With Trump, the mis-information began in the very first White House press briefing when his squeaky puppet - Sean Spicer - angrily challenged estimates of the 45th president inauguration ceremony crowd. And yet the pictures were clear. The turn-out was much lower than for President Obama. Publicly at least, Spicer's jaw-dropping denial was the start of the new president's fakery - his fake news. Privately, the fakery had begun long before that.
In Trumpian philosophy, these appear to be the central tenets:-
- Never admit any guilt or weakness
- Repeat an untruth over and over and people will believe it
- Intelligence is a form of ignorance
- Ignorance is a form of intelligence
- Being president is just like starring in a reality TV show
But now, after the court appearances of Cohen and Manafort the lasso is starting to tighten. How will Trump wriggle free? Surely, surely in the end truth will win out and rightfulness will reclaim its seat and Trump will be resigned to history with his tail between his legs. It has to happen.
Recently, one or two British TV documentaries have brought typical US Trump supporters into our homes. Universally, they seem like decent people who are proud of their country and wish to live happy, fulfilling lives. But regarding Trump they appear to have one very dangerous thing in common - blind faith. What does it matter if Trump paid off prostitutes? What does it matter if The Russians helped to get him elected? What does it matter if he lied or cheated or if he used bullying tactics to build his real estate empire? After all, nobody's perfect and he's doing a good job - starting to make America great again - just like he promised. Unlike the rest he's a businessman, a man of action.
This blind faith reminds me of frightening religious cults or Islamic fundamentalism. It's hard to argue with it because adherents do not wish to argue. Believing in Trump has become a mast to cling to in a stormy sea. They just do not want to let go.
If Trump announced that he had won a purple heart in Vietnam for his heroism in the heat of battle, they would probably rather believe him than any whining fake media reports that he had in fact avoided the draft by claiming to have a "bone spur" in his foot. Some hero! In stark contrast, John F. Kennedy did win a purple heart for gallantry as the skipper of a gunboat - close to The Solomon Islands in 1943. If pressed, Trump would probably say that if Kennedy was a hero, how come he allowed his boat to catch fire when the Japanese destroyer rammed it?
This blind faith reminds me of frightening religious cults or Islamic fundamentalism. It's hard to argue with it because adherents do not wish to argue. Believing in Trump has become a mast to cling to in a stormy sea. They just do not want to let go.
If Trump announced that he had won a purple heart in Vietnam for his heroism in the heat of battle, they would probably rather believe him than any whining fake media reports that he had in fact avoided the draft by claiming to have a "bone spur" in his foot. Some hero! In stark contrast, John F. Kennedy did win a purple heart for gallantry as the skipper of a gunboat - close to The Solomon Islands in 1943. If pressed, Trump would probably say that if Kennedy was a hero, how come he allowed his boat to catch fire when the Japanese destroyer rammed it?
I love the newspaper.
ReplyDeleteNews flash: Every state is different. My cousin in Pennsylvania was exempted from military service because he had flat feet. My brother-in-law in North Carolina had flat feet too but he was accepted. I can see where New York's draft boards, having the largest pool of candidates of any state, might be more picky in their choosing and might excuse someone for having bone spurs. It could happen. Don't be so quick to pooh-pooh everything. Some things that seem far-fetched to you might actually be true (like Obama was not universally adored hereabouts, even by non-racists). Granted, Steve Bannon is not a big, cuddly, cute harmless puppy and President Trump is not a great golfer. I'll give you those.
If Trump really had bone spurs how come there was no mention of them before or since? And how come he played American football and baseball to a pretty good standard when he was in school? He wasn't the only rich boy to dodge the draft in such a questionable manner.
DeleteExemption due to flat feet during the Vietnam War was code for the person was gay. At the time that was a solid reason to not be allowed to serve.
DeleteAs far as I know, neither my cousin in Pennsylvania nor my brother-in-law in North Carolina was gay. They are both dead now, but the former fathered three children and was married three times, and the latter was married once (for over 50 years) and fathered two children. Not that means anything, really.
DeleteWhere was it code for the person was gay? I have never heard that in my 77 years of living in this country.
Speaking of cheeky, now that I think about it, Lisa takes the prize today.
