Chaos is a ladder for America’s Mainstream Media

LESLIE EASTMAN AUG 21, 2017 10:00 AM

I would like to expand upon Professor Jacobson’s excellent post on Charlottesville, Reversal of Reality.

He notes that the failure of the American press to fairly report the truth — that both sides were violent during the protest/counter-protest — goes beyond mere criticism.

True! But there is method to the current media madness. I had an epiphany while rewatching a key scene in which two of the primary contenders in the Game of Thrones discuss royal politics..likening chaos to a ladder.

Chaos is the ladder that the American press is attempting to climb to get out of the pit it dug in its awful, unbalanced, and often incorrect assertions about the entire 2016 election cycle and its aftermath.

Let’s review some of the “serious” and “informed” coverage about President Trump over the past 18 months that we have been treated to by the American mainstream media:

• The Huffington Post decided to report on Candidate Trump…in the entertainment section.
• Candidate Trump was a clown who couldn’t possibly win the nomination.
• Candidate Trump’s remarks about Senator John McCain was the “beginning of the end” of his candidacy.
• Candidate Trump would lose at the convention, due to a defection of delegates.
• Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President, the only question was by how many electoral votes.
• There would be Electoral College defectors, so Trump would be denied the presidency.
• Trump was not legitimately elected because of Russia hacking or collusion.

Here is an amusing trip down memory lane:

Just before the Charlottesville chaos, President Trump could point to some significant successes. For example, his strong stance on North Korea appeared to be working. The “Russian Collusion” case against Trump appeared to be a nothing-burger, but there was renewed interest in the Clinton-Lynch collusion on the Arizona tarmac. Between promoting American business and removing needless regulations, the nation’s economy is humming along and people are optimistic about the future.

However, the chaos in Charlottesville gave the press the opportunity to conflate President Trump with Nazis, the KKK, and White Supremacists…a theme they were already familiar with:

• Morning Joe indicated Trump was the President of the “White Nationalist Movement“.
• A Slate reporter asserted Trump will turn the country into a “Racist Police State“.
• A publisher put Trump on the cover of Hitler speeches.

So, the chance to connect President Trump to the Nazis who organized the original protest in Charlottesville was a golden opportunity to twist all the false coverage of the past 18 months into “real news”.

The trouble is that most Trump supporters have already dismissed the press coverage of Charlottesville for the partisan hackery that it was.  Additionally, many of us are waiting for more details on white national organizer Jason Kessler, who formerly was an activist for Occupy Wall Street.There are now people checking into an LA firm, Crowds on Demand, to determine if it supplied agitators to enhance the chaos.

Trump supporters also have a long list of alt-left attacks they vividly remember that include beatings of rally attendees in San Jose, a riot in Berkeley, and a stink bomb plot intended for the Inaugural Ball.

Furthermore, after smearing Trump’s supporters as deplorable…again…many or responding in social media to counter the media’s charges and reiterate support for the president.

Americans also shouted out support for our historic monuments, which are now under attack:

And some plucky Facebook friends from Seattle finally drew some much-needed attention to a particularly vile local monument.

I cover many of these points in today’s Canto Talk show:

In conclusion: The American media may want to use the chaos of Charlottesville as a ladder, but in the end, it will likely be another #FakeNews pit.

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