that she doesn’t think his lies are lies. This is all reminiscent of Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts,” And Rudy Giuliani’s “Truth isn’t truth.”

No rational person could ever assert that Trump has never told a lie. Trump has lied about things big and small. He’s lied about tariffs being paid by China; about his polling; about the size of his crowds; about Obama; about the environment; about the border wall; and always about the news being fake. But Trump’s disciples regard him as a messiah who is an infallible manifestation of perfection. Which is precisely how Trump regards himself, having recently declared that he is “The Chosen One.” And sadly, his Deplorables believe that too.

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

Trump vs Fox News: Orders His Cult Followers to ‘Start Looking For a New News Outlet’

Posted by on August 28, 2019 at 11:27 am. 3 Comments :

The hypersensitive state of Donald Trump’s thin skin and fragile ego is being tested as the country gets ever more disgusted by his ignorance and incompetence. Now his State TV network (aka Fox News) is taking heat for not having the purity of devotion that he requires. This is a peculiar development considering how worshipful Fox News is toward Trump and the network’s commitment to its mission of advancing the interests of the Republican Nationalist Party.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Fake

On Wednesday morning Trump unleashed another of his crazed tweetstorms in response to an interview on Fox News with Democratic National Committee spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa. His anger seemed to be focused on just the fact that Fox would consent to book a Democrat.

So an interview, in Trump’s diseased mind, is tantamount to “heavily promoting” the Democratic Party that he has called “the true enemies of America.” That’s in addition, of course, to his raving that the media is “the enemy of the people.” Trump seems to think that Fox News is forbidden to interview anyone that isn’t a card-carrying StormTrumper.

Trump’s complaint was that Hinojosa was “spewing out whatever she wanted,” because he clearly hates the free speech provisions in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Then Trump goes on to whine incoherently about the “socialists” he believes Fox has hired as pundits. He obviously doesn’t know the meaning of that word, or most others for that matter.

But despite his unbridled rage, he wants everyone to know that he’s still confident of his ability to win. Nevermind that recent polls show him losing to all five of the top Democrats, including in the battleground states he won in 2016. Even his favorite pollster, the disreputably biased Rasmussen, recently had Trump near his low point for the year.

However, the most astonishing tweet of the morning showed that Trump was through tolerating the radical left-wingers at Fox News:

So you have your marching orders, Deplorables. It’s time for you to “start looking for a new News Outlet,” because “Fox isn’t working for us anymore!” What’s interesting about this is that it’s another admission that Trump believes that Fox News is supposed to be working for him. That definitively confirms what has been observable for years to anyone with a functioning frontal cortex.

This isn’t the first time that Trump has made this connection to Fox. Just last week he whined that he was “not happy with Fox“ and threatened them saying that “I’m the one who calls the shots.” Last month he attacked Fox saying that they were “worse than watching low ratings Fake News @CNN,” and that “they forgot the people who got them there!” Trump even threatened to conduct an official investigation into why Fox had stopped airing all of his cult rallies live.

You have to wonder what Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs, Jesse Watters, and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends will have to say about Trump ordering his brainwashed minions to find another propaganda network. To be sure, Trump still lauds these sycophantic shills, but when he makes broad-based denouncements like this, no one is safe from the rancid spray of his scattershot wrath. That’s how the mind of a malignant narcissist works. The only thing that registers is unqualified adoration, and any diversion from such constitutes treason.

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

Trump-Fluffing on Fox News: Hosts Promote Bed-Buggy Doral Resort for the 2020 G7

Posted by on August 27, 2019 at 11:57 am. 3 Comments :

In his closing remarks at the G7 summit in France, Donald Trump managed to deliver an infomercial for his Doral Miami Golf Resort to host the next G7 summit in 2020. It was a painfully self-serving spectacle that is also a likely violation of the Constitution. At the very least it’s a predictably Trumpy exhibit of greed and an utter lack of ethics.

Fox News Friends

Not surprisingly, Fox News weighed in on the idea the following morning. On Fox and Friends the “Curvy Couch” potatoes did a segment (video below) agreeing with Trump that Doral would be the perfect place for the summit. Even though there are thousands of hotels and conference centers across America that would be ideal for such an event. It’s just a weird coincidence that the site owned by Trump happens to be the best place of all. Who would have thought?

