It's fair to say that Trump is the most prolific liar ever documented in human history. There's no lie too big, too bold or too ridiculous that he hasn't already said. However, in this case, if his Covid infection is bogus, it would entail a very well-orchestrated, multi-level, multi-personnel, leak-proof conspiracy. Given the Administration's well deserved reputation for gross incompetence and leaking like a sieve, that's a tall order. Add to that all the others who have been infected or exposed in and around the Administration and it would seem an unmanageable scam for that bunch to pull off.
Most pathological liars haven’t been able to get away with bald-faced lies for their entire lives. Trump has been allowed to lie to powerful banks and even to our government. At best he has only gotten an occasional slap on the wrist.
As I have written before if the NY Times had covered him the way Wayne Barret did at the Village Voice and David Cay Johnston did for the Philadelphia Inquirer for decades Trump would have been held accountable. Jim Comey could have gotten a lot of great publicity taking him down the way he did Martha Stewart.
I second your praise of Jane Mayer. She doesn’t get the attention she deserves which I don’t understand.
I think it’s all a lie. He doesn’t have it. It’s all scripted so he gets out of future debates and people feel sorry for him. We will never know unless he drops. Then we will know it’s true.
I think it’s all a lie. How could it not be. Get sympathy to Agent Orange. I’m not buying it and his wife is only near him on photo ops no that proves it.
I disagree and think he is feeling really bad. He missed a remote meeting today, hasn’t been tweeting, etc. Trump can’t stand to show weakness because it isn’t something manly men do.
As for skipping debates, he already has an excuse because he doesn’t like the rule changes the debate commission is proposing. His supporters won’t care if he does that. And reporters who seem to have good contacts inside the White House report they are worried.
How can you believe anything from this WH. All they do and know is lying. Period. This is simply to change narrative so the spineless dems don’t go after him hard. Well screw that. They need to pound him and all of them.
I don't believe anything coming from the WH, but the fact that he hasn't been tweeting is very odd indeed. There's no way that he has that much self-restraint to not tweet as part of a hoax.
People seem to be forgetting that Trump is terrified of looking weak and unmanly. Just think how he used Hillary’s fainting spell to mock her, clearly implying she was just a weak woman, something that horrifies him and his supporters.
My God. I spend one day only superficially paying attention to the news, and I missed this story. This entire political season has been a massive case of FOMO, where we can’t take a break for even one day without missing some kind of drama.
With that said, I’m having a hard time believing this is true, and would not be surprised if this turned out to be yet another Trump PR game to earn sympathy points and turn him into some kind of martyr, where he miraculously recovers after the election and claims the virus was no worse than the flu, but unfortunately, he was too sick and contagious to do another debate.🙄
I wonder if the press will attack his health and stamina the way they attacked Hillary Clinton when she got pneumonia. My guess is no.
I am ready for this to be over so Joe Biden and congressional Democrats can fix the damage and get America back on track. I’ve had enough of his games.
Frustratingly, there are a number of unanswered questions now, which could have important answers, which no one appears to be pursuing.
1. What are the words which appear on Robert Trump's death certificate after "cause of death"? There's only one answer to that. What would it take to find out? We know what it says on Kelly Preston's death certificate, but not Robert Trump's.
2. What is the REAL reason (I presume someone would just check the medical records for this) that Trump made an unscheduled trip to Walter Reed, assuming it was NOT (as claimed) for a routine medical exam?
3. Yeah, I'm gonna say it again. On Feburary 3, 2017, three Trump Organization employees, namely Alan Garten, Keith Schiller and Matthew Calamari showed up unannounced and removed Trump's medical records from Dr. Harold Bornstein's office in New York. Isn't it his complete medical records which would show a prior diagnosis of mental illness? Is it in any way related that Giuliani told Fox's Ed Henry that he was confident that Trump wouldn't "throw him under the bus" during the impeachment hearings, because he had "protection"?
Could Giuliani's "protection" be the same information that Putin holds over the President's head, and uses to influence his actions?
I hope that if and hopefully when Trump loses, the Senate flips, and the House retains Dem control, that Fox News (what an oxymoron) will be held accountable for the role they played in the lies they told and how it affected and killed so many Americans. Rupert Murdock should spend his last days in prison. I know this is unlikely because recently Tucker Carlson was acquitted of slander against Karen MgDougal by Fox lawyers that argued that everyone knows that Tucker's show does not present facts. The US District Judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, ruled for Carlson. Here's the judge's statement from NPR news: The "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' "Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes."
