Editorials / Opinions

A scene in the excellent comedy My Cousin Vinny involved a young man who, when asked by a cop "when did you shoot the clerk?," responded with an astonished, "I shot the clerk??" He, of course, didn't shoot the clerk, but his "statement" was treated as a confession.

On Labor Day weekend I visited someone I've known all my life but never spent much time with; I should add he's a truly decent guy. I never bring up politics in social situations such as this and had no idea of his leanings, but he mentioned he detested Trump to the point he thinks he should be executed. I asked him why he felt this way and he vigorously mentioned atrocious things Trump has been reported to say, stating emphatically in some cases, "I heard him say it!" The following discusses some of the egregious and hideous statements attributed to Trump, including those the person "heard" that led to his extreme hatred of Trump, and what the truth actually is.

Charlottesville, VA. In August 2017 there was a "Unite the Right" rally which quickly devolved into violence between protesters and counter-protesters. Several days later Trump was asked about this during a news conference. Included in his response to the loaded question, "Mr. President, are you putting what you're calling the alt-left and white supremacists on the same moral plane?" was a mention, "But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides." This was immediately reported as Trump claiming Neo-Nazis and white supremacists were very fine people, and elicited outrage among the usual suspects, including the Democrat party leadership and the media. Joe Biden has repeatedly stated this was a major factor in his seeking the presidency, and is to this moment being used by the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, as an example of the hateful nature of Trump. Of course, Trump specifically condemned the Neo-Nazis and white supremacists a few sentences later: "I'm not talking about the Neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally," yet this total lie was and is being propagated by those who so passionately seem to hate Trump. And, like so many lies, intentional misrepresentations, and fabrications, have proven very effective.

An objective person could have easily interpreted Trump's statement of "...there were very fine people, on both sides" as a unifying and magnanimous statement. Contrast this with Biden's infamous speech, made in Sept. 2022 with an ominous and surreal backdrop, stating "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic; (they) "promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence." Biden referenced the "continued battle for the soul of the nation." No "very fine people on both sides" sentiment here, from a lifelong politician who promised to unite the country. The vehemently anti-Trump "fact checking" group Snopes waited seven, in June 2024, to reluctantly admit the entire Neo-Nazis are fine people scenario was false.

Injecting bleach to treat the coronavirus. Here is a headline from the leftist news organization Politico dated April 3, 2021: "It's been exactly one year since Trump suggested injecting bleach. We've never been the same." In April 2020, in the early days of the coronavirus, there was a media conference that included discussion about novel ways to address the situation. Noting the effectiveness of disinfectants such as bleach, Trump asked a question, reasonable for a non-medical person, "...is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning." The answer, of course, was no, though this was immediately propagated by the usual suspects as Trump suggested "injecting bleach!" I recall a friend of mine frenetically proclaiming, "Trump told people to drink bleach, I heard it myself!" As recently as June 2024 our current president (Biden) mockingly claimed Trump said, "inject a little bleach in your arm; it'd be alright." Our fact checking friends at Snopes reluctantly admitted in July 2024, after making statements demeaning Trump, the "inject bleach" claims is "mostly false." They were, of course, entirely false, but vindicating Trump on anything is a bridge too far for "fact checkers."

Find the fraud. We all know as an absolute fact that Trump, in a Dec. 2020 call to an election official in Georgia, demanded they "Find The Fraud," i.e. manufacture fraud that would have shifted the state's election results to Trump's favor. We know this because the Associated Press, based on information provided by a source, reported that Trump pressed the investigator to "find the fraud" and said it would make the investigator a national hero. The AP reported this in Jan. 2021, and was a large part of the "Trump tried to steal the election" narrative that was propagandized (to this day) by the usual establishment suspects.

The only problem was that he never said this. In March of 2021 the AP had to issue a correction once a recording of the actual phone call was released: The AP, based on information provided by a source, erroneously reported that Trump pressed the investigator to "find the fraud" and said it would make the investigator a national hero. A recording of the call made public two months later revealed that Trump did not say either and instead said that if the investigator looked into Fulton County the investigator would "find things that are gonna be unbelievable." Trump also told the investigator: "When the right answer comes out, you'll be praised." Nevertheless, the damage to Trump had been done and the goal of those in power achieved.

