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TRUMP’S  GASLIGHTING                                                 

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person or a group covertly sows seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or group, making them question their own memory, perception, or judgment, often evoking in them cognitive dissonance and other changes, including low self-esteem. Using denial, misdirection, contradiction, and misinformation, gaslighting involves attempts to destabilize the victim and delegitimize the victim’s beliefs. Instances can range from the denial by an abuser that previous abusive incidents occurred, to belittling the victim’s emotions and feelings, to the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.  This describes Trump’s shows he calls rally’s.

The ABC town hall gives 22 examples of false and misleading claims utilizing all the methodologies above to sow doubt, confusion, disorienting his minions that cling on to his every utterance.  George Stephanopoulos asked tough questions from Pennsylvania voters. His responses were, as always, a barrage of dishonest, misleading answers repeating the prior lies for reinforcement.

The Coronavirus Pandemic

1. Downplaying the virus

Trump was asked why he downplayed the coronavirus.  His response, “well, I didn’t downplay it  I actually—in  many ways I up-played in it in terms of action.”

Spin your head around once, The Woodward book, in Trump’s own words on tape said this: “I always wanted to play it down” (claiming wanting to maintain calm)  The downplay was obvious when Trump claimed it was like the flu in February and early March.  This comes when member of the Pence coronavirus task force had resigned and gave the reason that Trump had killed people with his handling of the virus.  She was the Top Security advisor and lead staff member for Pence on the virus.  She said Trump doesn’t care about anyone but himself.  At this time she said “I am putting country over party.”  She had said Trump was happy because of the virus adding he did not have to “shake hands with these disgusting people now.”  Referring to his base I suppose?

• Trump’s China Praise

Trump was pressed about his initial praise saying China was doing a good job handling the virus.

Trump’s response: “No, I didn’t say one way or the other.  I’m not saying one way or the other”  Note the repetition-reinforcement for the lie. 

CNN Politics said of this comment: “Trump repeatedly and effusively praised China and leader Xi Jinping for their handling of the virus situation earlier this year.” Trump also said: “So I didn’t say anything bad about President Xi initially because nobody knew much about the disease.”  The list of examples of his praise may be explored in another blog post.

• Seniors

Trump said: Nobody knew the seniors were susceptible.”

This is just BS Trump knew of the senior susceptibility to the virus when he was praising Xi. Chinese officials emphasized in January that elderly people with chronic diseases were at highest risk of serious complications.  There were several articles in the media reports around the world in February and March that emphasized the risks to seniors including report a report in the NY times on January 23.

• Biden and the pandemic

Trump falsely claimed Biden said in March that the pandemic was “totally over-exaggerated.”

CNN reviewed Biden statements and said: “We could not find any evidence of Biden saying anything like this in March.”  Another Trump lie used to distract from his handling of the pandemic.  Biden in late February said: “coronavirus is a serious public health challenge” and said in March people should not “downplay” the situation, in other words, he wasn’t saying it was overblown at all.  On March 12^th Biden issued a sharp rebuke of Trump’s handling of the pandemic and introduced his own plan.

• Masks

Trump said: “a lot of people think masks are not good.”  When asked Who he cited a  waiter serving him but also touching the mask saying it “can’t be good”

There is overwhelming scientific evidence that masks reduces transmission.  Trump was correct that even Dr. Fauci initially advises people against wearing masks, however that was for a specific reason.  Fauci did not want to create a panic and a run on PPE at that time.  After that initial shock and when PPE was readily available masks were again considered to be not only beneficial but should be made mandatory like seat belts.  CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield testified last week to a Senate committee urging “all Americans” to embrace masks because there is: “clear scientific evidence that they work, and they are our best defense.”  He also argued that masks might even be a better defense against getting Covid-19 than taking a vaccine.  This comment may stem from the effectivity rate of the virus.  The FDA has made 50% effectivity as acceptable for a vaccine to be approved.  This leaves 50% venerable to herd immunity.  Trump has spoken of Herd Mentality so I came up with a definition: Herd Mentality – It’s when you still support and plan on voting for someone that was responsible for killing a large portion of 200,000 people.

• Ventilators

Trump’s repeated lie: “cupboards were bare” is one of his favorite memes.

Trump had inherited 16,600 ventilators.  A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in June that there were about 19,000 ventilators in the national stockpile for “many years.”  There were 16,600 were ready for use in March, 2020.  The spokesperson confirmed the 16,600 were not purchased by the Trump administration.  As of June 23^rd of this year the administration had only distributed 10,760 ventilators during the pandemic.  A smaller number than what was inherited.  Peter Navarro the Defense Production Act guru for Trump issued some dubious contracts for ventilators paying 3 times more than the Obama Administration.  The purchases he made of PPE and the massive purchases of hydroxychloroquine added to the national stockpile.