The problem with this conclusion by the SDNY Judge is that she is assuming that Fox News viewers are reasonable. Reasonable viewers turn to many other venues before they would ever watch Fox. Now the law is defending the dangerous reporting by Fox News because viewers should know better. We are living in Bizarro World!
Exactly. This judge should have known better. Propaganda and gaslighting are entirely dependent on the audience to NOT be able to discern the difference between fact and fiction. And repetition ingrains it in their minds as fact. And how many Fox “News” viewers are going to know anything about this lawsuit or its conclusions? None. It really was a bizarro world conclusion.
Maybe the solution is to require disclaimers be shown on all Fox “News” programming at all times informing the viewers that it is fiction, exaggeration, hyperbole and lies, etc... That’s the only way the ruling makes sense.
Vyskocil is a Trump Appointee. She knows that Fox viewers believe what Fox tells them and she approves because it gives her side more and more power over our dying democracy.
Wow, I did not know that. Well there you go Susan Sarandon. See what voting for Jill Stein did for the country? This is why I lose my mind when people at this point in the election season say they're undecided. That's just code for they want to vote for Trump but are too embarrassed to say so.
Fox News and Trump are like watching two leeches ballroom dancing. Each is feeding off the other while being attached to the body politic which they are sucking dry.
I have about 10,000 other metaphors I can toss out but that's it for now.
Eric. I’ve been following you since your media matters days. As you know more than most I am not going to believe anything that comes out of the WH and now all the media is buying it. They should all reject it just like faux news and the entire right wing and double down on how big a lie it is. This is the narrative Dump wants. And they are all biting. All of them. Time for the dems to now hit below the belt. Take off the belt. That’s what the Reich does. Sick of them being so nice and not nasty. Period.
Informed citizens seek out trustworthy reporting. It's time that "media" is no longer conflated with "journalism." A "news feed" can be dangerous to your understanding. Use responsibly.
Remember in the Before Times, when Kirsten Gillibrand joked that if she became President the first thing she would do would be to Clorox the Oval Office?
Rupert Murdoch also owns the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, the London Times and the tabloid The Sun. Australia is even worse: “News Corp Australia dominates the country’s media sector, with 58% of daily newspaper circulation; a swathe of regional newspapers, the only national broadsheet, the Australian; the only pay TV network, Foxtel, which broadcasts the Murdoch-owned Sky News; and the most-viewed website, news.com.au.”
It is so bad in Australia that “Murdoch has cultivated an atmosphere of fear in Australia. Debating Murdoch’s power has long been effectively off-limits. Politicians, academics, corporates, even journalists and commentators from other news organisations are fearful for their own reputations, because they know from experience that Murdoch’s editorial henchmen will come after anyone who attacks them, with a view to shredding the offender’s reputation.“
He supposedly has turned over the reigns to Lachlan who is as conservative as his father and a strong climate change denier. Goebbels would be impressed.
That's scary. Australia has little freedom of speech because of Murdoch. I wonder if the other siblings, who I've heard are not nearly as conservative as Lachlan, will do something about it when Rupert dies. They own part of News Corp as well.
Rupert Murdoch also owns the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, the London Times and the tabloid The Sun. Australia is even worse: “News Corp Australia dominates the country’s media sector, with 58% of daily newspaper circulation; a swathe of regional newspapers, the only national broadsheet, the Australian; the only pay TV network, Foxtel, which broadcasts the Murdoch-owned Sky News; and the most-viewed website, news.com.au.”
It is so bad in Australia that “Murdoch has cultivated an atmosphere of fear in Australia. Debating Murdoch’s power has long been effectively off-limits. Politicians, academics, corporates, even journalists and commentators from other news organisations are fearful for their own reputations, because they know from experience that Murdoch’s editorial henchmen will come after anyone who attacks them, with a view to shredding the offender’s reputation.“
He supposedly has turned over the reigns to Lachlan who is as conservative as his father and a strong climate change denier. Goebbels would be impressed.
Fux Noise helped make America sick, in more ways than one.
Consider John Roberts yesterday, pitching a fit about the press briefing, and right-wing media attacking him. To which I say, John Roberts once seemed to be Dan Rather's heir apparent, so he had some chops. But he joined Fux Noise. And my attitude is that anyone at Fux Noise should be treated much as Professor Kingsfield treated Mr. Hart in the first episode of The Paper Chase: Ignore him. Shroud him. No one who works for Fux Noise--literally no one, and I include the alleged debate's alleged moderator--deserves to be considered a journalist, and those who actually are journalists should treat them as though they have the plague. Which, in a way, they do.
