The Lies They Tell
Trump and Vance double down
Words have consequences.
On Thursday, “Springfield’s mayor, Rob Rue, reported that the city had received multiple bomb threats via email, consisting of ‘hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians’; the threats prompted the evacuation of Springfield City Hall, two schools, and a local Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility.”
On Friday, wrote Isabel Fattal, in the Atlantic: “a second wave of threats led to the evacuation of multiple city buildings and two elementary schools…. According to the New York–based The Haitian Times, as well as The New York Times, some Haitian residents in Springfield say they are being intimidated and fear for their safety.”
Springfield’s mayor has no doubt why all of this happening: Donald Trump and JD Vance are amplifying the hate and the fear. “It was their words that did it.”
"There was enough negative language toward immigrants, towards Haitian folks that would bring enough concern. And then when it followed up with ... at the end, of a bomb threat ...it was pretty much just the beginning of the conclusion that they're going to threaten to harm people."
On cue, the bigots have descended on the town (see above), and their rhetoric sounded awfully familiar, didn’t it?
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Happy Sunday. There are 50 days until the election.
To the Contrary is a reader-supported publication. You may disagree with me from time to time (and I expect you will, because I’m not promising you a safe space here). But I’ll always try to give it to you straight. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. (And I’m immensely grateful for your generous support.)
I know it’s hard, but let’s try to keep up with the latest cataract of lies.
At his Las Vegas rally, Trump spread a baseless and bizarre conspiracy theory that Kamala Harris wore a Bluetooth earpiece during the debate that allowed aides to feed her answers. “I hear she got the questions, and I also heard she had something in the ear,” Trump said.
He also pushed bogus rumors about ABC’s handling of the debate.
At the rally, he claimed that Harris is talking about bringing back the draft “and draft your child and put them in a war.” (She’s not.)
And he alleged that a routine revision of economic data was an attempt to hurt his campaign.
On Friday, Trump promised mass deportations and brushed off the threats of violence. "I can say this. We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio, large deportations," he said. "We're going to get these people out. We're bringing them back to Venezuela (sic)."
If you’re getting the impression that he’s getting worse, you’re right, and we’re not seeing much evidence that he’s doing anything to change course. Because the delusion and ugliness really are Trump being Trump.
But all of this pales next to the Trump-Vance lies about Haitians in Springfield — a story that has been discredited not just by local officials, but by the woman who may have started the rumors in the place.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The woman behind an early Facebook post spreading a harmful and baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating local pets that helped thrust a small Ohio city into the national spotlight says she had no firsthand knowledge of any such incident and is now filled with regret and fear as a result of the ensuing fallout.
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But undeterred by the facts, an increasingly desperate MAGAWorld is still pushing various false stories about Haitian immigrants in Ohio — with derisory results.
Remember this one? Trumpists on social media trumpeted this picture as proof that Haitian immigrants were eating cats, ducks and geese in Springfield?
The reality: The man isn’t Haitian; and he wasn’t in Springfield. The Ohio Wildlife Organization says he was actually picking up two geese that were hit by a car in Columbus — a city which is 45 minutes from Springfield.
Others eagerly shared a video they claimed showed Haitians BBQing a cat — only to have sharp-eyed observers point out that it was actually a picture of chickens that were beingcooked. After JD Vance — predictably — shared the bogus images, readers truth-bombed the veep nominee: “HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT CHICKENS LOOK LIKE WITH THEIR LEGS ATTACHED YOU F****ING DIPSHIT.”
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Behold the post-truth world of J.D. Vance
On Earth 2.0, Vance’s appearance on ABC this morning would be a pivotal moment in the campaign. But even in our numbed-up-nothing-matters world, his confession is gobsmacking.
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said. “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast.”
Bash called out Vance over his stunning admission.
“You just said this is a story that you created.”
“Yes!” Vance said.
In other words: Vance knows it’s a lie. And he doesn’t even pretend to care.
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Exit take: Russell Moore, in The Atlantic.
When we are willing to see children terrorized rather than stop telling lies about their families, we should step back, forget about our dogs and cats for a moment, and ask who abducted our consciences.….
