Back in the old normal, journalists never referred to a politician as a liar. They were either wrong, mistaken, misinformed, misspeaking, or incorrect. That changed with Donald Trump as the man continues to repeat lies after being told they’re lies. Trump and his sycophants don’t just lie where you can say it’s their viewpoint. They lie to the extent that they choose their own facts. Kellyanne Conway even referred to them as “alternative facts.” That puts us into the new normal where it’s not unprofessional to state that the president is a liar. That rule also applies to calling him a troll.
A troll is a person who throws something into a conversation in order to deflect or distract you from the topic. Trump does that, but he also trolls to make people upset. He totally hijacks athletes in the NFL peacefully protesting racism, and turns into something disrespecting Americans who serve in our military. The hypocritical thing about that is Trump has disrespected people in our military.
He attends a ceremony honoring members of the Navajo nation who served in World War II, and he throws out a racist jab at Senator Elizabeth Warren. Later, his defenders like Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the biggest outrage should be directed toward Warren for lying about her heritage. Never mind the fact that Trump has lied about his heritage (he claims he’s Swedish when he’s actually German), or that Warren wasn’t at the ceremony or a topic for discussion at the event. When you bring up Trump’s racism, Warren’s heritage is not relevant. It just changes the subject.
He attacks Democrats and liberals accused of sexual abuse despite the fact he’s had multiple accusers, and he’s currently endorsing a pedophile for the Senate. That’s serious trolling.
Since it’s the Christmas season, let’s not exclude how he brags about how we’re saying “Merry Christmas” again. He actually has his supporters associating him more with that phrase than Jesus Christ. And, when have people ever been afraid or discouraged from expressing it or when was has it ever been outlawed? The guy creates problems where there isn’t one. It still distresses me that white conservatives claim victimization where it doesn’t exist. Trump is their hero.
This week, Trump tweeted out videos made by Britain First, a racist and anti-Muslim group. A group whose leader was charged with assaulting a Muslim woman and her children and a supporter murdered a Member of Parliament.
Apparently, there’s not enough Klansmen and Nazis in America for Trump to support that he has to extend his racism to Europe. There should not be a debate on whether Trump is a racist. The president of the United States is a racist.
The videos Trump tweeted out were Islamophobic created with the intention of increasing hatred toward Muslims. The details Britain First claimed in the videos can’t be confirmed, with one of them being an outright lie. That video is titled, “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” It does indeed show one boy attacking another on crutches. However, the attacker wasn’t an immigrant or even a Muslim. He just had darker hair.
This upset, not just Americans, but our allies in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Theresa May condemned Trump’s tweeting of hate. Trump replied in a tweet, “don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!,” which was tweeted at Theresa May. Unfortunately, but not surprising, he tweeted it at the wrong Theresa May. The guy is too busy stirring up crap to do any research, like noticing this Theresa May only had about 60 followers. I’m not a genius, but I think I’d question why the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom only had 60 followers.
Sanders said we are focusing on the wrong detail by talking about how the videos are fake, and that the threat is very real. They need a lie to illustrate a real threat. Keep in mind these are the people who scream about “fake news.”
Trump is also hawking his tax cut plan without knowing the details. But, he knows enough that it’s going to make him and his spawn of trolls even richer. That doesn’t prevent him from lying that he won’t benefit from it personally, or that many of his rich friends are upset with him over it. Have you heard any of his rich friends complain about this proposed tax cut? Trump could prove it won’t benefit him if he’d only show us his tax returns.
Just like his blame if there’s a government shutdown, Trump will pin the failure of this “tax cut” on Democrats even though Republicans control both houses in Congress and the Presidency.
Now, there is talk that Trump still believes in birtherism, that the investigation into his meddling with Russia will be over by January, and that his voice on the Access Hollywood tape, which he has apologized for, isn’t his voice. He’s not just a troll. He’s an insane troll.
We have a racist, insane, trolling president. Many members of Parliament don’t want him to visit the UK. Who can blame them? We don’t want him here.
Clay Jones can be emailed at [email protected]