Of course, it would be easier if those who covered Washington politics were journalists. But only 99.44% aren't.
No, it won’t. It’s way too late for Pence to turn things around. His numbers aren’t any better than Trump’s, but this does give them cover to excuse Trump’s behavior. Maybe they think it will help Pence in the VP debate next week, but I doubt it. The only way Trump will step down and hand over the reigns to Pence is if he’s dead.
I think the enthusiasm for Pence would be much higher, especially among evangelicals and that enthusiasm would increase turnout. Pence is a typical Republican with his extremist views on social issues and his libertarian views on the economy. Never Trumpers or others who are not enthusiastic about voting for him would be thrilled to vote for Pence.
Boris Johnson becoming really ill with COVID was good for the UK because it made him start taking the virus seriously. Before he got it he even shook hands with COVID patients! His delay in taking appropriate actions against the virus led to the UK having one of the highest death rates in all of Europe, even higher than Italy’s. We have only just caught up with it.
On the other hand I sure don’t want Trump to get so ill he has to drop out. All those oxymoronic right wing “christians” would come out in droves to vote for Pence.
It's fair to say that Trump is the most prolific liar ever documented in human history. There's no lie too big, too bold or too ridiculous that he hasn't already said. However, in this case, if his Covid infection is bogus, it would entail a very well-orchestrated, multi-level, multi-personnel, leak-proof conspiracy. Given the Administration's well deserved reputation for gross incompetence and leaking like a sieve, that's a tall order. Add to that all the others who have been infected or exposed in and around the Administration and it would seem an unmanageable scam for that bunch to pull off.
you might be right bc most pathological liars like Trump don’t have lie recorded like he now does
Most pathological liars haven’t been able to get away with bald-faced lies for their entire lives. Trump has been allowed to lie to powerful banks and even to our government. At best he has only gotten an occasional slap on the wrist.
As I have written before if the NY Times had covered him the way Wayne Barret did at the Village Voice and David Cay Johnston did for the Philadelphia Inquirer for decades Trump would have been held accountable. Jim Comey could have gotten a lot of great publicity taking him down the way he did Martha Stewart.
I second your praise of Jane Mayer. She doesn’t get the attention she deserves which I don’t understand.
I think it’s all a lie. He doesn’t have it. It’s all scripted so he gets out of future debates and people feel sorry for him. We will never know unless he drops. Then we will know it’s true.
It’s so bizarre that isn’t actually an extreme response. aka life in the age of Trump lies
I think it’s all a lie. How could it not be. Get sympathy to Agent Orange. I’m not buying it and his wife is only near him on photo ops no that proves it.
I disagree and think he is feeling really bad. He missed a remote meeting today, hasn’t been tweeting, etc. Trump can’t stand to show weakness because it isn’t something manly men do.
As for skipping debates, he already has an excuse because he doesn’t like the rule changes the debate commission is proposing. His supporters won’t care if he does that. And reporters who seem to have good contacts inside the White House report they are worried.
How can you believe anything from this WH. All they do and know is lying. Period. This is simply to change narrative so the spineless dems don’t go after him hard. Well screw that. They need to pound him and all of them.
I don't believe anything coming from the WH, but the fact that he hasn't been tweeting is very odd indeed. There's no way that he has that much self-restraint to not tweet as part of a hoax.
People seem to be forgetting that Trump is terrified of looking weak and unmanly. Just think how he used Hillary’s fainting spell to mock her, clearly implying she was just a weak woman, something that horrifies him and his supporters.
My God. I spend one day only superficially paying attention to the news, and I missed this story. This entire political season has been a massive case of FOMO, where we can’t take a break for even one day without missing some kind of drama.
With that said, I’m having a hard time believing this is true, and would not be surprised if this turned out to be yet another Trump PR game to earn sympathy points and turn him into some kind of martyr, where he miraculously recovers after the election and claims the virus was no worse than the flu, but unfortunately, he was too sick and contagious to do another debate.🙄
I wonder if the press will attack his health and stamina the way they attacked Hillary Clinton when she got pneumonia. My guess is no.
I am ready for this to be over so Joe Biden and congressional Democrats can fix the damage and get America back on track. I’ve had enough of his games.
It's a Hoax. Distraction! Distraction!!
Frustratingly, there are a number of unanswered questions now, which could have important answers, which no one appears to be pursuing.
