The left has a weapon in its arsenal that it has wielded early and often against Donald J. Trump and those who seek to become part of his administration. It is both politically potent and effective. Venomous progressives had great success misinterpreting a host of comments uttered by Mr. Trump when he was a candidate. And so, they have accelerated this practice throughout his presidency. But this is more than disingenuous. It is a technique by which they turn truth, humor, and qualified statements into lies – and their methodology is through the use of literalism.
Exhibit A
Look no further than the famed escalator speech when Mr. Trump announced his candidacy for president: “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists – and some I assume are good people.” Let’s stipulate at the outset that this was not the most genteel observation ever made by someone running for president. Nevertheless, the facts speak to the truth.
There is no doubt that illegal aliens bring crime into the U.S. In 2014, for example, illegals made up around 75% of federal drug sentences, according to the United States Sentencing Commission. Judicial Watch calculated that 50% of federal crimes occurred close to our southern border. Liberty Nation’s Kelli Ballard chronicles crime committed by illegal aliens each week, and some of those stories will make your hair stand on end.
But the worldwide media went wild over Trump’s comment. The media didn’t stop with roundly criticizing the president for being merely insensitive, but slapped him with the label of xenophobe – an accusation that continues to this day. You see, the truth has no place in the world of literalism. It’s an all or nothing-at-all philosophy that the MSM has been feeding off and feeding to the American people ad nauseam since 2015.
Exhibit B
Finding this an effective and profitable strategy, the leftist media elite have let nary a Trump utterance go by that they don’t try to distort. For example, as a candidate, Mr. Trump quipped, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” Near hysteria in the Fourth Estate followed.
The New York Times published an article titled, “Trump Invited the Russians to Hack Clinton. Were they listening?” The paper wrote as if Vladimir Putin was hanging on Trump’s every word – even though the statement was made in jest at a campaign news conference.
This remark even made it as far as the Mueller report because that was the same day the Russians made their “first effort to break into the servers used by Mrs. Clinton’s office,” wrote Michael S. Schmidt for the Times. And the left claims those on the right are the conspiracy theorists.
Exhibit C
Perhaps the twisting of Trump’s commentary regarding the tragedy in Charlottesville takes the proverbial cake. That’s when the president uttered the phrase, “You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.”
The dirty little secret here is that the president wasn’t calling white nationalists “good people.” The leftist media wants you to believe that is what the president said, but it is not. When President Trump made this statement, it was in the context of a discussion about Confederate monuments in public places. To clarify his point further, Trump said, “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.” It seems rather clear where the president stands in regard to white nationalism.
To this day, those in the media continue to perpetuate the lie that Trump was calling neo-Nazis “good people.” It’s run so far into the political bloodstream that former Vice President Joe Biden referenced it in his official presidential candidacy announcement. Repeat a lie long enough and say it loud enough, and some in the body politic will take it as gospel.
Exhibit D
Fast forward to the nomination of Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve Board. The leftist zealots in the media picked apart the economist’s life piece by piece until he finally withdrew his name from consideration. Moore told LN’s Tim Donner in an exclusive interview this week that the media turned the heat up so high that it was impossible for him to continue. He elaborated, “And so, they started this character assassination. I don’t want to get too much into the details of it, but it was vicious, and it was going into my divorce documents and going into things I’ve written 20, 25 years ago, little Christmas letters, they would extract things which were spoofs.” Mr. Moore went on to illustrate further:
“I’ve said things that are flamboyant and politically incorrect. And they were able to build a case against me. It was so harsh that my wife almost literally said, ‘If you don’t drop out of this, I’m going to divorce you.’ That’s how hard it was on us day after day after day. They had seven full-time investigative reporters looking into me.”
Thus, the media was able to dispatch Moore in no time.
The Intent to Destroy
Having taught Bible study for almost two decades, all this hearkens back to a vital catchphrase for students: Be very careful interpreting the Bible literally. Seek first to interpret it accurately. When the Bible says an “eye for an eye,” it is not advocating violence that results in blindness. But rather, that someone who injures another should be similarly punished. Then in the New Testament, Jesus turns this verse on its head by stating, “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also (Matthew 5:39).” This is a far sight from abject retribution.
The leftist media seems hellbent on using literalism to distort the public remarks of the president and those who support him, to rile up their base. Thus, the practice of shoving falsehoods down the throats of Americans repeatedly and purposefully has escalated in the public square. The media truly believes their ability to take humorous and innocent comments literally instead of accurately will allow them to malign and destroy their political opponents.
But there is one saving grace in all of this. Continuing to carry out this ruse on the American public assumes that we are stupid and incapable of determining the truth on our own. Indeed, the advocacy media are steadfast in their belief that citizens will keep drinking their poisonous Kool-Aid. Underestimating the American public has become the stock and trade of these elitists. But in the end, that may turn out to be a dangerous and improvident game that may only serve to strengthen their political adversary.
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