The segment began with Steve Doocy introducing Trump’s sales pitch from France. And it was all downhill from there. Brian Kilmeade jumped in to insist that there was no favoritism involved because Trump “would want to do it there anyway. It’s just the perfect site … Trump Tower is not available.” Then Doocy acknowledged the potential legal problems, but also provided an excuse:

“Critics say the use of his property for official business violates the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. I’m sure the president has asked the lawyers, ‘Hey, how can I donate this, how can we possibly work around it?”

The Emoluments Clause prohibits the President from accepting money, or anything of value, from foreign governments or persons. So if the representatives of the G7 had to actually pay Trump in order to attend the next summit, that’s a pretty obvious violation. Even if the site was donated, the publicity would have to be considered something of enormous value and, therefore, illegal. What’s more, Doocy is playing clairvoyant by surmising with certainty that Trump would have consulted his lawyers. You know, geniuses like Rudy Giuliani. But based on his past, that actually seems like the last thing Trump would do.

Ainsley Earhardt also contributed to the unpaid advertisement by remarking that “It would be a beautiful place, though, for world leaders to go and see what our country looks like.” Because all of America looks exactly like an elite golf spa in Miami? She then declared that Doral was “representative” of the country, before adding that “I’ve never been to Doral.” So in other words, she’s an expert, by Fox News standards.

None of the Fox friends bothered to mention that Doral had a serious problem with bed bugs a couple of years ago. But Trump couldn’t resist bringing it up:

Trump’s denials are in keeping with his tendency to lie about virtually anything. Even though – as in this case – he settled a lawsuit against the resort for the infestation. Trump and the Foxies also neglected to mention that Doral has been suffering a severe financial drought. It’s net operating income has dropped 69 percent in two years. So that would make Trump’s promotion of it even more suspicious as an attempt rescue another one of his floundering business enterprises.

It’s bad enough that Fox News is a 24/7, State TV, propaganda machine for Trump and his Republican Nationalist Party. But is there nothing too unethical for this so-called “news” network to do on behalf of their Dear Leader? They have already appeared at Trump’s political cult rallies. And they can be relied upon to defend any atrocity that Trump commits, while viciously maligning his critics. Now they are even serving as the sales agents for his failing golf resort. It would be oddly comforting if this were the bottom of the Fox News/Trump abyss. But every time it seems we’re there, they find a way dig even deeper.

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

Fox News Accidentally Says that Donald Trump is An Unelectable Slimeball

Posted by on August 26, 2019 at 3:25 pm. 6 Comments :

Some of the best moments on Fox News occur when they have no idea what they are talking about. This happens with some frequency considering the low bar that Fox sets for hiring pundits and commentators. The prerequisites for a job at Fox News are primarily the willingness to lie effusively on behalf of Donald Trump and his Republican Nationalist Party, and blond hair.

Donald Trump, Fox News

On Monday morning’s episode of Outnumbered there was a perfect example of this tendency that Fox has to stumble onto something truthful without ever knowing they did so. The program had a segment on the just announced candidacy of radio host and, former Tea Party Republican, Joe Walsh, for the GOP nomination for president. He’s a longshot challenger to Trump, but his conservative credentials and passionate denouncements of Trump could take a toll on the embattled and mentally infirm incumbent. While discussing Walsh’s prospects in the race, Fox host Shannon Bream sought to itemize his weaknesses by revisiting some his previous abhorrent statements (video below):

“This is what Joe Walsh said: ‘Obama’s a Muslim. He’s an enemy and a traitor.’ He said this about Kamala Harris: ‘If you’re black and a woman you say dumb things, lowered bar.’ He also got duped by Sacha Baron Cohen about arming toddlers and kindergartners with guns. […] I think critics might say it’s astonishing that he even thinks he can run right now.”

Okay, then. That’s now the Fox News criteria for establishing when someone is unfit to run for president, There were four standards laid out: Calling Obama a Muslim, calling Obama an enemy, saying black women are stupid, and getting punked by a hoaxster. Let’s see how Trump stands up.

In March of 2011, Trump was interviewed on the Laura Ingraham radio show prior to her joining Fox News. Among Trump’s noxious remarks was praise for the racists who insisted that President Obama was not an American. “A lot of the so-called Birthers,” Trump said, “these are great people. These are really great American people.” Much like the “very fine” Nazis Trump gushed over a few years later. He went on to say of Obama that…

“He doesn’t have a birth certificate, or if he does, there’s something on that certificate that is very bad for him […] perhaps it would be that where it says ‘religion,’ it might have ‘Muslim.’ And if you’re a Muslim, you don’t change your religion.”