1. What are the words which appear on Robert Trump's death certificate after "cause of death"? There's only one answer to that. What would it take to find out? We know what it says on Kelly Preston's death certificate, but not Robert Trump's.
2. What is the REAL reason (I presume someone would just check the medical records for this) that Trump made an unscheduled trip to Walter Reed, assuming it was NOT (as claimed) for a routine medical exam?
3. Yeah, I'm gonna say it again. On Feburary 3, 2017, three Trump Organization employees, namely Alan Garten, Keith Schiller and Matthew Calamari showed up unannounced and removed Trump's medical records from Dr. Harold Bornstein's office in New York. Isn't it his complete medical records which would show a prior diagnosis of mental illness? Is it in any way related that Giuliani told Fox's Ed Henry that he was confident that Trump wouldn't "throw him under the bus" during the impeachment hearings, because he had "protection"?
Could Giuliani's "protection" be the same information that Putin holds over the President's head, and uses to influence his actions?
I said it again. Sue me.
I hope that if and hopefully when Trump loses, the Senate flips, and the House retains Dem control, that Fox News (what an oxymoron) will be held accountable for the role they played in the lies they told and how it affected and killed so many Americans. Rupert Murdock should spend his last days in prison. I know this is unlikely because recently Tucker Carlson was acquitted of slander against Karen MgDougal by Fox lawyers that argued that everyone knows that Tucker's show does not present facts. The US District Judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, ruled for Carlson. Here's the judge's statement from NPR news: The "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' "Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes."
The problem with this conclusion by the SDNY Judge is that she is assuming that Fox News viewers are reasonable. Reasonable viewers turn to many other venues before they would ever watch Fox. Now the law is defending the dangerous reporting by Fox News because viewers should know better. We are living in Bizarro World!
Exactly. This judge should have known better. Propaganda and gaslighting are entirely dependent on the audience to NOT be able to discern the difference between fact and fiction. And repetition ingrains it in their minds as fact. And how many Fox “News” viewers are going to know anything about this lawsuit or its conclusions? None. It really was a bizarro world conclusion.
Maybe the solution is to require disclaimers be shown on all Fox “News” programming at all times informing the viewers that it is fiction, exaggeration, hyperbole and lies, etc... That’s the only way the ruling makes sense.
I share yr hope for accountability
Vyskocil is a Trump Appointee. She knows that Fox viewers believe what Fox tells them and she approves because it gives her side more and more power over our dying democracy.
Wow, I did not know that. Well there you go Susan Sarandon. See what voting for Jill Stein did for the country? This is why I lose my mind when people at this point in the election season say they're undecided. That's just code for they want to vote for Trump but are too embarrassed to say so.
Fox News and Trump are like watching two leeches ballroom dancing. Each is feeding off the other while being attached to the body politic which they are sucking dry.
I have about 10,000 other metaphors I can toss out but that's it for now.
feeding off is a good way of putting it—and infecting the country
There’s no way to confirm. Just like all the other bullshit that comes out of the WH.
agree. I think we’ll get better sense as day unfolds. I’m seeing early reporting re: what symptoms Trump has etc
Eric. I’ve been following you since your media matters days. As you know more than most I am not going to believe anything that comes out of the WH and now all the media is buying it. They should all reject it just like faux news and the entire right wing and double down on how big a lie it is. This is the narrative Dump wants. And they are all biting. All of them. Time for the dems to now hit below the belt. Take off the belt. That’s what the Reich does. Sick of them being so nice and not nasty. Period.
Informed citizens seek out trustworthy reporting. It's time that "media" is no longer conflated with "journalism." A "news feed" can be dangerous to your understanding. Use responsibly.
Remember in the Before Times, when Kirsten Gillibrand joked that if she became President the first thing she would do would be to Clorox the Oval Office?
They're not laughing now.
Oh gee, forgot abt that line from her!
Fox News IS Rupert Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch OWNS Fox.
Fox news is a weapon of mass destruction remotely controlled by Rupert Murdoch.
Voldemort doesn’t have to own America, he just needs to control it.
With Fox News. Hiding behind his hand picked employees.
Rupert Murdoch also owns the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, the London Times and the tabloid The Sun. Australia is even worse: “News Corp Australia dominates the country’s media sector, with 58% of daily newspaper circulation; a swathe of regional newspapers, the only national broadsheet, the Australian; the only pay TV network, Foxtel, which broadcasts the Murdoch-owned Sky News; and the most-viewed website, news.com.au.”
