Not Without Incident: Questioning Big Brother's Platitudes

I-Media Malfeasance and The Refusal to Reflect

“The gravest threat to American democracy right now is President Donald Trump,” – Chuck Schumer

There is constant chatter among blue checkmarks on Twitter and commentators across the spectrum on whether Trump will make another bid for the White House. Noone except his most ardent supporters want him to, but that does not matter, it is up to him whether he runs. Despite the panic and disapproval of conservative and liberal pundits, America and the world will inevitably weather the storm of another Trump presidency just as it did before. That this is a possibility at all is not an indictment of his supporters or those in the right-wing media who endorsed him, it is an indictment of a widespread failure to grapple with underlying issues like mistrust in media that both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the corporate media, have been complicit in. Present proof is the insistence that Joe Biden is in prime condition, which is becoming a more difficult lie to sell everyday, and the covering for actions that, when done by Trump were touted as evidence of democracy being on the brink, are noted as proof of Biden’s confidence and immense experience. The same forces that propelled Trump into the White House in 2016 will do so again if he decides to run again in 2024. Media outlets insist he is plotting to steal the 2024 election already, and Trump is still heralded as the number one threat to democracy and the world.[i] This is ridiculous, and with stories such these the seeds are being sown for another four years of denial and conspiracism, instead of introspection. Hilary Clinton still denies she lost the 2016 election, and yet we are told Trump presents a distinct threat when he rambles about the ‘stolen election’ tale at rallies and in interviews. If he had won re-election, we would be submitted to renewed conspiracism regarding Russian collusion or Trump burning mailboxes.[ii]

Instead of talking to each other, Americans have only become more insular. Another Trump presidency would not end the world or the American republic, but it may be the last chance for a massive shake up to potentially force a rethink of the eroding system failing millions of Americans. Evidently 2016 and the chaotic four years that followed was not enough. Trump’s reference to American carnage in his inaugural address in 2017 was an incredibly profound reference, and it sparked numerous responses, in the form of articles and even books. The carnage that followed his inauguration in the media and the White House was not new, it had just never been televised in such a sensational nature.

The people tossed aside by globalization demand a solution. The answer is not a utopia, but a discussion and debate about solutions relatively bereft of ideological capture. In this series, I will look at the forces driving Trump and populism in the US, the failures of his opposition to address issues that led to Trump and that continue to aid him, and how Trump’s return is a real possibility, perhaps even an inevitability.

The conservative commentariat, much like their liberal counterparts, are excited at the notion that Trump is fading in popularity. His talk of election fraud in 2020 is claimed to be turning people off. A recent poll taken in CPAC 2022 is hailed as evidence of Trump’s faltering, and DeSantis’ rise.[iii] Some conservative intellectuals have written pieces calling for an alternative to Trump.[iv] Insider leaks pushing various rumors about what might stop Trump from running or whether an off handed comment made in a speech confirms his 2024 run are bountiful. The same obsession with leaks and gossip that afflicted the coverage of the Trump White House continues to plague the discourse around whether he’ll run again. The will he or won’t he run is a speculation that pundits recycle in case of a quiet news week. Conservative thinkers were shocked by Trump as much as liberal thinkers. While not necessarily anti-Trump, many wish Republican voters will move on and select a new candidate to run for president in 2024, as Trump is fragmenting the party and continues to push his idea the 2020 election was stolen from him. Trump is a dangerous figure in the minds of many across the spectrum, and the American people would have to be absolute rubes to vote for Trump again, so the argument goes. This would all be true if it were about Trump-it’s not. There is a concern amid conservative pundits that if Trump becomes the Republican nominee, then they will get massacred in the general election. After my own continued analysis and countless observations, I would argue that not only will Trump run and win the Republican nomination, which is a certainty even to pundits across the spectrum, but Trump will almost certainly win the presidency again in 2024. The three main reasons for this are the corporate media’s inability to take accountability for laundering fraudulent stories and pushing bunk narratives, the Biden administrations’ failure to keep promises made to the progressive base that got them elected, like student debt cancellation and raising the minimum wage, and that after 6 years, no one gets what is going on and why traditional methods like impeachment, media driven persecution, and constant protestation across mediums help Trump instead of hurting him. The latest court filing by the January 6 Committee is an example of this failure and misunderstanding. All these attempts to go after Trump propel him further. Even voices on the right who are trying to move on from Trump misunderstand the situation.

An obvious retort to such arguments would be, then how do we get rid of Trump? The answer-you don’t, it’s too late. This is not to be nihilistic or conceited, but to point out that it’s not about Trump, and that he is a symptom of deeper issues. At this point, the Trump era will more than likely be extended. We had our chance to reckon and learn. We squandered it, and tribalism prevailed. Where H. L. Mencken wrote that: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” , I would add that in this case, the common people just want to let America’s elite know how outraged they are, and this will manifest for many people in a vote for Trump in 2024, however, it is not those voters who deserve what they get, it is the intelligentsia, on both the right and left, the hack news hosts, the irritating celebrities, and the very elites who refused to reflect on Trump’s rise adequately who do, and will, get exactly what they deserve-another four years of Trump.[v]

A force driving Trump’s potential return is the corporate media, and their refusal to admit complicity in Trump’s rise and continued appeal is deepening divides and is a performance art show covering underlying issues that lead people towards figures like Trump, and examples of the complicity outlets like CNN and MSNBC have is shown in the lies about Trump doubled down on, recent tensions with Russia, the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story, the misreporting of the Lafayette Park story in 2020, misattributed quotes to Trump, the massive double standard in reactions to Trump’s refusal to accept his loss in 2020, when these same outlets laundered stories on behalf of Clinton that never accepted his win in 2016, the dehumanization of Trump supporters, censoring of Trump and his acolytes, and those on the right who discuss conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, while this is going on there is an increase in drug overdoses and suicides, a flooding at the Southern Border, and soaring inflation.