One down. Moving on, there is always a Trump tweet that manages to demonstrate his utter idiocy and/or hypocrisy. And in this matter there’s one where he literally posted a comment that said: “Obama is our worst enemy.”

Two down. Moving on, Trump is a well-known misogynist who’s past is replete with harassment, assault, and ceaseless bullying and insults. But specific to the standard set above, he has been especially demeaning to women of color in Congress and the media. His remarks about sending several congresswomen “back where they came from” was only the most recent incident. On many occasions he blatantly attacked African-American reporters for doing their job. For instance, he shouted down Abby Phillip of CNN saying “What a stupid question that is. What a stupid question. But I watch you a lot. You ask a lot of stupid questions.”

Three down. Moving on, Trump was also the victim of a prank call. Comedian “Stuttering” John Melendez (of Howard Stern’s radio show) got through to Trump on Air Force One by pretending to be New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. The call was directed to Trump by his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner.

So that’s all four of the criteria enumerated by Bream that make it “astonishing that he even thinks he can run right now.” Of course there are innumerable other reasons that Trump’s campaign is astonishing. They include his brazen violations of the law by welcoming and encouraging Russia’s attack on our election; his obstruction of justice; his breach of the Constitution’s emoluments clause; his overt racism and support for white nationalists; his coziness with brutal foreign tyrants; and his 12,000+ lies to the American people.

And that’s just for starters. Trump has disparaged American intelligence agencies. He has sided with Vladimir Putin against the U.S. His economic idiocy (tax cuts for the wealthy, benefit cuts for Social Security and Medicare, trade war, bullying the Fed, etc.) will likely lead to a severe recession. So it will be interesting to see if Fox News will hold Trump to the same standards they laid out for Walsh. Or even if they will hold him to the principles that the GOP used to advocate. Don’t hold your breath.

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

Dumb Trump Lies: My Most Asked Question at G7 is ‘Why Does American Media Hate America?’

Posted by on August 25, 2019 at 12:20 pm. 3 Comments :

The leaders of the seven largest national economies in the world (the Group of Seven, or G7) are currently meeting in Biarritz, France. There is surely much to discuss about international trade, currencies, investments, labor, the climate crisis, and more. But Donald Trump, alone among his colleagues, is fixated on an issue that has long been a fetish that he can’t seem to shake off.

Donald Trump

While in France Trump has predictably tweeted up a storm about a variety of matters that have nothing to do with the G7 summit. He wished happy birthdays to Sean Connery and Regis Philbin. He thanked Fox News clowns Diamond & Silk for a flattering tweet that was more than a month old. He defended his blasphemous assertion that he was “the Chosen One” and the “second coming of God.” And he kept his Twitterati apprised of every time he had a meal.

However, by far Trump’s pronouncements revolved around his paranoid obsession with the media. It’s a topic so consuming that he virtually ignores everything else going on at at this annual gathering. At least seven times he whined about one complaint or another with the press that he regards as “the enemy of the people.” And this hyper-concentration on this subject managed to make the full circle back to a bizarre projection of his own neuroses onto others. In the course of this dissembling, Trump manufactures flagrant lies to support his delusions. For instance:

So Trump wants people to believe that the heads of the world’s biggest countries are all concerned, not with critical matters of international economics, but with Trump’s personal battle with the press that he despises. He tries to pretend that the problem is with media hating America, as opposed to the media simply doing its job by reporting on him and his administration’s efforts to ignore looming threats. He is not America. Trump also accuses the press of rooting for the country to fail when, in fact, they are only covering the very real danger signs in the economy. Dangers that he himself is responsible for, and may even have intended for his own benefit.

In addition to this ludicrous assertion that all the other world leaders are hounding him with questions about the press, Trump also tweeted that “The Media is destroying the Free Press!” Which is like saying that the shoes are destroying those things you wear on your feet. He claimed the press is trying to “force a Recession.” Which, if the past is any indicator, would likely hurt the media more than most other businesses. He said that the media’s purpose in destroying itself is to hurt his prospects for reelection. Which is a pretty unselfish thing to do, don’t you think?

Trump also tweet-bragged about disreputable polling in order to stroke his own fragile ego. But he forgot to note that even a couple of his favorite pollsters showed him at low points of the year. And he twice ranted about Fox News hiring former Democratic National Committee official, Donna Brazile, falsely accusing her of giving Hillary Clinton debate questions. He’s still obsessing over the 2016 election.