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/20/very-australian-coup-murdoch-turnbull-political-death-news-corps
It is so bad in Australia that “Murdoch has cultivated an atmosphere of fear in Australia. Debating Murdoch’s power has long been effectively off-limits. Politicians, academics, corporates, even journalists and commentators from other news organisations are fearful for their own reputations, because they know from experience that Murdoch’s editorial henchmen will come after anyone who attacks them, with a view to shredding the offender’s reputation.“
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/06/democracy-overboard-rupert-murdochs-long-war-on-australian-politics
He supposedly has turned over the reigns to Lachlan who is as conservative as his father and a strong climate change denier. Goebbels would be impressed.
That's scary. Australia has little freedom of speech because of Murdoch. I wonder if the other siblings, who I've heard are not nearly as conservative as Lachlan, will do something about it when Rupert dies. They own part of News Corp as well.
Rupert Murdoch also owns the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, the London Times and the tabloid The Sun. Australia is even worse: “News Corp Australia dominates the country’s media sector, with 58% of daily newspaper circulation; a swathe of regional newspapers, the only national broadsheet, the Australian; the only pay TV network, Foxtel, which broadcasts the Murdoch-owned Sky News; and the most-viewed website, news.com.au.”
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/sep/20/very-australian-coup-murdoch-turnbull-political-death-news-corps
It is so bad in Australia that “Murdoch has cultivated an atmosphere of fear in Australia. Debating Murdoch’s power has long been effectively off-limits. Politicians, academics, corporates, even journalists and commentators from other news organisations are fearful for their own reputations, because they know from experience that Murdoch’s editorial henchmen will come after anyone who attacks them, with a view to shredding the offender’s reputation.“
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/06/democracy-overboard-rupert-murdochs-long-war-on-australian-politics
He supposedly has turned over the reigns to Lachlan who is as conservative as his father and a strong climate change denier. Goebbels would be impressed.
Aw man, thanks so much for posting Blue Mountain. Thank you!
they’re so great!
One of the best bands I got to produce. A magical week in Springfield, MO.
I invited them to play the billboard offices...a great show!
They are still making great music. Cary releases solo records and Laurie has a really crazy good garage band called Teardrop City.
Although I agree with the article, saying Trump 'likely watches Fox News more than 100 hours per month's is unprovable so don't say it please.
Fux Noise helped make America sick, in more ways than one.
Consider John Roberts yesterday, pitching a fit about the press briefing, and right-wing media attacking him. To which I say, John Roberts once seemed to be Dan Rather's heir apparent, so he had some chops. But he joined Fux Noise. And my attitude is that anyone at Fux Noise should be treated much as Professor Kingsfield treated Mr. Hart in the first episode of The Paper Chase: Ignore him. Shroud him. No one who works for Fux Noise--literally no one, and I include the alleged debate's alleged moderator--deserves to be considered a journalist, and those who actually are journalists should treat them as though they have the plague. Which, in a way, they do.
Of course, it would be easier if those who covered Washington politics were journalists. But only 99.44% aren't.
Mr. Boehlert, I think you have a causation problem. Is Trump “macho” because of Fox or does Fox diminish Covid protections following the Trump line?
But we all sincerely should hope for Trump’s recovery. An election against President Pence will be much different.
I think Trump’s “macho” approach to COVID-19 is fed by Fox
No, it won’t. It’s way too late for Pence to turn things around. His numbers aren’t any better than Trump’s, but this does give them cover to excuse Trump’s behavior. Maybe they think it will help Pence in the VP debate next week, but I doubt it. The only way Trump will step down and hand over the reigns to Pence is if he’s dead.
I think the enthusiasm for Pence would be much higher, especially among evangelicals and that enthusiasm would increase turnout. Pence is a typical Republican with his extremist views on social issues and his libertarian views on the economy. Never Trumpers or others who are not enthusiastic about voting for him would be thrilled to vote for Pence.
I don't think that there's any evidence for this. The Never Trumpers see everyone in the administration as tainted by Trump.
oh yeah, hadn’t thought of that—Trump presenting himself as expert now!
Boris Johnson becoming really ill with COVID was good for the UK because it made him start taking the virus seriously. Before he got it he even shook hands with COVID patients! His delay in taking appropriate actions against the virus led to the UK having one of the highest death rates in all of Europe, even higher than Italy’s. We have only just caught up with it.
On the other hand I sure don’t want Trump to get so ill he has to drop out. All those oxymoronic right wing “christians” would come out in droves to vote for Pence.