I was just beginning to write essays for Trump World in February of 2017. In those early days, I was trying to explain Trump to my Progressive friends, still reeling from the 2016 election results. One of those early essays, called Liar Liar Liar, tried to analyze the Trump organization’s relationship to the truth.
Alternative Facts
Here we are, two and a half years later, and that relationship hasn’t changed. The President built his political foundation on the phrase “fake news.” If no one can tell what the truth is, then people will only believe what the leader “they” support tells them. The President has flat out stated: “Just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” Combined with the confirmation of a major “news” organization, Fox “News,” and a whole other universe of “alternative facts” gets created. (Thanks Kelly-Ann, for that contribution to the American political phraseology.)
The Shooter was a Democrat
This week is a great example. It started with the shootings in Odessa, Texas, when seven people were killed and dozens wounded by a random shooter. Within hours of the deaths, Twitter was alive with “facts.”
- The shooter had a “Beto for Senate” bumper sticker on his truck.
- He was a registered Democrat and a Democratic Socialist.
- He was a member of Antifa.
This was all fabricated. The Trump Administration didn’t create these falsehoods. But, Anthony Shaffer, a former DIA officer and a member of the Trump 2020 Campaign Advisory Board, lent them credence by re-tweeting.
I was caught up in those same lies from one of my Facebook “friends” posts. When a “Snopes” fact check didn’t reveal an immediate response (it was too soon,) I worried that somehow they were true, and would be used to turn back efforts for gun controls. I didn’t respond on Facebook, the reality that there are crazed folks with all kinds of political views, including ones similar to mine, was too real to mention. It shouldn’t be.
So the lies did exactly what they were supposed to do. They helped smother the debate. Here was a man, acknowledged by his neighbors to be “scary and angry.” He could not legally pass a weapons background check, and sat on his rooftop at night and shot at animals. Yet, he was allowed to have a weapon of war.
China Invades Ohio
The second example isn’t even related to Trump, but it is a great example of how absolute falsehood has become our modern political tool. Here in Ohio, the Republican legislature and Governor have just passed “energy” legislation, rolling back conservation incentives, and pouring money into the failing company running Ohio’s nuclear power plants.
Opponents of the legislation, a strange amalgam of environmentalists and the natural gas industry, are trying to gain enough signatures to put the legislation up for vote on a statewide ballot. The nuclear power folks, who won in the state legislature, are paying for an advertising blitz on statewide television.
The commercials claim that those passing the petitions are working for China, they show videos of marching Chinese soldiers, President Xi, and Red Flags; and claim that China will interfere in Ohio’s politics and energy production. “Don’t sign the petition” they demand, as if the Chinese secret police will be pounding on your door with paper and pen.
What does China really have to do with any of this? Some of the natural gas industry plants in the state have financing that includes Chinese banks. So, by the way, is some of the financing for Direct Energy, the nuclear power company. And, of course, so are trillions of dollars of the US debt, sold to China by the US Treasury.
It’s the “Red Scare” tactic, creating a complete fictional story about “Chinese hands” on Ohio’s power switches.
Magic Marker Hurricanes
Some may say this is just “politics as usual.” But even the most outlandish campaigns usually have some casual relationship to the truth, some tenuous connection to reality. But, in this “grand example” of the President’s “fake news,” the nuclear industry is following the classic propaganda technique: if you’re going to lie, tell a big one.
Our third example is directly from the President’s hand. As Hurricane Dorian was grinding away the northern Bahamas, stalled precariously off of the US coast, the President warned folks, including in the state of Alabama, about the dangers. The problem was, there was no danger to Alabama; projected tracks for the storm did not include them.
It was a mistake, while extremely early tracks from a week before included a possible move across Florida, all of the more recent projections showed Dorian headed up the Atlantic coast. It was a mistake the President could have explained, corrected, and moved past.
But this is the era of Trump. In yesterday’s “news opportunity” with the President, he presented an older map, complete with a Magic Marker addition to Dorian’s projected course. It couldn’t have been more obvious, the President added his “projection” so that he could claim to be right. Asked about this, Trump followed his own “rules.” He doubled down on his mistake, claiming that the Weather Service would put out a more detailed map showing him right. The Weather Service chose not to answer questions about the mistake.
Believe Your Lying Eyes
It’s a lie, an obvious one, and a foolish one. But, to a substantial portion of the American electorate, it is believed. They are conditioned: listen to the President, ignore the “fake news” that calls him to task. It’s tough to argue with his success.
Abraham Lincoln said: “…you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people, all of the time.”
Let’s hope Lincoln’s right.