The funny thing is, even if Trump did say "find the fraud," any reasonable person could have interpreted this as, "We know there was fraud and you need to find the evidence." To anyone who actually is interested in other than the establishment narrative, there is an excellent book by Mollie Hemingway- Rigged- that presents a comprehensive and objective account of the controversies surrounding the 2020 election. Interestingly, it skewers some of the major players that supported claims of fraud, such as Rudy Giuliani.

Suckers and Losers. Perhaps no other accusation against Trump infuriated my lifelong acquaintance (mentioned above, himself a Navy veteran) than the one that Trump called Americans killed in action in WW1 suckers and losers. He knew for a fact that Trump said this, and indeed Biden has repeated it many times. The origin of this was a Sept. 2020 article (two months before the election) that appeared in the virulently anti-Trump magazine The Atlantic. The article referenced a Nov. 2018 visit Trump made to Europe to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the WW1 armistice. Using four anonymous sources, The Atlantic reported "In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as "'suckers' for getting killed."

Referring again to the virulently anti-Trump "fact checker" Snopes, they addressed this in Oct. 2023 and reluctantly concluded, "In sum, the claim stemmed from a story by The Atlantic, which relied on anonymous, second-hand reports of Trump's alleged words; there was no independent footage or documented proof to substantiate the in-question comments; and Trump vehemently denies that he once called service members 'losers' and 'suckers.' While it was certainly possible that he said those things, Snopes was unable to independently verify the claim." In other words, ultimately the burden was on Trump to prove he didn't say it, a little bit like a woman in Salem, MA in 1692 proving she wasn't a witch. Needless to say, four years later the anonymous sources remain anonymous.

The Bloodbath. It is true that on March 16, 2024 Trump said ""Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that's gonna be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country." That's some serious talk, at a minimum a bloody civil war. Is it even possible to put such a vile statement in perspective? Let's give it a try: we know the Biden/Harris administration has made "green energy" a major focus (to prevent the end of the world, no less). Part of this involves eliminating vehicles with internal combustion engines and replacing them with electric vehicles. The science on this is questionable if not farcical, but nonetheless, government mandates, moronic or not, are serious business.

The problem is that the US auto industry cannot really provide electric vehicles at a cost comparable to those with gas engines: presently a base-model gas 2024 Nissan Versa comes in at under $18,000, a base model 2024 Hyundai Ioniq electric over twice as much (I'm being a little disingenuous- there are a few cheaper EVs). Also, I believe that communist China is 1) a major supplier of things needed to make electric cars and 2) electric cars made by communist China (slave labor, little concern for the environment, etc) would easily undercut the American auto industry. Lets say, for example, that China built electric cars in Mexico, then exported them to the US. For the American auto industry there would be, well, an economic bloodbath. To quote Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, Surprise," that is exactly what Trump was talking about. If his full statement is read, it would require a fool, a liar, or a Democrat politician (often synonymous!) to conclude otherwise. This "bloodbath" propaganda has been, to the present, repeated by the most powerful Democrats.

Hate, to the point of wishing someone dead, is pretty profound, and engendering hate in others can be a powerful tool for social and political manipulation. I've sometimes wondered if Adolph Hitler truly hated Jews, or simply used the idea of Jews being deserving of hatred as a means to power; in either case, it worked. Hatred ultimately loses, but while it's in control lots of really bad things happen. I'm pretty well-versed in history and contend that never in American political history have accusations that are fully known to be false been repeated over and over again by those that control the cultural and political discussion, and do so without shame. Do Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Schumer, etc truly hate Trump or, like many despots in the past, incite hatred as a means to exploit and control the susceptible masses?

The other day I received a call from a Harris campaign volunteer. She seemed pleasant enough and was willing to engage in conversation. At one point I asked her about Harris' goal to ban "assault weapons," including what was meant by "assault weapon." She said she personally didn't have any idea, but that definitions weren't important, they would be determined by whoever wrote the legislation. In other words, there should be no expectation that Harris actually describes what she wants to ban. What impressed me more was when I said I found Harris to be childish and immature, and she immediately resorted to the accusation "You are a misogynist," despite that fact I didn't mention anything about Harris being a female. In a way, this exchange characterizes Democrat political discourse: when you can't respond to the points, bring on the insults.

Sincerely,

Reid Fitzsimons, Thompson, PA