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    Trump's myth-making mistake: He’s running against an opponent who doesn't exist

    Terry H. Schwadron, DCReport @ RawStory
    July 25, 2020

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    (AFP/File / Brendan Smialowski)

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    Terry H. Schwadron, DCReport @ RawStory
    Down in the polls, Donald Trump is betting that voters will decide that Joe Biden will look worse.To me, just how Trump is doing that is more than concerning: Trump is choosing an unsubstantiated, scattershot campaign based on myths and false associations that present dangers that just are not borne out.

    If Trump actually believes in Trumpism, anti-immigrant policies, preservation of racist symbolism, his tariff-laden approach to foreign trade and security issues, his bull-in-a-china-shop approach to foreign affairs and support of only the wealthy, he should stick to those.  Obviously, he should knock off his braggadocio about leadership during the coronavirus, since we are losing that fight Bigly.


    Still, calling out Biden as a demon who will invite widespread riots and social rot seems unnecessarily over the top. They just disagree about approaching divisiveness and direction as president.

    Let's agree that there has been a continuing fountain of media commentaries about the gap between the world as Trump sees it and the realities of coronavirus, joblessness, recession-like economics, international and domestic racial strife.

    But as the Trump campaign is suggesting in its ads, in Trump's remarks, written and ad-libbed, if you don't like what you have now, it'll be worse under Biden, whom Trump constantly seeks to belittle and to paint alternately as a doddering fool or an extreme leftist.

    Meanwhile, the Left, which now has become a disorganized amalgam of anyone anti-Trump, is most happy that Biden is not Trump, and somewhat only reluctantly accepting of a Biden who is making efforts to include enough progressive stances in his quiver to keep Democrats united.

    Still, the consensus seems to be that Trump is having trouble making his dystopian view of Biden-as-leader stick.

    Unpretty politics

    We can also agree that politics as is practiced in these United States has never been pretty or straightforward. Exaggeration, partisanship, monied interests, gerrymandering and other electoral tricks are always part of the scene — whether foreign actors are involved or not.

    But here's a typical line of attack, this one from a Breitbart.com news report picked up and promoted thematically by Tucker Carlson on Fox and social media: "Joe Biden's radical proposal for the Democrat Party platform for 2020 seeks to put an end to America's suburban communities by forcing low-income housing into every neighborhood and flooding every community with immigrants, legal or otherwise."

    Yes, general platform-type statements for the Biden camp include support for expanding affordable housing and enforcing Fair Housing Act provisions, that there should be a comprehensive approach to immigration and that we should do whatever is possible to address racial, income and class distinctions.

    But ending suburban communities? Hardly. If anything, Biden's current successes in polling seem to ride on more suburbanites switching camps to support him. It's a sample of the turning and twisting – something both sides are good at – of well-intended aspirations to make them sound like anti-choice, anti-individual, anti-local decision-making.

    Trump ads show cities on fire, threatening public safety and abetting violent crime, and assert that Biden wants to eliminate policing altogether.

    Trump messages

    Trump held an expansive "press conference" in the Rose Garden this week that was, by multiple accounts, a rambling monologue mostly attacking Biden (31 times) and Democrats. By most measures, it was more campaign rally talk than national policy.

    To Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, it was "an hour-long diatribe against Joe Biden, attributing a platform to his Democratic opponent that bore hardly any resemblance to anything occurring in the real world."

    Among Trump's contentions: Biden will incentivize illegal alien child smuggling," "abolish immigration enforcement," "abolish our police departments" and "abolish our prisons, I guess." Democrats are even "calling for defunding of our military," Trump said. Democratic mayors possibly "wouldn't mind" if terrorists "blow up our cities."

    Biden's energy plan "basically means no windows" in homes or offices by 2030, he said, and "cold office space in the winter and warm office space in the summer."

    Milbank asked: "Um, Biden would abolish windows? "I'm not making this up!" Trump said, mid-jeremiad. (Actually, he was)."

    While presidents have used their office to campaign for reelection, "Trump's reinterpretation of that approach was downright bizarre."

