Trump–ready for the anti-Muslim Patrol?
[Elections 2016]
During his 2008 unsuccessful presidential run candidate John McCain was admirable when he resolutely and firmly disagreed with an elderly female supporter at a campaign event who said she couldn’t trust Barack Obama because he was an Arab.
“I can’t trust Obama. I have read about him and he’s not, he’s, he’s Arab,” the woman said.
“He’s not!?” she blurted, seemingly shocked, when McCain shook his head and took the microphone out of her hands.
“No, no ma’am,” McCain famously said. “He’s a decent man family citizen that I just happen disagreements with on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is about.”
Not so with with the execrable Donald Trump at his campaign event yesterday. The GOP frontrunning candidate for his party’s nomination took it in stride, nodding in agreement and even saying “yes,” when the man asked his anti-Muslim question.
“Okay, we have a problem in this country, it’s called Moslems. We know our current president is one,” the White man said, emphasizing each hateful word by authoritatively nodding his head.
Meanwhile, Trump, from the podium interjected “we need this type of question…”
So the man continues and, presumably referring to himself and Trump as potential victims of the Muslims says, “We have training camps growing, where they want to kill us…” and then he closes, “that’s my question; when can we get rid of them?”
This is how GOP candidate for the presidential nomination Trump responds: “We’re gonna be looking at a lotta different things, you know. A lotta people are saying that bad things are happening out there; we’re gonna be looking at that and plenty of other things.”
Looking at what? How to get rid of Muslims? The alleged Muslim training camps? A campaign to demand that Obama prove he’s not a Muslim like the quest he led for the president’s birth certificate?
Yes the condemnations have come since the incident when Trump addressed supporters at a rally in New Hampshire. Trump is the George Wallace of the Twenty-first century, trying to turn back the clock. He may gain even more support from people like the man who declared the Jihad to “get rid” of Muslims.
Trump’s poll lead may even widen considering the meek GOP candidates he’s running against and the accommodating corporate media.
Trump hasn’t suffered political backlash ever since he declared his presidential run on June 6, with hateful volleys at Mexicans, saying: When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
There was some financial fallout when NBC and Univision scrapped their TV deals with Trump. Yet much of the large corporate media were not as vociferous in denouncing his racist statements.
In truth there is a large segment of the American public that’s so fed up with the lack of progress on comprehensive immigration reform that it’s empathetic with some of Trump’s bigoted comments; not all of his supporters can be the cross-burning Jihadi Joe type like the man we saw yesterday in New Hampshire.
Weeks ago when McCain denounced Trump’s comments he was quick to declare that the senator from Arizona was no war hero. That his claim to fame was merely being captured during the Vietnam war. The audacity — coming from a man who hid in the basement, figuratively, to avoid being shipped off to war.
The condemnations picked up pace and intensity after the insults against McCain.
After the Republican party’s first presidential debate, hosted by Fox News, Trump claimed Megyn Kelly had ambushed him unfairly.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” Trump said.
It was then that FOX News declared “enough is enough.” The network’s chiefs criticized Trump. At least for a few days until FOX executives conceded they need Trump ratings and threw in the white flag.
The bigot and bully won.
Trump is the creation of corporate media who draw no boundaries when it comes to ratings, which equals money. He’s not a legitimate presidential candidate because he doesn’t have a single policy position except to build wall to keep out Mexicans.
It can’t be because he’s fearless and speaks his mind. Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan speaks his mind. When was the last time he was blanketed with coverage in the 20 years since the Million Man March? Trump has enjoyed coverage and has had access to major network and cable outlets long before his presidential run.
Now comes the current outrage. Corporate media will feign shock and outrage. How could Trump condone the words expressed by that possible cross-burner at his rally?
In truth media aren’t surprised. It was the same Donald Trump who was a key Birther ringleader demanding for Obama’s birth certificate throughout his first term. Yet to corporate media he never became a pariah. After all, he was only insulting a Black president; ignoring the fact that Obama was elected by millions of African American and White voters. Out of the 131 million people who voted, Obama won 95% of the Black vote; 67% of Latino votes; and, 43% of the White vote.
Money Trumps everything.
Corporate media will continue the mutualism with Trump. Anything that generates ratings and money is newsworthy. While NBC may have cancelled The Apprentice, Trump has exposed the obvious; there are no lines between “reality TV” and reality. Now his show runs on all the major media outlets. “I’m a ratings bonanza,” he boasted after the first presidential debate viewed by 24 million people.
Trump will thrive as will, for the short run, corporate media outlets. Sober Republican candidates with serious policy positions and the voting public get short-changed for as long as the Trump machine charges ahead.
A political Frankenstein created by corporate media insatiable for ratings.
Perhaps one day one of his political opponents, a Republican or a Democrat, or perhaps a brave interviewer will look Trump straight in the eyes and borrowing from the late Army counsel Joseph Nye Welch, say: “Have you no sense of decency Sir? At long last. Have you left no sense of decency? ….If there is a God in heaven it will do neither you nor your cause any good.”