It would be nice to say that the American people can rest assured that their President is hard at work in France, hammering out global solutions with other leaders. But no one thought that was going to happen anyway. As usual, he is embarrassing himself and the country with his ignorance, incompetence, and narcissism. And he continues to make the case for his impeachment and/or commitment to an institution – penal or mental, take your pick.

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

Why the Press Needs to Quit Being Pawns in Trump’s Lie-Riddled ‘Chopper Talk’ Reality Show

Posted by on August 24, 2019 at 2:43 pm. 5 Comments :

It has been 166 days since the last White House press briefing. This is an unprecedented and deliberate strategy by the Trump regime to deprive the press – and by extension the American people – of critical information regarding the affairs of the government that is supposed to be serving them.

Donald Trump

The last press briefing was held by former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is now working for Fox News. The new press secretary is a two-time drunk driver with a shady resume, Stephanie Grisham, who has not held a single press briefing. You have to wonder why Trump even bothers to have a communications staff when they aren’t doing their job.

The argument from the White House is that Trump is his own best spokesperson and that he provides more frequent access to the media than they would have with conventional press briefings. There is some truth that. Trump does address the press whenever he’s traveling to or from the White House. It’s generally an informal gathering on the West Wing lawn with the whirring of a helicopter in the background. Hence “Chopper Talk.” However, it might be more accurate to call it “Whopper Talk,” because all he does is lie and and obstruct any kind of substantive dialog or dissemination of useful info.

These media scrums are not substitutes for real press briefings. They are lame versions of a reality show that Trump seems to think he’s still on. Reporters are not permitted to ask follow up questions, and often aren’t even allowed to get their initial questions out without Trump interrupting them. In many instances Trump will call on a reporter, but when he gets the gist of the question will stop it and complain that he doesn’t like the question or the reporter asking it. Then he moves on to his next victim. The whole thing is a complete waste of time. Trump himself said that it’s “ridiculous” that the media always covers him live.

During this charade it is usually impossible to hear the actual questions. So Trump’s answers are often disassociated from any intelligible topic. Not that his answers aren’t always incoherent, but without the questions it makes it even worse. And when there is an exchange that is audible, Trump’s replies are littered with flagrant falsehoods. But the press isn’t able to point that out and require Trump to validate his often ludicrous assertions (like “China pays the tariffs” or that there is no recession, or his being “the Chosen One“). Jesse Watters of Fox News offered a helpful explanation for why Trump favors this method of dealing with the media (video below):

“What he does is this walk to Marine One. This is the way he kind of conducts the orchestra. He’s saying “No. Shut up. Stop with the asinine questions. And he kind of glides down the row and kind of conducts the press like a maestro. And it’s a brilliant performance.

Watters is actually complimenting Trump here. He thinks it’s good thing when the President “orchestrates” his media avails so that only his spin is delivered, rather than truths the public can rely on. He praises the President’s “performance” as if this were all just playacting, rather than serious discussions that impact people’s lives. Watters also approves of Trump telling reporters to “shut up.” But it’s downright bizarre for someone on an alleged “news” network to celebrate a political leader for violating the First Amendment rights of the press. Watters continued saying that…

The other thing it does is, it removes the faces of the preening media reporters from the television. They shoot them from behind so they don’t get to stand up and really get their face on camera, and that shuts them down so they can’t pose.”

This is another example of Fox News applauding Trump for diminishing reporters and suppressing the value of their work and the importance of their contribution to democracy. At Fox the only priority is propping up Dear Leader and maligning his critics. They have no respect for the media or the Constitution’s protection for it.

The same thing is true for Trump, who’s dismantling of the White House facility for communicating with the people is undemocratic and dangerous. And for that reason, the press should refrain from participating in the sham that Trump has concocted to replace real press briefings.

His predictable ranting is pretty much the same every time. He calls the media “the enemy of the people,” lies about what he said the day before, and brags about achievements that don’t exist in real life. Why should the press bother to show up for those sorts of soap opera thatrics? Just let him get on his helicopter and fly off to his next cult rally and tell those lies to his Deplorables.