    A long fall

    I think we're ready to vote now, but we must endure four more months of this type of depressing make-believe. It falls to us to hear all this (or switch off the messaging altogether) with some skepticism.

    It seems a shame because even Trump acknowledges that these two candidates represent a very clear choice in a variety of actual policy positions, from climate change and environment to foreign policy to the role of race in society and income inequality. They have legitimate differences without resorting to made-up exaggerations meant to gin up fears.

    As Trump grows more cornered politically, we can anticipate that he will make up more outrageous untruths to advance his own cause by denigrating Biden's.

    For his part, Biden has presented ads depicting a mix of very positive, low-key assurances of caring about people during coronavirus as well as out and out attacks on the very practices that Trump presents as effective leadership. While opinionated, there appear to be fewer let's pretend moments in Biden's messaging. Instead, Biden is open to criticism about his actual record over 45 years in government, about his flexibility and responsiveness to a growing push to the Left and a persistent problem with gaffes.

    The polls to date, which can be wrong, but are interesting for their trend differences,  seem to reflect much more anti-Trump than pro-Biden, if that makes a difference.

    Bring on November.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    Enjoy good journalism?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

    We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

    Value Raw Story?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.


    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
    READ COMMENTS - JOIN THE DISCUSSION

    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Seth Meyers details the work done to clean the White House post-Trump: 'Getting ketchup off the Constitution'

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 21, 2021

    Thousands had to be spent to clean the White House after President Donald Trump and his family stayed in the residence for four years. While reports maintained that the fumigation was due to the coronavirus pandemic and a need to ensure sanitation, "Late Night" host Seth Meyers thinks something else was afoot.

    "Scrubbing out Diet Coke rings, pulling loose hair out of the drain, trying to get ketchup off the Constitution," he said, detailing the work that had to be done. "I know they're saying that this is because of COVID but even without the pandemic if I were moving in after Trump anywhere I'd want the place fumigated. The guy was glued to his TV, barely left his bedroom, and only ate fast food. That place probably looks like a locker on 'Storage Wars.' Or a studio apartment in a rent-controlled building after the tenant, who lived there for 80 years dies. There's just piles of old newspapers, loose change and a collection of weird ceramic pigs."

    See Meyers video below:


    Biden Sworn In as 46th President After Trump Leaves White House: A Closer Look www.youtube.com

    Bernie Sanders' mittens were a low-key message of unity, warmth and community

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 20, 2021

    He sat quietly as the brisk Washington breeze blew his wild, silver hair; his hands neatly folded over his lap clad in knitted mittens. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made a fashion statement during the inauguration of his friend President Joe Biden Wednesday, but more he made a statement about America.

    Jen Ellis, a teacher from Essex Junction, gave Sanders the mittens several years ago. They're made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles. Sweaters that warmed the days of many through harsh Vermont winters and bottles that touched the lips of thousands of Americans warmed the hands of a United States Senator.


    Inauguration Topshots: A photo by @AFP's Brendan Smialowski showing Senator Bernie Sanders and his lovely warm mit… https://t.co/05A9jyEM31
    — AFP News Agency (@AFP News Agency)1611201802.0


    Many wore tight-fitting gloves, separating each finger in leather-clad division. Sanders' brought each of his fingers together, encased in the loving, home-spun, warmth of unity.

    "But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don't look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don't get their news from the same sources you do," Biden's voice sang out across the empty Washington streets.

    Sanders' hands weren't jammed into the pockets of isolationism. They were gathered in a congress of devotion.

    Many have responded to the poetic moment of Sanders sitting simply. His hands warm with a passion for America's future. Feeling the zeal of the moment, and embracing the sense of community and heart, Americans have put the historic moment in some of the greatest moments of history.

