The Big Lie

The big lie for today is the endless reporting that President Trump said “the media is the enemy of the American people”.

I’ve heard news reporters on every station claiming he said it, and asking people about it, and discussing that statement. Oh, a few of the media folks haven’t done that, but by and large reporters and journalists are clutching their pearls and whining endlessly about how the President is attacking the First Amendment and opposed to free reporting and the like. PBS, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, every media outlet has some talking head whining about how wrong, wrong, wrong the President was to say that the media is the enemy of the people … which would be fine, except for one little detail …

HE NEVER SAID THAT. Nor did he attack the First Amendment.

What he said is that the FAKE NEWS media is the enemy of the American people. 

And that is an entirely different statement, with a totally different meaning. Not only that, but it was not a general attack on the media as almost everyone is claiming. He spelled out in detail exactly who he was talking about. As you know, I like original documents, and here is the document at the head of all of these lies about what he said:

Look at how what he actually said has been twisted to attack him. He called out five specific “news” organizations for their highly politicized “reporting” of the actual news … and in response the media has gone into a meltdown, hysterically lying about what he said, clutching their pearls and claiming they are under attack, and repeating the idea that he’s opposed to a free press and is against the media and the like … dang, get a grip, guys!

In a curiously recursive twist, this false and incorrect reporting of his actual statement by the majority of the news media shows that the President was right … the majority of the media are convicted by their own actions of the President’s charge against them.

Fake news, like this fake news about what the President never said, hurts the dialogue on all sides. It prevents a discussion of the real issues, and it inflames the passions by distorting what people actually said.

So the President is right. FAKE NEWS media are indeed the enemy of the people.

… meanwhile, the TV is on in the background as I write this. Fox News is quacking away for the moment, I rotate the dial through all the channels every day so I can hear all sides of the issues. The idiotic Fox talking head just said to his guest, and I quote, “He’s calling journalists the enemies of the American people, what do you think of that” …

I’ll tell you what I think of that, Mr. Fox News Commentator.

I think you just proved the President’s point. You are using fake news, something the President NEVER SAID, to attack the President. He didn’t say “journalists are the enemies of the people”, that is FAKE NEWS. Made up. Imaginary. A non-quote. That is a total misrepresentation of what the President said. It twists his statement to the opposite of its true meaning, and that is dishonest.

And when anyone uses and spreads fake news, when they twist the truth like that, they are indeed an enemy of the American people.

As the President knows, as you and I know, as everyone agrees, a fair, balanced and honest press, free to speak truth to power, is crucial and indispensable to liberty and democracy. We used to have one, and in some places we still do. We need to protect and support all such reporting and reporters. Honest unbiased journalists in 2017 are rarae aves that should be added to the Endangered Species List. Where is Walter Cronkite when we need him?

On the other hand, a biased, lying, and politically driven “news” organization is just a public relations operation for the political party it represents. When a bunch of political operatives with bylines masquerade as a news station, as say CNN does in between cravenly slipping the secret debate questions to Hillary and putting CNN’s full weight behind almost any Democrat’s campaign, that “news” station is one of the fake news media … and that is assuredly a danger to all of us.

w.

The Usual Request: When you comment, please QUOTE THE EXACT WORDS you are discussing, so we can all be clear about your subject.