The cruelty to Haitian immigrants—and with it, the implicit incitement of potential violence—is not one of those debatable issues. And Christians do not need to struggle to figure out what Jesus would have us do here.
If we see children sheltering at home because they fear violence, we know that’s wrong. And when we see that this fear comes from the incitement of hatred against those children because of where their parents came from, surely we can smell the brimstone.
But they believe the latest Big Lie
Via the Wapo’s Aaron Blake: “A majority of Trump supporters believe the Haitian immigrants-stealing-and-eating-pets thing. Independents disbelieve it more than 2-to-1, though. And 5 times as many independents are sure it’s false as are sure it’s true.”
Here’s the nagging (and important) question: Do Trump supporters believe the fake stories because (1) they actually think they are true, (2) they just really want to believe the stories, or (3) they don’t care whether the stories are true, because… TRUMP!
Which of those options is the scariest? Discuss among yourselves.
Trump defends far-right activist Laura Loomer: 'She's a free spirit' and 'a supporter'
“Laura has been a supporter of mine. Just like a lot of people are supporters, and she’s been a supporter of mine. She speaks very positively of the campaign. I’m not sure why you asked that question…
“I don’t control Laura. Laura — she’s a, she’s a free spirit…
“Well, she brings a spirit to us that a lot of people have, we have very spirited people. And in all fairness to her, she hates seeing what’s happened to the country.”
ICYMI, I wrote about the freakishly bigoted crackpot in Friday’s newsletter. But here are a few updates.
Trump’s new BFF is also BFFs with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, and here they are toasting ‘The hostile takeover of the Republican party.”1
And here’s Loomer calling for Democrats to be killed: “Livestream Abruptly Ends As Loomer Calls For Executions.”
TIM POOL: “I’ll put it this way: should Democrats be in jail? No question. When Donald Trump gets elected, should he start locking them up? No question. Should there be lists of Democrats who need to go to jail? One hundred percent.”….
LOOMER: “Not just jail, they should get the death penalty. You know, we actually used to have, the punishment for treason in this country —”
And with that, the show came to an abrupt end.
In an online video, Donald Trump praised the white nationalist conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer as “terrific” and “very special” and said: “You are a very opinionated lady, I have to tell you. And in my opinion, I like that.”…
Trump, 77, said: “It’s great to have you and you are very special and you work hard … I appreciate your support and everybody appreciates your support.”
Loomer said: “Thank you so much for inviting me to sit with you today. It’s a pleasure. You’re the best. I love you.”
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We are told that Republicans are fretting about this, and worried that Trump’s infatuation with the lunatic harridan may hurt his campaign. But the Wall Street Journal editorial board admits: “The problem here is deeper than Mr. Trump’s electoral prospects.”
A growing segment of the American right is populated by, and susceptible to, cranks and conspiracists. A movement that used to admire William F. Buckley Jr. and Thomas Sowell now elevates a pseudo-historian who blames Winston Churchill for World War II and media personalities who sell falsehoods as a triumph for free speech.
If only they had been warned.
David Frum put the case more succinctly:
If a candidate for president surrounds himself with lunatics, crooks, and agents of hostile foreign powers ...
The patriotic response is NOT: "Oh no, he might cost himself the election!"
The patriotic response is:
"He damn well should lose the election."
Nota Bene
Seventeen former staff members of the late Republican President Ronald Reagan are endorsing the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a joint statement first obtained by CBS News, the staff members wrote that Reagan, if alive, would have supported Harris.
"President Ronald Reagan famously spoke about a 'Time for Choosing.' While he is not here to experience the current moment, we who worked for him in the White House, in the administration, in campaigns and on his personal staff, know he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket," the group writes. "The time for choosing we face today is a choice between integrity and demagoguery, and the choice must be Harris-Walz," the group added. "Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy."
Your Sunday dogs
Another mellow day for Auggie and Eli.
Mission Accomplished.
And to think Hillary was pilloried for calling these people deplorable. They are the worst that our country has ever produced. Thanks for the soothing pup pic, much needed these days.
Is the “rise in communicable diseases” perhaps due to white anti-vaxers?