    Satire aside, you can see the photos below:



    Undefeated. The internet...🤣😭 https://t.co/eFKJuXNt4w
    — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@Rex Chapman🏇🏼)1611198297.0


    Bernie and his mittens: a meme thread https://t.co/DrAH5q5WMe
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@Dirtycracker 🌊)1611199747.0


    pic.twitter.com/3Mgm2Aj7cE
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/bNTPoVWNXx
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    https://t.co/ORws5m9YIY
    — Cheeky Nando 🌹⚓ (@Cheeky Nando 🌹⚓)1611171801.0


    pic.twitter.com/q40waHRviK
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/EsaJqkC4Bj
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/a6pkSJUM0x
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/DKm3aKDdxi
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021



    pic.twitter.com/Ae3tsyJlgX
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/tT9UF8uTWr
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/1wd4b4EE9u
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/25yvoe3ugC
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/49fHwhwK7W
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/NSBjboFJmL
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/W3GG2EemIV
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/f4vaCWdwlX
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/e8IuOfrNXK
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    Before this meme loses its charm, here's my contribution to Bernie sitting with mittens. I wonder what his quirk is? 🦉🚿 pic.twitter.com/WcYVGHq9Ku
    — Owl in the Shower🦉🚿🦇☮️ (@History4Life92) January 21, 2021


    On Wednesdays, we wear mittens.
    --Bernie (probably) pic.twitter.com/c5m1lqEzcS
    — T.J. from Blue Georgia 🇺🇸 (@ChattFC42) January 21, 2021


    Presenting: Lofi Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/BIKFjaabYO
    — GOOD (@good) January 20, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/jLQKTeskxd
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/JEELF4dAYN
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/2skuaJpI2I
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    I am once again asking you not to touch the artwork. H/T to @elissaolinsky for the #AltText lift!… https://t.co/D3blOQ2goZ
    — The Phillips Collection (@The Phillips Collection)1611176536.0




    @BelfastAgmt My personal favorite https://t.co/8666Qg9fcx
    — Empress of Anarchist Jurisdictions (@Empress of Anarchist Jurisdictions)1611202940.0


    https://t.co/xqAoSxLXoH
    — Good Friday Agreement (@Good Friday Agreement)1611202440.0


    https://t.co/53bXuLSwRZ
    — Good Friday Agreement (@Good Friday Agreement)1611202442.0

    Trump put Senate GOP in tough spot with 'crony pardons' ahead of impeachment: Top Republican

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 20, 2021

    Former President Donald Trump released the full list of 145 pardons in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but some of those are already problematic for Republicans, reported Politico.

    Elliott Broidy, a GOP fundraiser, pleaded guilty in a foreign lobbying scandal. GOP Maine donor Michael Liberty, was "convicted of making illegal campaign contributions — and who was once described as 'Donald Trump with a Maine accent.' Drew Brownstein, a hedge funder and son to a Colorado lobbyist. All of those added to the other political cronies like Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.

    "The granting of even more sleazy crony pardons as the clock ran out on his one term," Politico cited GOP election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg, "will define the nature of his presidency."

    Republican strategist Mike Madrid similarly told Politico that he expected a few "unseemly" pardons, but that these were "a whole different level."

    "This is pardoning your friends who are doing illegal behavior on your behalf," Madrid said. "It's all of his henchmen."

    While the move is an inside-baseball game, there were so many of the "crony" pardons that it creates a story around Trump's corruption and desperation to overthrow the 2020 election.

    "That Trump's Tuesday night combined another tranche of sleazy crony pardons with revoking his 2017 revolving door lobbying ban he bragged would drain the swamp will burn in the legacy of his presidency," Ginsberg said. "And not in a positive way. In his hubris, he apparently didn't consider, or didn't care, how this might impact the Senate Republicans who will now be asked to ignore his actions and save 'his reputation' in the impeachment trial."

    Just as Trump was pulling out of the White House, it was also revealed that he rescinded his ban on Trump staff not being able to become a lobbyist for five years after leaving office. In 2017, Trump made a big production signing Executive Order 13770, saying that he campaigned on "draining the swamp." But when it came to the end, Trump withdrew the pledge.

    Read the full report at Politico.

     
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    Trump put Senate GOP in tough spot with 'crony pardons' ahead of impeachment: Top Republican

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    Trump has 'surpassed an awfulness' that ranks him among America's very worst presidents: historians

     
     

    Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.

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