The ever expanding tyrannical aspirations of Donald Trump continue to test the limits of American tolerance for fascist, egomaniacal, ignoramuses in positions of power. Trump has already shown that it’s possible to assemble a devoted, albeit tiny, cult following who are willing to abandon the principles of liberty and freedom enshrined in the Constitution if it means achieving their dreams of a white, christo-supremacist confederacy.
However, on Friday Trump took a step that may have crossed a line that even makes his most worshipful disciples nervous. No, it wasn’t his illegal suggestion that the election in November be delayed. And it wasn’t his quadrupling down on the lie that mail-in voting is rife with fraud. The latest Trumpism that is rattling the timbers of democracy is his declaration that he will ban the Twitter app TikTok from the United States:
“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States. Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order.”
As is always the case, Trump’s belief that he has omnipotent powers to rule with divine finality exists only in his infected imagination. Unfortunately, his delusional outbursts can’t be dismissed because they are inevitably adopted by his apostles in the populace and the press. And for some reason these perverse patriots are not bothered by the thought of the government stomping its boot down on a communications platform simply because it has hosted some content that is critical of Dear Leader. That’s right, I’m lookin’ at you Sarah Cooper.
Trump’s threat to cancel TikTok may be a risky gambit. The app has more than 800 million users worldwide and is popular with a broad cross section of Internetians. There are already reports that his threatened ban could ignite a torrent of angry young voters incensed by the censorious action. This may be another explanation for Trump’s vengeful threat. He is attempting to punish TikTok activists who punked his cult rally in Tulsa a couple of months ago by signing up to attend without any intention of doing so. That resulted in a humiliating campaign event that drew less than 6,000 people to an arena that holds 19,000.
However, this isn’t the first attempt by Trump to cancel something to which he objects. Despite the alleged right-wing aversion to “cancel culture” Trump has also endeavored to ban immigrants, Black Lives Matter, coronavirus tests, and mail-in voting. More ominously, Trump’s war on the media – which he maligns in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people” – is his way canceling everything from CNN and the Washington Post, to WKRP and the Hartford Pennysaver.
And let’s not forget one of Trump’s most despised critics … Fox News! Never mind the fact that Fox is practically the only network for which he will grant an interview. Or that he relies more on Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, and Jeanine Pirro, for advice than anyone in his Cabinet. Trump still whines that it’s “so hard to watch Fox News anymore.” And that “@FoxNews is doing nothing to help Republicans, and me, get re-elected.” And he’s “Looking for a new outlet“ because Fox has “more anti-Trump people, by far, than ever before.” And much, much more.
Considering Trump’s steaming disdain for Fox News (when he isn’t lavishing it with praise and exalting in their adoration), it may just be a matter of time before he calls for banning the network from the airwaves if they don’t adjust their 98% pro-Trump propaganda to 100%. [Yes, I know that Trump will never ban his Ministry of Disinformation]. But if Trump really wants to ban the biggest source of online content that is harmful to his public image and his reelection, he needs to ban Donald Trump. Because there is no one who does more to expose his idiocy, hatred, and sociopathic self-interest, than he does himself. It’s not even close. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
