Lies & Fear is All That Trump has Left

Donald Trump accepted the nomination of the Republican Party last night with a rambling, bland, often incoherent speech which the Washington Post described as “a tidal wave of tall tales, false claims and revisionist history.” They counted 25 major lies or misrepresentations, but no one tunes into a Trump speech looking for the truth. However, his supporters do expect some passion, some fire and they were probably disappointed.

Trump started his address by defending his chaotic response to the pandemic and reading a laundry list of dubious accomplishments, including such nuggets as, “I have done more for the African American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican president.” But, as I mentioned, no one tunes into a Trump speech for anything even approaching the truth.

He also claimed, with something approaching a straight face, that “we will always and very strongly protect patients with preexisting conditions."

Washington Post: "This could hardly be more false — and we’ve given Trump’s claim our worst rating, a Bottomless Pinocchio."

"Trump took office and immediately began trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and now, his administration is asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law, including the preexisting condition coverage guarantee."

During the meat of his address he again attempted to paint Joe Biden as a dangerous radical who will be influenced by even more dangerous radicals if elected. The President really, really wishes that he was running against Bernie Sanders. Biden is likable guy and a mainstream Democrat who will seek to enact moderately progressive legislation to tackle healthcare, criminal justice reform, climate change, and seek to repair our tattered reputation internationally. Biden is not at all scary and it's unlikely that Trump is going to make much headway with this argument.

The heart of Trump's speech, however, came when he remarked, "no one will be safe in Biden's America," referring to protests in some of the nation's cities, especially those in recent days in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Trump thinks this is his ace in the hole to instill fear in the hearts of his older, white base. From now until Nov. 3rd he will try to paint Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris as soft on crime and insinuating that their election would embolden "mob rule," as he put it last night.

The glaring problem with Trump's argument is that the unrest in Kenosha and elsewhere is happening on his watch, and that it's being fueled by his extreme rhetoric, bigotry and refusal to effectively respond to the very real concerns of black Americans. Trump is part of the problem, not the cure.

Conservative columnist, David Brooks of the Times captured it perfectly yesterday in arguing that Joe Biden's decency is the tonic that the nation needs right now.

Brooks, New York Times: "Biden could point out that disorder from left and right will only accelerate so long as Trump is in the White House. He could make clear that compassion is not weakness, that the toughest thing is to stand in a hailstorm of hatred and insist on kindness and consideration."

"In a civilized society law and order is not established with a bullying jackboot. Law and order is established through the calm, regular enforcement of decency, so people across society behave like stable, honorable human beings."

#2020election #Biden #Trump #politics #opinion

By: Don Lam & Curated Content