This is DT. I don’t know if he’s just emotionally incapable of acknowledging any reality other than one he’s fashioned; or if he’s so unstable, so on edge he gets vindictive if he’s challenged. Or maybe he just uses edginess as a strategy to frighten others into giving him what he wants. No matter what, his power and actions have been scary and dangerous for so many of us.
Even before first taking office in 2017, he showed a repugnance for speaking, perceiving, or even allowing the truth to be spoken in his presence. The number of distortions and lies he’s uttered is incredible. And he’s attacked, spread ridiculous lies and dangerous threats against those who oppose or speak against him, so much so that now no one in the GOP will reign him in. Many of those who follow him believe he’s the very voice of truth.
But if no one will challenge a would-be emperor, how will he know he’s naked? The case of the Epstein Files might be one step in the truth catching him. DT continuously fueled conspiracy theories about prominent people, mostly Democrats, using Jeffrey Epstein’s services to engage in sex crimes with minors. DT promised his supporters he would release the “Epstein client list.” He promised prosecutions, to name names and reveal evidence. He promised transparency. Instead, he had the DOJ redact his name from Epstein files.
And for his supporters, the issue of stopping child sexual abuse and sex trafficking is deeply important and emotional; they believed DT would champion their concerns and expose the crimes. Why they would expect a person convicted of sexual abuse with a long history of twisting the truth to honestly champion their call for honesty and transparency is beyond me; but this is what occurred.
What will happen when the reality of DT’s actions concerning Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-predator, hits more people? Maxwell is a convicted sex trafficker, who not only recruited young girls for commercial sex but participated in their abuse, and constantly lied about it. DT had Todd Blanche talk with her instead of her victims, and then ordered her moved to a low security, resort prison. What deals did he work out with her in terms of possible future testimony?
So now, DT is in trouble. His own supporters can’t believe him when he and his DOJ say there is no list, or the Democrats created the list, or the issue is not worth his time⎼ and those who waste his time pushing for release of the records he promised to reveal are “weaklings,” “idiots.”
DT is at war with truth and with reality itself. He’s at war with anyone who reveals facts or speaks truths or shares useful information.
He’s at war with any news media that reveals truths, reveals the reality that opposes his fiction. For example, last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing job numbers weaker than what he wanted them to be, that showed the economy faltering. So, what did he do? He became furious. He lashed out and fired the person responsible for pulling the numbers together⎼ Department of Labor Official, Dr. Erika McEntarfer. He couldn’t stand the message, so he acted to destroy the messenger. And he released a subsequent post, replacing truth with his fiction, claiming “the country was doing great!”
As Jen Psaki reported on MSNBC, Dr. McEntarfer was confirmed 86-6 by the Senate, supported by J. D. Vance, and Marco Rubio. DT accused her of faking the numbers and being a Biden appointee., and of adjusting past numbers to support Kamala Harris’s campaign. In fact, the jobs report before the 2024 election showed a bad jobs report, so, no, there was no faking of numbers to help the Harris campaign. The real problem in the numbers was the adjustment downwards of 3 months job reports, indicating that the DT tariffs were harming the economy. And what about dismantling government agencies and firing thousands of workers? DT’s supporters at Fox News claimed the numbers were good, as did DT’s VP, J. D. Vance. As reported by The Feed, the GOP are undermining the economy and lying about it.
But as Jen Psaki points out, we need accurate numbers. Firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to shutter the truth and the nation’s ability to see it, is extremely damaging. It threatens our ability to deal with extreme downturns in the economy. If we can’t see the reality of what we face, we can’t handle it. If we can’t see a bullet coming at us, we can’t avoid it. Once again, the truth will eventually catch us, and in this case, hurt us. But who, especially in the GOP, will speak out for the truth and for the citizens they serve?
What will happen when Americans see the cost-of-living go up precipitously because of DT’s tariffs? People will eventually realize that when a nation is tariffed, the cost of goods made in that nation is increased but paid for by the Americans who buy the goods. And DT is the one responsible for that increase.
This man is at war with the truth and with reality itself. To try to control the truth is a fool’s mission and a very dangerous one. It puts him at war with the freedom and well-being of all of us. Stopping him and his policies, getting out the vote in the next election, will help protect ourselves and so many others. As George Orwell said, “In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Let us all be such revolutionaries.
“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