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

https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-media-watters-news-nbc-cnn

Fox News is Spinning (Lying) Furiously to Cover Up A Devastating Exodus of Advertisers

Posted by on August 22, 2019 at 10:25 am. 4 Comments :

You almost have to feel sorry for the poor shills at State TV (aka Fox News). Their corporate mission is inextricably tied to defending Republican policies and politicians. And with Donald Trump gumming up the works every day with tirades that stretch the boundaries of either hate speech or humor, their jobs cannot be easy. In fact, it must be a downright nightmare having to make lame, impotent excuses for their “Chosen One.”

Fox News, Titanic

In addition to facing Trump’s rapidly declining poll numbers, Fox is also having to absorb incoming rhetorical missiles from Trump, the guy they are working so hard to promote and protect. It’s a complex tango that results in everyone getting their toes stepped on. But Fox is up to the challenge. They just announced the hiring of Trump’s former Press Secretary and confessed liar, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She’s expected to be running for Arkansas governor, so this job is Fox’s campaign contribution.

Fox News is simultaneously suffering through some difficult financial times due to the noxious commentaries of some of their top program hosts. Particularly Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. In April of this year Variety reported that “ad dollars attached to ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ fell 47.8%, to $48.3 million from almost $92.7 million in 2017.” That’s a nearly 50 percent haircut. The numbers of ads on his program dropped a similar percentage to only fifteen from thirty-six last October. Laura Ingraham is experiencing the same drop-off in advertisers. So what could be causing these financial calamities while their viewership remains as passionately loyal as any cult?

Well, it could be that Tucker Carlson’s flagrant bigotry is a staple of his nightly program and advertisers are reaching their breaking point. His most recent controversy was triggered by his preposterous statement that white nationalism “is a hoax.” Never mind that most acts of domestic terrorism are by white nationalists, according to the Trump-appointed FBI Director, Christopher Wray.

Meanwhile, Laura Ingraham’s problems began after she attacked the survivors of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting. These are kids who suffered a nightmare that no one should ever face, but who Ingraham considered fair game for even more abuse. She is also notorious for her racist and elitist views, such as when she said that basketball legend and philanthropist LeBron James should “shut up and dribble.”

Fox News, however, is fiercely defensive and unrepentant. They insist that they haven’t lost any revenue as a result of their loathsome hosts because the ads are merely shifted to other programs. That’s an outright lie. It would mean that the other programs had unsold ad inventory that these ads could be slipped into. If that’s true they are admitting to even bigger problems selling ads throughout the day. But even if we accept Fox’s explanation, that still means they lost money because moving a primetime ad to a less expensive daypart would require significant discounting. What’s more, Fox programming is now cluttered with unpaid Fox News promos and cheesy, low cost ads for reverse mortgages and MyPillow.

Any other business would be concerned about this sort of dwindling revenue. But since Fox News is a political operation first and a business second (and never a news enterprise), they are willing to take the hit. While they are surely as greedy as any other corporation, they are more committed to advancing the interests of Trump and the GOP. If that’s a costly proposition, they regard it as money well spent to disinform their audience and spread right-wing lies. And unless the movement to defund Fox escalates significantly, expect this to continue throughout the 2020 election cycle and beyond.

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

Trump’s Favorite Pollster Has Him Floundering Near His Lowest Point of the Year

Posted by on August 20, 2019 at 1:08 pm. 2 Comments :

The best way of determining what Donald Trump is most afraid of is by tracking what he’s tweeting about most furiously. Often it’s Democrats who he’s unable to debate on rational terms so he lashies out with racist insults. Other times he’s frantically trying to convince his Deplorables that the country isn’t headed for a painful recession of his own making.

Donald Trump

However, an extraordinary amount of Trump’s limited attention span is frequently consumed with the press that he thinks is engaging in a conspiracy to destroy him. His knee-jerk tirades against what he calls the “fake” news are never backed up by facts, but always dripping with acrimony and the bile of his gushing paranoia.

It’s bad enough when just the news outlets that he loves to attack are reporting honestly about his latest failure (which he hates), but now even his pet news sources are joining the resistance, in his mind. Fox News just released a poll that shows him with a near record high disapproval rating. It also shows the top Democratic challengers beating him in the general election. That, of course, has him hopping mad.

Consequently, he really isn’t going to like the latest polling from his favorite – and most flagrantly biased – pollster, Rasmussen. Trump often tweets every time Rasmussen reports a positive number. But don’t expect him to tweet that his approval rating is now at a dismal (for Rasmussen) 44 percent, with a disapproval of 54 percent. That’s one point off of his worst showing of the year.

