The Fact-Free GOP
The Republican Party is now allergic to the truth. This is what comes from the entire party following, with slavish devotion, a man who lies as easily as he breathes. When Donald Trump was president, the Washington Post counted up over 30,000 lies he told -- an average of 21 per day. Since then, Trump has successfully purged the party of pretty much everyone who has ever disagreed with him on any of them. All that are left are those that are willing to buy into the mindset that reality is what Donald Trump says it is, period. Democrats have been wishing for a while that the Republicans would all wake up one day and return to sanity, but now it's more of a wish that they return to some sort of objective reality -- rather than the Trumpian fantasyland they all now inhabit.
Consider a headline in the Post today: "Trump Goes To War Against Real-Time Fact Checks." After successfully turning the Republican Party into a personality cult where whatever the Dear Leader says is gospel truth, Trump now wants the media to follow suit as well. Trump has been refusing to participate in any interview or appearance where journalists will fact-check him live:
Trump nearly backed out of an August interview with a group of Black journalists after learning they planned to fact-check his claims. The following month, he and his allies repeatedly complained about the fact-checking that occurred during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, berating journalists and news executives in the middle of the televised debate.
And this month, Trump declined to sit down for an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes because he objected to the show's practice of fact-checking, according to the show.
Campaign advisers also expressly asked CBS News to forgo fact checking in its vice-presidential debate with Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance -- who then complained on air when a moderator corrected him.
It's even instructive to listen to his team's explanations. The group of Black journalists told the Trump team that they would be fact-checking him live, and Team Trump refused to allow him to go on stage. When they finally relented and did let Trump be interviewed, they made up a story of "audio problems" to explain the delay (which Trump made a big deal of, during the appearance). In other words, when caught trying to deny access to Trump due to fact-checking, they reverted to form: they lied about it.
As for 60 Minutes, here's what happened behind the scenes:
"A week ago, Trump backed out," CBS correspondent Scott Pelley explained. "The campaign offered shifting explanations. First, it complained that we would fact-check the interview. We fact-check every story. Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020."
Pelley went on to explain that the 2020 incident for which Trump requested an apology had never occurred.
Got that? Trump didn't want to be fact-checked, then he made up a grievance that he blamed instead. For a supposed slight that didn't happen.
Trump has already had some success in fighting the news media's desire to report the truth. He is refusing to release either his tax returns or his medical records, and the media has not made either one of them a big issue -- despite having done so during his previous presidential campaigns. Both would be valuable information for voters to have, since Trump will become the oldest president ever to take office if he wins and because he has been making money in as many ways as he can think up since he left office. But the media now just shrugs and doesn't even bother pressing the issue.
Kamala Harris is trying to make Trump's lack of medical records a campaign issue, but it remains to be seen whether the media will follow her lead or not. Even if Trump did release any sort of medical information, it would likely be similar to what he has released before: a statement from a doctor lauding his health to the skies with zero details whatsoever (and zero information about his mental state, of course).
These days, whenever Trump latches onto some conspiracy theory or another, the entire Republican Party either gets in line behind him or retreats to their go-to excuse: "Oh, I haven't heard that / didn't read that post / don't know the context of his words," before refusing to either correct Trump's lies or denounce them. On a very few occasions, a handful of brave Republicans will still stand up and contradict Trump (as some Republicans recently did, in the midst of Trump's fantastical lies about hurricane recovery efforts), but most of them either keep their heads down or join in the "Trump's right! Everyone else is wrong!" chorus of sycophants.
Some of these lies are insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. Others are not. According to the "reality" Trump now inhabits: as president he didn't make it his number-one issue to repeal (without ever coming up with a replacement for) Obamacare, instead he worked in a bipartisan way to make it better. After the 2020 presidential election, there was a peaceful transfer of power. Before the Supreme Court ruled, everyone wanted Roe v. Wade overturned -- even liberals. Now, the Democrats want to make it so that babies can be killed after they are born. Illegal immigrants are taking over and conquering American towns and cities. All of these (and many more) are part of Trump's stump speeches these days. His surrogates, from JD Vance on down, repeat them as if they are actually true instead of being laughably wrong.
Saturday Night Live got in on the fun, after the vice-presidential debate, with Bowen Yang playing Vance, after complaining about the moderators fact-checking him:
You know, Nora, it's rich to say that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power -- we said no fact checking -- and willingly, and willingly -- don't check that -- got on his plane without incident -- don't -- right after saving Obamacare -- don’t check that.
The sad part is they weren't exaggerating all that much from what Vance actually did claim during the debate.
