The left-leaning Fourth Estate was granted another opportunity to bolster Democrat talking points this weekend when former President Donald Trump lamented the “bloodbath” the US auto industry was facing if Joe Biden continues to enact his policies. Of course, Trump’s use of the word “bloodbath” was more than enough to send eager politicos and hungry journalists into a paroxysm of feverish joy at being able to excoriate 45 once again.
A Bloodbath or a Frenzy?
The ability of reporters and elected officials to strike a distinction between casual language and threats of death and destruction appears to have diminished in recent years. Perhaps the most notable example being when Trump said that people had to “fight like hell” on January 6, 2021. This simple phrase – one that has been uttered by his detractors both before and since – was the linchpin of his second impeachment trial.
For those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, all words from the former president are literal and must be taken in the gravest possible terms. The Biden campaign team was merely the first of many that cannot – or willingly will not – accept the use of common language from political opponents. The campaign released a statement saying:
“Tonight [ March 16] Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would be no more elections.”
The missive continued, claiming that he “wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”
It appears to be the “fine people” hoax all over again. And, once again, the Biden-friendly media are salivating at how many column inches can be written in pearl-clutching theatrics.
Not Alone
Naturally, it was not just Team Biden that sought to make hay out of Trump’s comments. Sitting down with CNN on Sunday, former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) decried Trump’s rhetoric, saying, “We just have to win this election because he’s even predicting a bloodbath. What does that mean? He’s going to exact a bloodbath? There’s something wrong here.”
Pelosi appeared to be taking even literalist interpretations one step further, implying that if 45 becomes 47, he would then carry out his own bloodbath. It seems the only thing better than wilful misunderstanding is wilful misunderstanding with a side of invention. The California politician’s inventive escalations, however, were neither questioned nor quizzed by “The most trusted name in news.”
Donald Trump has a track record of impromptu speechmaking and has, on many occasions, said things that even his most stalwart supporters wish he had never uttered. And yet he appears to be a man who is uniquely condemned by the statements he didn’t make rather than those that he did.
Groucho Marx once said, “the secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” With some of the highest officials in the land pushing a patently false narrative once again, those in the big box media who are willing to adopt the narrative and twist truth do, indeed, seem to have it made.