Of course, these Rasmussen numbers fluctuate with little connection to real world events. Although in this case the multiple mass shootings a couple of weeks ago, and the effect of Trump’s tariffs on the economy and the pocketbooks of average Americans, may be taking a toll. So naturally Trump takes to Twitter to vent his outrage:

Notice that this eruption of his infamous and reckless “enemy of the people” mantra is not being directed at the media because of their reporting on Trump’s collusion with Russia or his idiotic border wall. Nope, this outburst is because they didn’t sufficiently swoon at the size of his crowd at a New Hampshire cult rally. To trump size matters. And he has been whining about this for several days now. It’s all he has left.

The notion that the media is “corrupt” because they aren’t fawning over the blind devotion of his glassy-eyed followers is patently absurd. Even worse, Trump is boasting that he broke an attendance record set by Elton John at the same venue. But that comparison is ridiculous considering that Elton’s fans paid upwards of $60.00 a piece, while Trump’s red-hatted geeks got in for free. Let him charge sixty bucks and see how many show up.

To sum up, Trump’s attempted negotiations with China, North Korea, Iran, and even allies like Mexico and Europe are falling apart. The nation is livid about his (and his GOP comrades in Congress) negligence to do anything affirmative about guns. Migrant children are still being separated from their parents and housed in cages. And most economists are predicting an imminent recession or worse. No wonder both Fox News and Rasmussen are delivering near record low numbers for Trump. And, as a result, you can expect his behavior to become even more unhinged going forward. It’s as predictable as a Trump casino going bankrupt.

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

Trump Suffers HYSTERICAL Twitter Breakdown, Attacks Former Staffer for Praising Him

Posted by on August 20, 2019 at 8:49 am. 1 Comments :

If there’s one thing that Donald Trump does exceedingly well, it’s to make a total ass of himself without having the self-awareness to know that he’s doing it. Trump embarrasses himself nearly every day with comments that demonstrate either his flagrant ignorance or his brutish and abusive hostility or both. In his narcissistic delusion he believes that everyone of his critics is part of a conspiracy to destroy him. But in reality, no one does a better job of that than Trump himself.

Donald Trump

Case in point: On Monday night Trump posted a video tweet that contains so many of the elements of his psychopathy. But it must be seen to be believed. It features his former friend and staffer, Anthony Scaramucci with this comment: “Nobody ever heard of this dope until he met me. He only lasted 11 days!”

Okay then, let’s take a moment to break this juicy morsel down. And let’s begin with the fact that the video, a compilation of repeated instances of Scaramucci saying flattering things about Trump, is a work of pure idiocy. Why? Because Trump is replaying these tributes right after calling Scaramucci a “dope.” He’s apparently pointing out what a fool Scaramucci is for having said all those nice things. Which is actually a pretty good point. Now, of course, the Mooch says Trump is “crazy, narcissistic,” and “unfit” to serve as president. But Trump didn’t have any video of that.

As for Scaramucci’s notoriety, lots of people had heard of him. Prior to his doomed association with Trump, he was the founder of an international investment banking firm and a frequent guest on Fox News. Trump obviously heard of him, from watching Fox News, of course. That’s where he finds most of his pitifully incompetent staff.

Trump hired Scaramucci as his Communications Director, one of the most important White House jobs, and one of the closest to the President. He was Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ boss. And while Trump often says that he hires “the best people,” this one, as Trump noted, only lasted eleven days. Now Trump says he was an “unstable nut job” who he “barely knew” So you have to wonder if that’s how Trump staffs his entire administration. The record sure suggests that, considering all the people that Trump has hired and later said were incompetent. For instance:

  • His personal attorney, Michael Cohen
  • His campaign chairman and White House Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon
  • Senior Advisor, Omarosa Manigault Newman
  • Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell
  • Attorney General, Jeff Sessions
  • Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson

See the pattern? And now it’s Scaramucci’s turn to bask in the white hot glow of Trump’s wrath. But one of the most delicious ironies of this is that the reason the Mooch only lasted eleven days was because he was caught on tape acting like Trump – an angry, profane bully. Now that he’s become a prominent critic of Trump, the President is doing what he’s done every other time this has happened. Which is to lash out viciously and pretend you never met the guy.

This time, however, Trump thought it would be cool to show Scaramucci praising him over and over again, and then calling him a dope. Which can only be interpreted as Trump saying that Scaramucci is dope because he praised Trump. Can anyone disagree with that?