But it is no laughing matter when you see every single high-ranking Republican still parroting Trump's Big Lie about the election. Despite being the most secure election in American history, Trump still insists the election was somehow "stolen" from him. He still insists he won. And woe to any Republican who doesn't at least timidly agree (usually with some flavor of: "Well, people still have questions about the 2020 election"). This is still dangerous because it is not just Trump being the biggest sore loser in American history, it is indicative of how he's going to behave if he loses this time around, too. At least he won't be in office (and thus will not have the ability to order any government official to do anything), but he's certainly going to challenge the results if he loses -- that much is a certainty. And Republicans have a new talking point about it -- they will accept the results, but only if it is "a free and fair election." They will doubtlessly follow Trump's definition of "a free and fair election" -- which means (to him) one that he wins. If he loses, to Trump, that means it was not a free and fair election, pretty much by definition.
Donald Trump is a sore loser who (as in the famous movie quote) can't handle the truth. He has infected the entire Republican Party with his delusions. A major American political party is now completely allergic to any truth that Donald Trump doesn't accept. And if Trump loses, they are going to do their best to drag the rest of the country down the rabbit hole they've all fallen into.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
J6 was outrageous and it won’t be over until Trump is behind bars. But even if the mob had caught and hung Mike Pence and Nancy they never actually took over our government. All fifty state governments would have to recognize the usurpers along with the military, DoJ, the alphabets and so on down the line.
Taaa daaaaa… STILL alive!!! :D
Did ya'all miss me???
"With every shot so far.."
-Al Bundy
:D
Well, what an exciting week it's been down here in Florida.. As you can imagine, we were swamped down in the Comm Center.. A shit ton of water rescues.. Been a while since I pulled a 48-hr shift.. :D
So, let's catch up in the world of politics, eh?? :D
wow, check out how close these all are. bad news is, trump is up in five of the seven.
Arizona 48.4 47.5 Trump +0.9
Nevada 47.8 48.8 Harris +1.0
Wisconsin 48.0 48.4 Harris +0.4
Michigan 48.7 48.0 Trump +0.7
Pennsylvania 48.4 48.1 Trump +0.3
North Carolina 48.9 48.3 Trump +0.6
Georgia 48.7 47.9 Trump +0.8
-nypoet22
What the hell you talking about, JL!!??
That's not bad news!! That's GOOD news.. At least for decent patriotic Americans.. Yea, it IS bad news for Trump/America hating Demon'rats…
As I predicted, Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris poll numbers are dropping like ACME anvils... :D
Which is also evidenced by the lack of comments here in Weigantia. SEVEN measly comments on an FTP!!???
Oh how the mighty have fallen...
I guess the Trump/America hating Demon'rats are realizing that Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris and Tampon Tim NO BALLZ Walz don't stand a chance of winning..
Did ya'all catch that video of NO BALLZ Walz trying to load a shotgun on a pheasant hunt??
BBBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And this NO BALLZ moron claims to be a hunter!??
BBBBWWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
OH, let me hit on the subject of this commentary..
Iddn't it funny how NONE of the Trump/America hating Demon'rats here EVER want to discuss the Fact Free Demon'rat Party??
I mean, all the Trump/America haters here go on and on about alleged lies from President Trump, but NEVER once call out Demon'rat lies...
Why is that???
2006 CW and Weigantia are rolling in their graves..
Did ya'all see Basement Biden slap down Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris hugely??
Headboard Harris tried to pick a fight with Gov DeSantis in the midst of Hurricane Melvin preparation to score political points...
And Headboard Harris was slapped down awesomely by Basement Biden..
And THEN, Gov DeSantis finished off Headboard Harris with a HUGE uppercut that basically knocked Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris into last week!!
It was a BRUTAL and EPIC one-two punch that UTTERLY DESTROYED Headboard Harris!!
LOVE IT!!
Yep, things are shaping up exactly as I predicted... Token DEI-Hire Headboard Harris and Tampon Tim NO BALLZ Walz are in a WORSE position than Basement Biden was...
It's clear to ANYONE with more than 2 brain cells to rub together that President Trump is going to be the next President Of The United States..
And when that glorious day DOES happen, it's just going to be me, JL and LIZ in Weigantia…
Which will make Weigantia GREAT AGAIN...
MWGA!! :D
Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris was asked a very important question. Not just once, but TWICE... On TWO SEPARATE occasions..
What would you have done different than President Biden if you had been in charge the last 3+ years?
Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris' answer??
"NOT A THING.."
So, basically, what Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris is admitting is that she HAS no "new way forward"..
Her administration would do NOTHING differently than Basement Biden has done..
What MORON would vote for 4 more years of disastrous Basement Biden/Demon'rat policies??
Only an America hating moron...
The FACTS are clear...
I mean, honestly. Look at the facts.
Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris has ONE mission... Just ONE single mission.. ONE goal..
And that is to show the people who think that Basement Biden is a doddering senile old fool (which is EVERYONE now) that HER policies are different and will make everything better..
THAT is Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris' ONE overriding goal..
And, as is per the norm, the Demon'rat MSM gave her a complete softball lead in to do EXACTLY that...
