Donald Trump has always been a liar. He's always made stuff up. We knew that before he ran for president, before he was a birther even. Sports journalist Rick O'Reilly named it for what it was back in 2004.
But we're in a new moment with this race thing. Trump wants you to believe that entire cities are convulsed with violence when that simply isn't the case. Last week I was in a conversation with someone I truly love. Some of it went something like this.
He: I was talking with a friend from Portland last night, and he said everything's pretty much normal. The rioting is just about three blocks.
I: I know that. It's being reported all over the place, and I have friends in Portland too.
He: Yeah, but nobody really cares how many Blacks are killing each other in Chicago. There are all these riots, but nobody's doing anything about Chicago.
It's chilling, the effect Fox News has on people. And Trump is counting on it.
In an interview with Laura Ingraham last night, Trump went into full-on Nazi/Stalinist/Trumpist fabrication mode. Here are samples, provided by CNN.
Portland has been burning for many years. For decades, it's been burning, but now it's gotten to a point they don't want to do -- I watched the mayor try and get in with these people.
Having said you'd be surprised who controls Joe Biden, Trump followed up: People that you've never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows.
We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend. And in the plane, it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that. They're on a plane.... I'll tell you sometime, but it's under investigation right now. But they came from a certain city, and this person was coming to the Republican National Convention. And there were like seven people on the plane like this person and then a lot of people were on the plane to do big damage.
It's not just Trump, it's administration policy. In Kenosha today Attorney General William Barr said that "prior to the rioting in the city last week, federal agents stationed in Chicago picked up information that 'violent instigators' from California, Washington state and Chicago were traveling to Kenosha to carry out attacks against law enforcement." (Quotation not from Barr himself but a paraphrase by ABC's Alex Mallin.)
Clearly we're at the "They'll make up anything" stage when it comes to stirring up racial animosity. And people believe it. Two months to go, and it's getting nothing but uglier.
By the way, in Kenosha today Trump asked where Rance Priebus was. You know, Trump's FIRST chief of staff? "Where's my Rance?"
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