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Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse
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If you think you’ve been hearing a different President Trump this week — more accepting of the reality of the coronavirus pandemic — don’t be fooled. The new Trump is the same as the old Trump. He can’t help it. He’s incapable of taking responsibility for his role in this crisis — and thus incapable of leading us out of it.
After weeks of denial and deflection, a seemingly chastened Trump on Monday conceded that the virus was, in fact, “not under control,” and was, indeed, “a very bad one.” What caused the switch in tone? Who knows? Perhaps it was the largest one-day point drop in the Dow Jones in history on Monday. Perhaps it was a study the White House received saying that 2.2 million Americans could die. Perhaps it was that Trump’s beloved Mar-a-Lago is getting a coronavirus-necessitated deep cleaning.
But the sudden shift can’t conceal the fact that Trump has shown himself to be wholly inept at dealing with the pandemic. It doesn’t change the fact that he puts himself first, always. It doesn’t alter the fact that, as he once told top aides, he thinks of “each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals.” It doesn’t dissolve Trump’s compulsion to lie, even when truth would serve him best. It doesn’t diminish his incompetence, ignorance or propensity for administrative chaos.
And it doesn’t change his inability to accept responsibility. “I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said Friday. So too this week, even as he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation he had played down for so long.
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But responsibility? Never. Ever the blameless narcissist, Trump always insists that the buck stops wherever convenient — for him, personally. For Trump, success always has a single father — himself. Failure has a hundred — everyone and anyone else. The media. The Democrats. The “deep state.” Disloyal staffers. Prosecutors. Judges. Anyone who doesn’t do his bidding or sufficiently sing his praises.
And the common thread between his taking credit and shifting blame? Trump’s standbys: Lying, deceit and exaggeration. All have come into play throughout his presidency, and all now have come home to roost.
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Trump’s abject failure of leadership brings to mind the words, borrowed from Oliver Cromwell, that British Conservative backbencher Leo Amery used in 1940 to bring down Neville Chamberlain, a prime minister of his own party: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go.”
The nation needs a credible, competent president, now more than ever. The surest and best thing Trump could do to come to the aid of his country — to save lives — would be to go, as the hapless Chamberlain did. But that won’t happen. Because that would be taking responsibility, something Trump has never done and will never know how to do. It’s too bad for us.
TRUMP, TROPES, AND TROTS
Trump, Tropes, And Trots
Yesterday, I had a Trump supporter tell me to “stop playing the blame game” and stop blaming “President” (sic) Trump. Three days ago, this idiot posted on Facebook that the coronavirus pandemic is a conspiracy. I get asked occasionally, “Why don’t you unfriend these hateful and stupid people?” Because I want to know the latest arguments and talking points they’re using. I want to know the daily outrage.
Usually, the daily outrage is “Obama, Obama, Obama.” Others over the past few months have been Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the Superbowl halftime show, the “media,” and invisible things that persecutes Trump cultists. It’s kinda crept up slowly, but now the outrage is China.
It’s often debated, is Fox News leading Trump or is Trump leading Fox News? It’s both. This time, it’s Fox News giving the talking point to Donald Trump. This time, it’s the “China virus.”
Fox News anchors have been calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and the “Wuhan virus.” Why? because it’s a racist trope that caters to the racist base that makes up their viewership and it deflects blame from Donald Trump.
Now, Trump is using the term “Chinese virus.” He said it’s “not racist at all” and in explaining why he uses it, he said, “It comes from China. That’s why.” He also said he was trying to combat a disinformation campaign by China that the virus was started by the U.S. military. He said, “I didn’t appreciate the fact that China was saying that our military gave it to them. I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma.”
It’s true that China has started a propaganda campaign placing blame on the United States. It’s also true that Trump and his team are waging a disinformation and hate campaign in return. The Secretary of State has referred to it as the “Wuhan virus” at least six times. The Trump campaign said on its website, “America is under attack — not just by an invisible virus, but by the Chinese.” That creates a stigma.