And what did Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris do??? Now just ONCE, but TWICE??
She wiff'ed it... She totally and 1000% completely and utterly WIFF'ED it...
TWICE!!!!!
And, to add idiocy to her moronic-ness....
IT WAS A COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY 1000% EXPECTED question!!!
At least, it SHOULD have been to anyone with more than 2 brain cells to rub together. Which, I guess, leaves out Token DEI Hire Headboard Harris and her entire election team...
JL, Liz... Yer the only ones here (besides yours truly) who have more than 2 brain cells to rub together...
Tell me I am wrong in the afore mentioned assessment...
Go on... I'll wait...
I've just been watching Trump at an event with Bloomberg. It's a Q and A on the economy and all things related.
CNN just broke away from its coverage of it because it was looking pretty bad ... for the Harris campaign.
Trump could very well walk away with this election - because Democrats have not yet figured out how to talk about the economy.
Hey, Michale!
I guess I'll just let comment #5 stand as my response to your #2-#4 ...
addendum to #5
And, the media still hasn't figured out how to talk about Democrats not being able to talk about the economy and how Trump owns the file.
Liz,
It's simply amazing to me how everyone else around here has The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome that they can't see the facts and the reality staring them right in the face...
In other news: local board troll proves this article's headline is true...
the poll numbers are accurate. we won't know how predictive they are for another few weeks, but now it's even a bit moreso; six out of the seven swing states have trump with a slight lead, with arizona the biggest at +1.1
I've just been watching Trump at an event with Bloomberg. It's a Q and A on the economy and all things related.
CNN just broke away from its coverage of it because it was looking pretty bad ... for the Harris campaign.
Trump could very well walk away with this election - because Democrats have not yet figured out how to talk about the economy.
It's a given that President Trump is going to win all the Swing States..
Harris simply cannot compete with facts and reality... All she has is word salads...
Harris' interview on Fox News tomorrow is going to be so much fun!! :D Too bad I'll be at work so I'll miss it live...
Interesting to note. We move to mid shifts 1800-0600 in the Comm Center on 4 Nov. That means I'll be up for all of the election news on an other-wise slow Tue night/Wed morning.. :D
Just think of all the fun we're going to have here in Weigantia come Wed!!!! :D
the poll numbers are accurate. we won't know how predictive they are for another few weeks, but now it's even a bit moreso; six out of the seven swing states have trump with a slight lead, with arizona the biggest at +1.1
And it's a bona fide well documented fact that pollsters under counted President Trump support by up to 7 points in the last 2 presidential election..
You can bet that, if the polls show President Trump with ANY kind of lead, then that means it's a victory for President Trump..
And, speaking of bets... The betting markets have President Trump way WAY up over Headboard Harris...
And you know what that means...
So, JL.. What's yer thoughts on comment #4, eh?? Any factual errors?? Misinformed opinions?? Hmmmm??? :D
Michale,
Harris simply cannot compete with facts and reality... All she has is word salads...
What's so funny about that is how Democrats have many of the facts and reality on their side when it comes to the economy but they still don't know how to talk about their successes nor, more importantly, about their failures and how they plan to do things differently.
As for word salads, well, they have the best to learn from in the former president. I actually love how Trump is talking about this now as a "weave" with the accompanying hand gesture for a weave (which, funnily enough, is very similar to his hand gesture that outlines the classic shape of a woman's body, heh) - what a great description!
What's so funny about that is how Democrats have many of the facts and reality on their side when it comes to the economy but they still don't know how to talk about their successes nor, more importantly, about their failures and how they plan to do things differently.
We'll just have to agree to disagree on this point. Given the catastrophe of the last 3+ years of Biden/Harris/Democrat policies, I believe that Democrats do NOT have the facts on their side..
It's obvious that Democrat policies simply DON'T WORK..
We see that in the country, we see that in Democrat cities and we see that in Democrat states...
Everything Democrats touch turns to shit and everywhere Democrats govern become 3rd world shitholes..
The facts that PROVE this are as plentiful as they are conclusive..
Having said that, I have to be honest here and admit that I am VERY surprised to see Harris agree to go on Fox News..
Her campaign team must be really, REALLY, REALLY desperate to allow this... :D
It's gonna be a hoot!!! :D
I actually think that she will do quite well but that it won't make much of a difference.
Given Harris' tendency of refusing to actually answer a question and given Baier's well known tenacity...
It's gonna be a trainwreck for Harris.... :D Even more so than her THE VIEW, 60 MINS and COLBERT interviews... :D
Repugs are pulling a 2022 and flooding the zone with GOP-leaning polls. Remember the Red wave that wasn’t?
Nothing has changed as Trump isn’t even trying to find more votes outside of his base. He lost to Joe Effing Biden and only our slavery-era Electoral College made it seem close. Where is he going to do better — black men? Good luck with that.