Biden’s gaffes and stumbles being explained away are indicative of a media complex on the side of establishment candidates. The propping up of Biden is becoming harder everyday. Biden, an evidently decrepit and faltering leader, whether it’s his stutter or forgetfulness, is heralded as a revolutionary leader and the restoration of normalcy in American politics. People see through this, and there will be a reaction to this, the abuse of power by intelligence institutions, media outlets, and politicians has gone unpunished and even outright ignored. James Comey, John Brennan, Jake Sullivan, and others who pushed bunk stories now enjoy cushy media jobs or positions in the Biden administration. Arguably, much of the media are essentially members of every Democratic administration. Biden and the DNC have a massive communications team that dwarfs the supposed ‘empire’ of Rupert Murdoch and right-wing outlets like Newsmax and One America News. Trump’s message “Fake News!” resonates even more than it did prior to his presidency. It is justified, and ultimately, it is more ammunition for Trump. He can ramble about 2020 at times, but if he harnesses the mistrust and contempt people have for corporate media, that will not matter. After crying wolf so many times, less and less people tune in and heed their warnings, as it is Trump’s messaging that resonates with people. The press may not literally be the enemy of the people, but many feel that the press is against them and that it seeks to disenfranchise them totally. This feeling is justified, and these outlets made it so a message like Trump’s resonates strongly.

Trump recently said that his health could stop him from running, but compared to Biden, Trump seems much more energized and alive. He evidently has more willpower than people realize. Rumors are abounding that Trump would consider not running to not be a ‘two-time loser’, however, it is up to one person-Trump. Even if he rambles at times about how the vote in 2020 was rigged, it won’t matter, and dissatisfaction and outrage will manifest in some way in 2024, and one of those is a vote for Trump. Those trying to push alternative candidates, mainly Ron Destantis, will be a handful of votes in a primary election. During the primaries we will see support for Trump and outrage manifest. On election day, 2024, we will see the same outrage manifest, and the presidential debates, the campaigns, the slanted coverage, the selective covering of stories, and the overt censorship of Trump and those who discuss conspiracy theories about the 2020 election will not matter on election day 2024, all that will matter is that time and time again, Trump has been proven right not on his own accord, but by his rabid opposition, who in the effort to dispel Trump’s war against fake news, became fake news. Unwittingly the stage is being set for a second season of the Trump show.

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[i] Notable examples are Anderson, Scott R. “Opinion | The Other Way Trump Could Steal the White House in 2024.” POLITICO. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/31/house-majority-steal-presidency-trump-00021780.; Gellman, Barton. “Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun.” The Atlantic, December 6, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/.; Linker, Damon. “Trump 2024 Could Be American Democracy’s Zero Hour.” The Week. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1003257/trump-2024-stop-the-steal.; and Millman, Noah. “Opinion | Imagine It’s 2024, and Republicans Are Declaring Trump President.” The New York Times, January 4, 2022, sec. Opinion. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/opinion/trump-2024.html.

[ii] Nolan, Hamilton. “Big Panic For a Democracy That Never Was.” In These Times. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://inthesetimes.com/article/donald-trump-democracy-electoral-college-2024.

[iii] Murray, Sara, and Steven Contorno. “Trump Wins CPAC Straw Poll.” CNN. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/politics/donald-trump-cpac-straw-poll-results/index.html.

[iv] Two examples are Lowry, Rich. “2024 Election: Trump a Risky Pick for Republicans | National Review.” Magazine. National Review, March 25, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/why-trump/.; and C. W. Cooke, Charles. “No to Trump in 2024.” Magazine. National Review (blog), March 15, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/no-to-trump-in-2024/.

[v] Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis). A Little Book in C Major. New York : John Lane Co, 1916. http://archive.org/details/littlebookcmajor00mencrich. Pg. 19

Bibliography

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Anderson, Scott R. “Opinion | The Other Way Trump Could Steal the White House in 2024.” POLITICO. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/31/house-majority-steal-presidency-trump-00021780.

C. W. Cooke, Charles. “No to Trump in 2024.” Magazine. National Review (blog), March 15, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/no-to-trump-in-2024/.

Gellman, Barton. “Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun.” The Atlantic, December 6, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/.

Karem, Brian. “Here’s Why Trump Won’t Run in 2024 — and Why the Trump Cult Ultimately Can’t Win.” Salon, April 21, 2022. https://www.salon.com/2022/04/21/and-desantis-want-to-drag-us-backward–ultimately-that-wont-work/.

Linker, Damon. “Trump 2024 Could Be American Democracy’s Zero Hour.” The Week. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1003257/trump-2024-stop-the-steal.

Lowry, Rich. “2024 Election: Trump a Risky Pick for Republicans | National Review.” Magazine. National Review, March 25, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/why-trump/.

Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis). A Little Book in C Major. New York : John Lane Co, 1916. http://archive.org/details/littlebookcmajor00mencrich.

Millman, Noah. “Opinion | Imagine It’s 2024, and Republicans Are Declaring Trump President.” The New York Times, January 4, 2022, sec. Opinion. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/opinion/trump-2024.html.

Murray, Sara, and Steven Contorno. “Trump Wins CPAC Straw Poll.” CNN. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/politics/donald-trump-cpac-straw-poll-results/index.html.

Nolan, Hamilton. “Big Panic For a Democracy That Never Was.” In These Times. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://inthesetimes.com/article/donald-trump-democracy-electoral-college-2024.