Kellyanne Conway said Donald Trump was trying to be “accurate” and, “I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started.” Republican fucknut Senator Charles Grassley tweeted, “I don’t understand why China gets upset bc we refer to the virus that originated there the ‘Chinese virus’ Spain never got upset when we referred to the Spanish flu in 1918&1919.” No one is sure where the Spanish Flu originated, with many saying Spain, China, Austria, a UK military camp in France, and…Kansas. It flared up during World War I with most signs pointing at the world’s militaries of being the cause and carriers. It got the name “Spanish Flu” because Spain was neutral and the allies agreed to give them the name, thus removing blame from themselves. Maybe by blaming Spain with the name (and we were recently in a war with them), there wouldn’t be any resistance from the European nations we were at war with who were also fighting the pandemic. Anyway, Charles Grassley is an idiot.
It’s not just hateful to blame the government of China for the virus. It’s also hateful to people of Chinese descent. Hell, even people descended from other Asian nations are being blamed. There have been reports of attacks and slurs cast at Asian-Americans. Even Trump-supporting white people married to Asians are confused by which Asians to blame.
CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang tweeted, “This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the ‘Kung-Flu’ to my face.” Kellyanne demanded the reporter to tell her who said it, thus demanding a reporter to reveal her sources. While Kellyanne said it was wrong to say “Kung Flu,” she defended Donald Trump’s use of “Chinese virus.”
Kellyanne pulled out her imaginary Get-Out-Of-Racism-Free card by pointing out she’s married to an Asian, as George Conway is half-Filipino. That was weird. She’s married to the guy and doesn’t seem to understand Filipino is not Chinese. That’s like saying I can’t be prejudiced against Germans because I have English ancestry. We’re white so we all look alike, right? Is that what Kellyanne was trying to say about her husband and children?
Also, like Europeans can hate other Europeans and Muslim nations hate other Muslim nations, there are Asians who hate Asians. Go to China or Korea (either one) and ask them how they feel about the Japanese. No race is monolithic. You’d think someone married to someone of a different race would understand that. But, if George hasn’t convinced Kellyanne that Donald Trump is a racist grifting conman with brain worms, he’s probably not going to be able to convince her Filipinos and Chinese aren’t the same.
China bungled their response to the pandemic. Donald Trump did too. But neither gave us the virus. Both are guilty of making it worse. It would be best for our government not to respond to a hateful propaganda campaign from a communist nation with its own hateful propaganda campaign.
Blaming China takes the heat off Trump. It puts a face on the virus. It’s catering to the hate in Donald Trump’s base, which is what Trump and Fox News does best.
The universally recognized terms are “coronavirus” and “covid19.” Calling it anything with an Asian connotation is a distraction and entirely political. Anyone doing so has an agenda, and it’s a hateful agenda. It’s not about accuracy.
Donald Trump is now referring to himself as a “wartime president.” I found it scary enough when he referred to himself just as “president.” During an actual war, President Franklin Roosevelt responded with racism when he put over 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps…just because they were Japanese. If a good president like Roosevelt can do something so hateful and prejudiced, what will a bad, racist, hateful president like Donald Trump do, even if his war is pretend?
Presidents are supposed to bring people together, especially during a crisis. Being presidential is not Donald Trump’s specialty. Solving a crisis isn’t his specialty either. Hate is Donald Trump’s specialty. Division is his specialty.
The virus isn’t prejudiced, racist, or partisan. It doesn’t have yellow, black, brown, or white skin. It doesn’t care about your tax bracket. Tax cuts will not kill the pandemic. Neither will Donald Trump’s hate and racism.
Racism is a virus and a plague…just like Donald Trump.
Trump, Tropes, And Trots
Yesterday, I had a Trump supporter tell me to “stop playing the blame game” and stop blaming “President” (sic) Trump. Three days ago, this idiot posted on Facebook that the coronavirus pandemic is a conspiracy. I get asked occasionally, “Why don’t you unfriend these hateful and stupid people?” Because I want to know the latest arguments and talking points they’re using. I want to know the daily outrage.