DeleteThe very idea that someone like Trump would have gone to Viet Nam is laughable. Rich boys just didn't. And let's admit it- the fake news didn't start with Trump. The Viet Nam war was a perfect example of the government lying and making up facts and hiding truths. Horrible deceit.
ReplyDeleteI feel so beat down by it all right now that I don't even know what to do. The very fact that Trump got elected is something I will never, ever be able to reconcile.
The truth may all eventually come out but I am not sure this country will ever recover.
Even from over here I worry about what comes after Trump and about the fractures that his presidency has created. This is not The American Dream.
DeleteI recently watched a documentary which really made me stop and consider this thing you call blind faith or what I now perceive as a deeply entrenched personal belief. It can be about anything; people who hold these entrenched personal beliefs seem unable to grasp the idea that there might be another point of view or a way of living a life.
ReplyDeleteThis is their belief and they are firmly fixed in that opinion groove.
It also made me think of Kate Adie, the British journalist, who once said we are all prisoners of our own mindset. Even though there would be howls of outrage from many if you suggested this to them. When you hold firmly to your beliefs you don't want some one to come along and suggest otherwise.
Politics is just one area where entrenched personal belief flies in the face of what seems illogical or unbelievable to another person. And therein lies a world wide problem.
You could say that President Trump has deeply entrenched views, though it's an exhausting process trying to follow them on a daily basis.
Right now, here in this country, there is a fine old to-do in the Federal Government about ousting the current PM. Ostensibly it's about his lack of leadership but in my deeply entrenched view it's about a group of back benchers in his party and their personal beliefs.
Of course I could be wrong...
Alphie
They backed Trump with hope. As you say, people are not very good at admitting they made the wrong choice - not just in relation to Trump but in various other aspects of life. You end with "Of course I could be wrong" but I do not believe that you are Alphie.
DeleteIt's absolutely frightening what is happening in American leadership...and in many ways, terrifying to realize that at least a few people important in my own life are Trumpsters.
ReplyDeleteI believe that racism is behind it, topped with a big dose of greed.
Trying (and succeeding!) in setting folks against one another and calling the free press "fake" is bringing us to our knees.
Even if we manage to clear the White House of these preening narcissists, their rhetoric and mean spiritedness have taken root.
It is appalling.
There are millions of decent, fair-minded and intelligent Americans like you and Ms Moon and Rhymes with Plague too - who will be able to heal the wounds when the Trump nightmare is over.
DeleteThe biggest reason people supported Trump in the first place was racism. There's absolutely no doubt about that. Then there's the fact that Fox News is a hideous, lying, fascist organization that tells their viewers exactly what to think about every situation, and the more divisive and hateful their rhetoric the better their viewers like it. I'm like Ms. Moon....I'm not sure I can ever reconcile the fact that so many people voted for him and continue to support him. Way back when he was still campagning and he mocked a disabled reporter on national television, I knew that the people that still gleefully supported him were a lost cause. They have no decency and no shame. Deplorable was and is an apt description.
ReplyDeleteI can feel your hurt and your despair from 3905 miles away Jennifer. What he has done to those Mexican and Guatemalan children is unforgivable... or it should be!
DeleteIt seems like impeachment is the best we can hope for now. However, even if the president was impeached we would still be governed by what to me is a frightening group although at least it would remove the most mentally unstable of the group. It is hard to see what is happening in our country. So many positive things we have worked for are now disappearing.
ReplyDeleteIt's like building a tower from wooden blocks. You need a lot of patience, time and steady hands to get the tower to a reasonable height but it is so easy to knock such a tower down. Then you have to start again and the blocks are scattered everywhere.
DeleteI can not understand the blind faith people! What are they thinking? they are not thinking in the larger scheme of things. They are not thinking about the country as one.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what Trump would say about Kennedy. I think many people have somehow decided that no matter how they vote, the future of the country is out of their hands. Essentially, they think of their vote as a sort of statistically insignificant protest. So they wind up voting for Brexit and then being SHOCKED when it passes, or they vote for Trump and then have to make peace with his presidency. In the Ed Balls show (which Dave and I are watching and I have to say I am totally impressed with Ed's skills as a journalist) some people seem to be saying they don't like him much but they think he was the best option. And then there was the Mexican woman who swam the Rio Grande herself decades ago and now supports Trump. "He's not after me, he's after the criminals," she said, and I thought, no, lady, he's after YOU.
ReplyDelete