This is where criminality meets the Trump administration.

• Testing and cases

When he was told the U.S had 20% of the worlds cases and deaths, Trump said, “We have 20% of the cases because of the fact that we do much more testing, if we wouldn’t do testing, you wouldn’t have cases. You would have very few cases.”

What? Word salad gobbled up by his minions.  Testing does not create cases; it revels them.  Testing is a necessary tool to track and trace the pandemic.  The CDC guidelines for testing that was written by political hacks saying it was not necessary to test asymptomatic people was not written by anyone at CDC  – The FDA revised CDC recommendations, and as a result CDC medical professionals were up in arms that their publication had made such an egregious change.  As a result this week the document was changed back.  Trump’s new medical spokesperson, a medical professional with a degree in radiology is encouraging the president to go with herd immunity.  A study suggested that 70% of the population would need to be infected with the virus.  Take 70% of 330 million that’s 231 million with a death rate of just 2% it would be in a position that could lead to 4.6 million deaths without a vaccine at a mortality rate of 2%.  The current mortality is closer to 3% (6 million cases and 200,000 deaths) and 2.3 million with a vaccine that is 50% effective (50% is the acceptable rate for FDA approval of a vaccine). 

• Travel restrictions on China and Europe

His claim was he had put “a ban on” China and “a ban on” Europe to address the pandemic.

Facts are neither policy was an actual “ban”: both made exemptions for travel from US citizens, permanent residence, many of their families, and others.  The European restrictions exempted entire countries.  The beginning of the pandemic corresponded to the Chinese new year with thousands of Chinese Americans going back to China and spreading the virus around the world.

• Exemptions from the restrictions

When asked about restrictions Trump said of his critics’ comments: “They say that we allowed certain people in, it’s true—but they were American Citizens”

This is factually inaccurate many exemptions existed.  Permanent residence, spouses of citizens and permanent residents, parents or guardians of unmarried citizens, and various other exemptions.  After the travel bans over 400,000 people arrived from banned countries and 44,000 from China.  Trump was 24^th country to ban travel from China and 35^th from banning travel from European countries.

Health Care

1. Pre-existing conditions

Trump’s claim he would be “doing a health care plan” that would “protect people with pre-existing conditions.”  He also said of the Democrats, “they will not do that.”

The claim about Democrats is absurd.  Trump’s justice department is currently arguing a case before the Supreme court that would overturn the entirety of the Affordable Care Act.  The Republicans have had 10 years to provide an alternative to the ACA.  There is no plan.  Trump has promised a plan to many and it’s always 2 to 3 weeks away for a year now.  The only plan’s Trump ever makes is to turn his page on his desk calendar.  He also promised a plan on the pandemic about 2 months ago. Trump told George Stephanopoulos that he would put forward a “new health care “plan that would protect people.”  Show me, there is no one in the republican party that ever wanted any government involvement in any service, especially if it can be put into the hands of private profiteers.

1. The existence of Obamacare

Trump’s claim is he “essentially ended Obamacare” by ending the individual mandate requiring people to obtain health insurance.

Trump did not eliminate Obamacare he only took away the requirement for health insurance.  The requirement was a key component, otherwise key parts still exist such as expansion of Medicaid. 

The individual mandate deletion was short sighted, without insurance those that would have paid for insurance having options and subsidies will now not be insured.  Their health may deteriorate without checkups and when something goes wrong they go to the hospital emergency room.  Hospitals cannot refuse patients. Now think about Covid-19 patients that are hospitalized not insured and the taxpayer now absorbs the $100,000 average per Covid-19  hospitalized patient.  Thank Trump!

1. Biden’s health care plan

Trump said Biden had agreed to adopt the “socialized” health care advocated by Senator Bernie Sanders.  Trump went on to say; “He (Biden) agreed to the manifesto, as I call it—the agreement with Bernie is that you’re going to go to socialized medicine”

The term “Socialized” is vague, Biden did endorse a “public option” plan allowing individuals to opt in to a Medicare-like plan.  Biden never agreed to anything like “Medicare for All” single payer Sanders proposed.

1. Health care plan

In the interview when questioned about his health care plan he said he had it and it would be issued soon.

16 times, Trump promised a health care plan once last June he told George Stephanopoulos  he would have the replacement for the ACA in 2 weeks.  He told  Chris Wallace last summer it was going to be issued in 3 weeks. 

Protests, Race and Policing

1. Black communities and police

Trump: “So I just saw a poll where African Americans in this country , Black community, are 81% in favor of having more police.”