Usually, the daily outrage is “Obama, Obama, Obama.” Others over the past few months have been Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the Superbowl halftime show, the “media,” and invisible things that persecutes Trump cultists. It’s kinda crept up slowly, but now the outrage is China.
It’s often debated, is Fox News leading Trump or is Trump leading Fox News? It’s both. This time, it’s Fox News giving the talking point to Donald Trump. This time, it’s the “China virus.”
Fox News anchors have been calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and the “Wuhan virus.” Why? because it’s a racist trope that caters to the racist base that makes up their viewership and it deflects blame from Donald Trump.
Now, Trump is using the term “Chinese virus.” He said it’s “not racist at all” and in explaining why he uses it, he said, “It comes from China. That’s why.” He also said he was trying to combat a disinformation campaign by China that the virus was started by the U.S. military. He said, “I didn’t appreciate the fact that China was saying that our military gave it to them. I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma.”
It’s true that China has started a propaganda campaign placing blame on the United States. It’s also true that Trump and his team are waging a disinformation and hate campaign in return. The Secretary of State has referred to it as the “Wuhan virus” at least six times. The Trump campaign said on its website, “America is under attack — not just by an invisible virus, but by the Chinese.” That creates a stigma.
Kellyanne Conway said Donald Trump was trying to be “accurate” and, “I think what the president is saying is that is where it was first started.” Republican fucknut Senator Charles Grassley tweeted, “I don’t understand why China gets upset bc we refer to the virus that originated there the ‘Chinese virus’ Spain never got upset when we referred to the Spanish flu in 1918&1919.” No one is sure where the Spanish Flu originated, with many saying Spain, China, Austria, a UK military camp in France, and…Kansas. It flared up during World War I with most signs pointing at the world’s militaries of being the cause and carriers. It got the name “Spanish Flu” because Spain was neutral and the allies agreed to give them the name, thus removing blame from themselves. Maybe by blaming Spain with the name (and we were recently in a war with them), there wouldn’t be any resistance from the European nations we were at war with who were also fighting the pandemic. Anyway, Charles Grassley is an idiot.
It’s not just hateful to blame the government of China for the virus. It’s also hateful to people of Chinese descent. Hell, even people descended from other Asian nations are being blamed. There have been reports of attacks and slurs cast at Asian-Americans. Even Trump-supporting white people married to Asians are confused by which Asians to blame.
CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang tweeted, “This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the ‘Kung-Flu’ to my face.” Kellyanne demanded the reporter to tell her who said it, thus demanding a reporter to reveal her sources. While Kellyanne said it was wrong to say “Kung Flu,” she defended Donald Trump’s use of “Chinese virus.”
Kellyanne pulled out her imaginary Get-Out-Of-Racism-Free card by pointing out she’s married to an Asian, as George Conway is half-Filipino. That was weird. She’s married to the guy and doesn’t seem to understand Filipino is not Chinese. That’s like saying I can’t be prejudiced against Germans because I have English ancestry. We’re white so we all look alike, right? Is that what Kellyanne was trying to say about her husband and children?
Also, like Europeans can hate other Europeans and Muslim nations hate other Muslim nations, there are Asians who hate Asians. Go to China or Korea (either one) and ask them how they feel about the Japanese. No race is monolithic. You’d think someone married to someone of a different race would understand that. But, if George hasn’t convinced Kellyanne that Donald Trump is a racist grifting conman with brain worms, he’s probably not going to be able to convince her Filipinos and Chinese aren’t the same.
China bungled their response to the pandemic. Donald Trump did too. But neither gave us the virus. Both are guilty of making it worse. It would be best for our government not to respond to a hateful propaganda campaign from a communist nation with its own hateful propaganda campaign.
