Wednesday, August 07, 2019

THE TRUMPERS ARE LIKE THE COPS PLANTING THEIR OWN DRUGS ON A SUSPECT AND THEN ARRESTING HIM (updated)

Today the president went to Dayton, Ohio, after which -- the Great Unifier! -- he attacked local politicians who'd been with him:
In a series of tweets after visiting victims of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, President Trump accused Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley of lying in a press conference....

Trump on Brown and Whaley: "Just left Dayton, Ohio, where I met with the Victims & families, Law Enforcement, Medical Staff & First Responders. It was a warm & wonderful visit. Tremendous enthusiasm & even Love. Then I saw failed Presidential Candidate (0%) Sherrod Brown & Mayor Whaley totally misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with. They were all amazing!"
There's just one problem: Neither Brown nor Whaley said the things the president claimed they said:
Brown, a frequent critic of Trump, said that the president "was received well by the patients...They were hurting, he was comforting. He did the right things, Melania did the right things." ...

Whaley, meanwhile, did not directly attack Trump, but questioned whether he was serious about taking action on gun control: "I'm hoping, for the people of Dayton, that he does, but both the senator and I spoke very directly what we've been saying the whole time about the need for common-sense gun legislation."
So what's the truth? The media wasn't allowed to find out firsthand:
[Shepard] Smith, one of the rare Fox News host[s] who has not hesitated to criticize Trump, said on his show: "Thus far they’ve not allowed the press corps to come with them saying it’s not a photo op. Instead, the White House releasing its own pictures of the president’s activities today while keeping the media away...."
So why the lies about Brown and Whaley from Trump, and from his social media director?



Why? I say it was because that was the plan all along: attack Brown and Whaley no matter what they said, knowing that the Trump cult either won't be exposed to the truth or will denounce it as fake news. They're just making up their own grievances now, like cops who don't care if the guy they want to arrest for possession is actually carrying drugs -- just drop a Baggie in his car and arrest him for that.

Trumpistan kissed truth goodbye a long time ago. It's all myth now. To the Trumpers, there are only Trump worshippers and evil slanderers. There's no middle ground.

****

UPDATE: Okay, here's what happened:
[Trump] was particularly upset by excerpts from a news conference in Ohio featuring Mr. Brown and Nan Whaley, the Democratic mayor of Dayton, that he had seen while flying from Dayton to El Paso. Both officials took a mostly respectful tone toward the president and said he had been received graciously. But Mr. Brown also said that some people at the hospital had privately said they do not support Mr. Trump, and he charged that the president had used racist and divisive language.

Mr. Trump reacted with fury. As his plane soared toward a restive El Paso, he shouted at aides that no one was defending him, according to a person briefed on what took place.
A smart president, one who didn't have tissue-thin skin, would take that as a win -- two critics interleaving their criticism of him with praise. But Trump, as I said in the previous post, can't be presidential, even though it would improve many Americans' opinion of him. He doesn't understand the power of seeming to be high-minded and above criticism. Or maybe he gets it, but he'd rather throw tantrums because he's a 73-year-old child.

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