Fact—trump wrongly describe the poll results, in a survey conducted in June-July, Gallup found that 20% of black Americans wanted the police to spend more time in their area and 61% wanted to spend the same amount of time they currently spend and that’s where Trump gets the distorted 80%.

1. Police reform

When asked how to achieve ”common sense police reform,” Trump referred to Sen. Tim Scott compromise plan “that everybody pretty much agreed to”….and that “a lot of Democrats agreed to it but they wouldn’t vote for it.”

No not “everybody” agreed to Scott’s bill.  There were some overlaps between the house Democratic bill and the Senates, there were major differences that could not be overcome.  The Democrats objected to qualified immunity for officers, issues of chokeholds and addressed Scott’s bill as weak. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) of Hawaii said it was “half assed.”  The Senate bill failed 55-45 needing 60 votes.

1. Seattle protesters

Trump: “They took over a big chunk of the city—20% of the city.”

Not even close, the protesters self-identified “autonomous zone” covered only six blocks in the Capital Hill neighborhood – a tiny fraction of the city of Seattle.  By the beginning of July the city cleared the protesters.

1. Minnesota and the National Guard

Trump claimed credit for the deployment of the National Guard to address the violence from the protesters following the police murder of George Floyd.  Trump made the false claim that these protests “went on for a week or a week and a half” before the governor “allowed us to bring in the National Guard”

Fact-Minnesota’s Democratic governor Tim Walz was the one that activated the National Guard.  Tim Walz, a veteran of the Guard activated the troops two days (not the week and a half the president stated) after the violent protests began, this more than seven hours Trump publicly threatened to deploy the Guard on his own.  This idle threat was just for show as he knew of the request by Walz before he made the public statement so he could pound his chest.  Look at me I’m doing something.

1. Crime in New York City

Trump: “Look at New York, New York was a very safe city.  Rudy Giuliani did a fantastic job. The city was safe and then  all of a sudden with a new mayor – who starts cutting the police force, and crime is up 100%, 150%, I saw one form of crime up 300%.”

Does this man pull numbers off fortune cookies?  There is no major crime in NY that is up by 300% going weekly, monthly, or yearly.  There was a 150% increase in shootings year over year, however, the city still remains safer from major crimes than it was in the last year of Giuliani’s office in 2001, this even after he presided over a major decline in crime.  The crime improvements continued under Bloomberg and Bill deBlasio.  The increases from  2019-2020 they start from a relatively low 2019.  For example murders 2001649, 2019 murders 319 less than half.

Other topics of interest

1.  Stock ownership

When Stephanopoulos said those at the top economic ladder , who own stocks are doing well, Trump interjected and said, “George, stocks are owned by everybody.”

Somewhat correct, Gallup found that 55% of American adults reported owning stocks this year, however wealthy people have long owned fa more stocks than people in lower income groups.

• The departure of James Mattis

Trump claimed he fired James Mattis as Defense Secretary.

This is a false and misleading statement.  Mattis resigned in December 2018. The Woodward book cites his concern for his withdrawal from Syria.  General James Mattis is told of having a conversation with Dan Coats then  director of national intelligence which he said:“Trump is dangerous and unfit for the office.”  Dan Coats is said to have a suspicion that Russia  had something on Trump.  The two of them were debating and struggled on how to convey the threat Trump had on the country.

General Mattis when confronted with the withdrawal of troops fighting ISIS general Mattis resigned and said this: “When I was basically directed to do something that I thought went beyond stupid to felony stupid, strategically jeopardizing our place in the world and everything else, that’s when I quit.”

• Mattis and ISIS

Trump on Mattis: “didn’t do good on ISIS” and “I took over 100% of the ISIS caliphate.”

Final remnants of the caliphate were eradicated in March 2019, which was a little more than 2 months after the Mattis departure it’s  to think ludicrous that Mattis had nothing to do with that.  Most of the liberation of the caliphate occurred between Jan. 217 and Ja. 2019.  Kurdish fighters are now doing much of the residual fighting since we left the rejoin.

• Churchill and Trump

When confronted with his decision to downplay the virus in February and March Trump invoked Churchill saying Churchill was “not so honest” when he stood on London rooftops during the Nazi bombings and told the public “everything is going to be good,” but that he was still a “great leader” by keeping people calm.”

Churchill did not make speeches from rooftops, nor did he say “everything’s going to be good” and he did not downplay the bombings.  Churchill schoolers say he was  blunt about the threat of death and severe suffering, warning citizens repeatedly about the hardships to come.

These lies and distortions must be rejected in real time by moderators and news media so the truth comes out.  It’s a shame everyone must seek truth elsewhere when Donald speaks.  These lies are going to be repeated until the gaslight fades.  These are but a sample of his distortions and lies spewed from his mouth on a daily basis.