Blaming China takes the heat off Trump. It puts a face on the virus. It’s catering to the hate in Donald Trump’s base, which is what Trump and Fox News does best.
The universally recognized terms are “coronavirus” and “covid19.” Calling it anything with an Asian connotation is a distraction and entirely political. Anyone doing so has an agenda, and it’s a hateful agenda. It’s not about accuracy.
Donald Trump is now referring to himself as a “wartime president.” I found it scary enough when he referred to himself just as “president.” During an actual war, President Franklin Roosevelt responded with racism when he put over 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps…just because they were Japanese. If a good president like Roosevelt can do something so hateful and prejudiced, what will a bad, racist, hateful president like Donald Trump do, even if his war is pretend?
Presidents are supposed to bring people together, especially during a crisis. Being presidential is not Donald Trump’s specialty. Solving a crisis isn’t his specialty either. Hate is Donald Trump’s specialty. Division is his specialty.
The virus isn’t prejudiced, racist, or partisan. It doesn’t have yellow, black, brown, or white skin. It doesn’t care about your tax bracket. Tax cuts will not kill the pandemic. Neither will Donald Trump’s hate and racism.
Racism is a virus and a plague…just like Donald Trump.
The coronavirus has struck virtually every age group throughout the world, but it has proven more lethal to older people. Those aged 60 and older have accounted for the majority of deaths in the United States, and medical experts have warned the public for weeks of the pandemic’s intensifying danger. Elderly Americans also are the average cable-news viewers. And of the networks commonly included in that category, Fox News Channel remains the most popular one in prime time.
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox cable networks, amid this crisis, have not been diverted from their primary mission, even if misinformation is the price. Apologia and advocacy for both Donald Trump and the Republican Party has typically taken precedence at Fox News and Fox Business. Even at a time when such a collective public effort is required to combat a global pandemic, the danger wasn’t a deterrent. Some anchors and guests likened COVID-19 to the flu, which is patently false. Fox Business’ Trish Regan theorized that media alarm about COVID-19 was “yet another attempt to impeach the president.” They encouraged Americans to congregate and travel, ignoring safety advice from medical experts and even government officials.
Fox anchors, at least, have now earned some recognition and ridicule for finally removing their tinfoil hats. The Washington Post has assembled a video of Fox News and Fox Business personalities abruptly switching from blithe dismissal to newly found caution. That change coincided with the Trump administration’s declaration of a national emergency late last week. However, both the president and Fox’s cable broadcasts have remained a danger to public health at a crucial time.
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It would almost be reassuring to attribute Trump’s obvious incompetence to his Fox News diet rather than his desire to maintain power and influence, even if that means flaunting his own faults. This president, the GOP, and Fox News have their own ecology of sorts, and it is difficult to know which of them was the first to sell the other on convincing Americans that they didn’t hear what they just heard. The waste product of their relationship is fecal and rancid, served up to the Fox cable audience and the rest of the world as if it is gourmet. They know who is willing to lap it up, it seems. But the Fox News tactics only grow more hazardous by the day as lives, especially those of their median audience, continue to be at stake.
Misinformation can be fatal, and that’s why Americans need to be more vigilant and shrewd about the media that they consume, especially now. That is the lesson that we all should be conveying, particularly those of us in the press. We cannot rely upon the visceral danger this pandemic presents to encourage people to make smarter choices about citizenship, let alone what and who they allow to influence their thinking. And that starts with thinking critically about oneself, which too many Americans fail or refuse to do.
Fox News and Fox Business are winning the information war at the worst time, all by embracing the worst in us. They’ll tell you that nothing is wrong when there clearly is —— and then imply that if you get sick, blame the Chinese. When you’re a Fox News viewer, it’s never your fault. But when the public heat rises, the Fox cable networks leap at the chance to appear civil. And too often, we waste time laughing at them or give them credit for trying. It isn’t difficult to look like you’re stepping up when you’re already at rock bottom.
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