Oreos, beer, snack food and sedition
How gullible do Donald Trump’s footmen think his #MAGA base is? Pretty gullible, judging by their latest conspiracy theory regarding Hunter Biden’s three felony convictions. And conservatives claim it’s liberals looking down their noses at them.
CNN:
In the wake of Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges Tuesday, right-wing media personalities sought to downplay the jury’s decision, falsely claiming the case was a “fake trial” designed to “cover up” other supposed crimes committed by the president and his family.
The reaction showcased how far to the fringes the right-wing and pro-Trump media ecosystem has drifted in recent years, with high-profile personalities defaulting to conspiracy theories and innuendo in response to inconvenient political news.
Via Greg Sargent at The New Republic:
“Hunter Biden guilty. Yawn,” tweeted MAGA thought leader Charlie Kirk. “The true crimes of the Biden Crime Family remain untouched. This is a fake trial trying to make the Justice system appear ‘balanced.’ Don’t fall for it.”
“The gun charges are a giant misdirection,” added Stephen Miller. He added that the verdict is an easy opportunity for the Justice Department to hoodwink “a pliant media that is all too willing to be duped. Don’t be gaslit. This is all about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden.”
Yes, the people whose 24-7-365 propaganda made “gaslighting” Merriam-Webster’s word of the year in 2022 warn MAGA cultists against being seduced by the lies of devilish nonbelievers. The truth is what Dear Leader declares it (The National Desk):
The Trump campaign released a statement to CNN saying, “This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine. Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit. As for Hunter, we wish him well in his recovery and legal affairs.”
The media outlet pointed out that Trump’s campaign then sent an updated statement “striking the well wishes to Hunter.”
Ever the sore winner, Donald Trump with his 34 felony convictions sneers at Hunter’s three and alleges fraud in the counting. (Not yet, but give him time.)
Everything is rigged against Trump is a cornerstone of the MAGA faith. Trump may have bent the rules a bit, promoted a little violent sedition. He had to smite the Left for God and country and to stop the steal. But Joe Biden is the Devil incarnate. The Devil issued this statement upon his son’s conviction:
As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that,” the president said in a statement provided to The National Desk.
Sargent again:
The enormous contortions required to portray the justice system as rigged at every turn show yet again that pretty much everything the MAGA right is saying about these matters is about laying a pretext for Trump, once back in office, to launch prosecutions of Biden and Democrats without cause, under the guise of tit-for-tat payback for something that wasn’t actually done to Trump and his followers. As I’ve argued, Trump and his MAGA allies relentlessly claim that he will seek “revenge” and exact “retribution” with such prosecutions, to reverse-engineer the deceptive impression that Trump was the victim of what he is threatening, i.e. prosecutions without a legitimate basis.
The MAGA media stars promoting law enforcement-as-conspiracy nonsense know what they’re selling is as phony as the penis pills and dietary supplement ads that pay their salaries. Is it propaganda? Yes. It’s also pandering, pandering to people they believe are gullible enough to think they are sincere and to buy their shit.
Jon Stewart on Monday’s “The Daily Show” roasted “hollow corporate pandering” behind campaigns promoting Gay Pride month, DEI programs, and whatever social movement is popular this month to sell Oreos, beer, and snack foods. Only until those pressures subside.
“So, they are very clearly conflicted between the very high moral values that they think we want and the amoral values that serve their shareholders,” Stewart argued. “There is nothing corporations do that is not in service of their bottom line.”
We are conditioned from childhood to consume. The people with something to sell (even sedition) know that and use that, employing the same techniques that treat their followers as uncritical marks, easily led, and too stupid to know it. The right’s bottom line is control.
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