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

Trump Threatens Fox News: ‘I’m Not Happy with Fox and I’m the One Who Calls the Shots’

Posted by on August 19, 2019 at 12:38 pm. 4 Comments :

The evidence that Fox News is just a subdivision of the Republican Party (or vice versa) continues to pile up. And the closeness of that relationship has never been stronger than it has during the administration of Donald Trump. Fox News and Trump share a profound intimacy wherein the State TV network will unceasingly defend the President and malign his critics, while he generally sings the praises of his most devoted Trump-fluffers. Leaked emails recently revealed the existence of a literal Propaganda pact between Fox News and Trump.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Strange

However, on occasion Trump will have a brief falling out with his PR team at Fox. It usually occurs when a Fox News pundit has the audacity to tell the truth about Trump or to challenge his perceived omnipotence. Foxies like Chris Wallace and Shepard Smith have periodically been victims of Trump’s wrath. But his complaints are never based on any identifiable error in content or facts. Trump just lashes out in unhinged tantrums when someone at Fox is not sufficiently worshipful.

That rare moment of independence presented itself recently when Fox News released the results of its latest poll. The numbers were decidedly negative for Trump, including the finding that the top four candidates for the Democratic nomination for president (Biden, Warren, Sanders, and Harris) handily beat Trump in 2020 general election match ups. Trump never even broke forty percent. The poll’s respondents also gave a much higher favorability rating to the Democratic Party (51/45), than the Republican Party (41/54), which they rated as significantly unfavorable. And in a searing rebuke of Trump’s assessment of his own ability to unify the nation, 59 percent of voters said that he is “tearing the country apart.”

Predictably, Trump went bonkers at Fox daring to deflate his messianic self-image. And he frantically unloaded his outrage during another episode of his “Chopper Talk” reality show that has replaced White House press briefings. It was a jaw-dropping spectacle that confirmed that Trump regards Fox News as an affiliate of the White House that must always be obedient to his demands (video below). He began…

“Fox is a lot different than it used to be, I can tell you that. […] Fox has changed. And my worst polls have always been from Fox. There’s something going on with Fox, I’ll tell you right now. And I’m not happy about it. I don’t know what’s happening with when they have a Juan Williams who’s never said a positive thing. And yet when I show up at the Fox building he’s out there, “Oh sir, can I have a picture with you? Can I have a picture? He’s 100 percent nice.”

First of all, Trump has complained before about Fox News polls that he says “have always been terrible to me.” However, this collection of his own tweets proves that Fox’s polling has often been favorable to him, and he knows it. And it’s interesting that he considers that Juan Williams being polite somehow makes him a hypocrite. That actually tells you something about Trump’s boorish and infantile personality. Then he continued…

“Fox is different, there’s no question about it. And I think they’re making a big mistake because Fox was treated very badly by the Democrats. Very, very badly. Having to do with the debates and other things. I think Fox is making a big mistake because, you know, I’m the one who calls the shots on the really big debates. I guess we’re probably planning on three of them. And I’m not happy with Fox. I’m certainly happy, I think, Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs. I think Tucker Carlson and Laura, Jesse Watters and Jeanine. We have a lot of great people.”

Trump is unambiguously threatening Fox News here. He’s saying that if they don’t start delivering more favorable polling results he might just prohibit them from hosting election debates. He believes that Fox’s polls should not be honest, representative samples of the electorate but, instead, should be aligned with the views of his favorite shills (Hannity, Dobbs, Carlson, etc.) And if they aren’t, then Fox will be punished. Also, his assertion that “WE” have a lot of great people, is a clear indication that in his mind Fox News is part of his regime. TrumpenFox is a monstrous creation that crossbreeds news and politics.

This would be a good time to point out that Trump’s assertion that he “calls the shots” is bullshit. The apolitical, independent Commission on Presidential Debates has sponsored general election presidential debates in every election since 1988. So unless Trump intends to unilaterally rescind that process, he won’t be deciding which networks host the debates.

Of course, given his recklessness and ignorance, Trump just might try to nix the Commission and impose his own terms for debate. That, however, wouldn’t go down well with the Democratic nominee who likely oppose any such move. And if the debates are canceled as a result, it would just make Trump look petty, stubborn, childish, and most of all, scared. Which is unquestionably the true state of his diseased psyche, considering his utter failure to deliver on his campaign promises, and the teetering state of the economy. The American people would see in real time that the Donald Trump who dodged the draft is the same coward dodging the debates.

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