Here’s what I don’t get.
Every time Trump is caught doing or saying something stupid, either he, or one of his Whitehouse lackeys will step up to “defend” him. Their responses are very predictable. They either tell an outright lie like, “He never said that!” or they try to cast it as being “taken out of context” or they try to assassinate the opponent's character. Their final volley is to try to change the subject to Hilary’s or Obama’s “crimes.”
His supporters have followed this pattern over and over, most recently by attacking Rep. Frederica Wilson for “listening in on” a conversation between the widow of a slain U.S. soldier and Trump. Their attacks are usually very straight-forward lies, as General Kelly’s was, and are generally very easily proven to be lies. The problem is the response time. By the time the person involved responds, it NO LONGER MATTERS. The lie is out there, being repeated over and over until it becomes the “Trump Truth.”
As Jonathan Swift wrote in “The Examiner” in 1710, “...The greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it; so that when Men come to be undeceiv’d, it is too late; the Jest is over, and the Tale has had its Effect…”
What is needed is a team of fact-checkers who, armed with some quick connections, quicker wit, and the power of the internet (as well as the power of the Truth), can provide the members of the “Fourth Estate,” who no longer know how to fact-check, with relevant, clear, and most importantly, TIMELY facts.
Given the knee-jerk way that Trump’s supporters lie, and their limited repertoire, why has no progressive organization stepped forward to provide this vital response? I want to know.