Trump Doubles Down on Gaslighting
Trump Doubles Down on Gaslighting
Plus: The Media Still Doesn’t Get Biden Voters
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AUSTIN SARAT AND DENNIS AFTERGUT: Trump’s ‘It’s Just My Opinion’ Defense Is Just More Gaslighting.
AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS of flatly asserting that he won the 2020 election, Donald Trump has this month trimmed his sails. Sort of. Anticipating being in the dock for criminal election interference, Trump is trying what John Ehrlichman, the convicted Nixon White House consigliere, famously called a “modified, limited hang out.”
Or perhaps this is just another instance of Trump’s doing what the late philosopher Harry Frankfurt labeled “bullshitting”—where the “goal is not to report facts” but “rather, to shape the beliefs and attitudes of his listeners in a certain way.”
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of The Corruption of Lindsey Graham.
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NICHOLAS GROSSMAN: The Media Still Doesn’t Get Biden Voters
CONSERVATIVE AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA don’t agree on much, but one point of consensus is that everyone should work harder to understand Trump supporters. The implicit message: You don’t have to agree with the populist right, but you should be listening to, empathizing with, and engaging them more.
A common style of this coverage is the safari to “Trump Country,” in which journalists from various outlets, most of whom live in big metropolitan areas, go to a rural community or Rust Belt town and talk to Trump voters, often white, working-class men in diners. The resulting articles are often tautological—basically “Trump Supporters Support Trump”—and framed as if explaining to liberals who might think that Trump’s failures will cause some voters to abandon him that they won’t. A great example is a May 2019 New York Times story titled “There’s No Boom in Youngstown, but Blue-Collar Workers Are Sticking With Trump.” It’s such a well-trod trope that it’s inspired parodies and running jokes.
MATT JOHNSON: How Fani Willis Became the Latest Enemy of ‘America First’
AS FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Fani Willis reportedly prepares to indict Donald Trump for attempting to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, he’s busily denouncing her as a “young racist” who once had an “affair” with a “gang member.” It was only a matter of time before Trump started attacking Willis with overtly racist language, as he has long believed that nonwhite prosecutors and judges are incapable of rendering impartial decisions.
When Judge Gonzalo Curiel presided over the Trump University case in 2016, Trump said Curiel’s “Mexican heritage” should have disqualified him from doing so. This wasn’t a slip of the tongue, either. Trump argued that he couldn’t possibly get a fair hearing from Curiel because “We are building a wall. He’s a Mexican. We’re building a wall between here and Mexico.”
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Monday… From the heartland! No cool pics for you, but some Boeing F-15EX Eagle IIs have been keeping my children and dogs entertained. (Really mostly me.) My grocery bag of Midwestern delights is getting heavier by the day, and whatever winter brings, I’ll have the chili or pasta for it.
My first night here at the grocery store, I randomly met Phil Berwick, a local artist who makes positive street art. Turns out, he’s already had a feature write-up in the Riverfront Times and a documentary made about him. His character, Merferd, is literally what welcomes you to Saint Louis. You can learn more about Phil and his art here.
Side with shade! I’ve been at a lot of playgrounds on this trip, and our Across the Movie Aisle panelist Alyssa Rosenberg at the Post has this must-read on how we can make playgrounds safer.
A late night in Georgia… Seems like Indictment IV might be bringing with it some fresh drama for primetime.
Trump seems ready to see exactly where that intimidation line is… Will he end up in jail because of it?
The delicate art of selling safety… in a paranoid America.
Trials are about facts… And that’s bad news for Donald Trump, writes Mona Charen in Time.
How America got mean… David Brooks delves into it at The Atlantic.
GOP Hopefuls are prepping for the debate… Whether or not that former guy shows up or not.
The quiet rise of “The Velvet Hammer”… Sen. Tina Smith is the Senate’s progressive power house dealmaker.
Noah’s Ark? Texas is getting creative as it seeks to wage war on Mexico.
About the guy who died in Utah… It seems based on new reports he was ready to meet his maker.
The Marion County Record raid… Is just unconscionable. People should go to jail.
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