The public doesn’t understand the risks of a Trump victory. That’s the media’s fault
theguardian.com
The press must get across to American citizens the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win. They don’t need to surrender their journalistic independence to do so or be “in the tank” for Biden or anyone else.
It’s now clearer than ever that Trump, if elected, will use the federal government to go after his political rivals and critics, even deploying the military toward that end. His allies are hatching plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one.
Because the media want him to run. Trump brings ratings. They are not incentivized to care about educating anyone; entertainment pays the bills.
Also because the media is owned by billionaires, who skew towards favoring fascism as a matter of class solidarity.
Also because billionaires tend to be sociopaths since that kind of wealth hoarding isn’t really possible unless you have little empathy for others. Sociopaths love fascism because it lets them take what they want by force, ignore social norms, and enslave or genocide anyone who they deem an impediment.
That I will not understand. Fascists are opportunists first. If they see a reason to hate on some billionaire they’ll eat him faster than the poor will. They don’t care that you gave them millions in campaign money, if your kid is gay and you say “maybe it’s okay to have gay kids” they’ll turn on you.
They're one in the same. The opprotunist fascists are the billionaires. The same sociopathy that rewards capitalists also gives rise to fascists. Its hand in hand.
And history has demonstrated capitalists and fascists being allies.
Edit: this Atlantic article deals with IBM helping Hitler. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/04/hitlers-willing-business-partners/303146/
Edit: now the article below is from a left wing political mag so beat that in mind.
https://jacobin.com/2022/08/nazi-germany-national-socialism-hypercaptialism-social-darwinism-liberalism
Edit: I'll see if I can find anything else.
If anyone else thinks its weird that capitalists, nazis, and billionaires always seem to be in close nit circles; stop thinking its weird.
I realize the following is from R**** 😲 but it is AskHistorians and so, quality post and well cited.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/y8h0zJqf18
You don't say? When all they do is treat this as a football game highlights. Reporting on the dumbest shit and the important things are clips or in the bottom text box.
What's worse is the media isn't emphasizing how dangerous any Republicans winning right now is. They are far more dangerous and bold than Trump is right now. They are doing a fascism in Ohio for example.
Go to any yt video on antarctica
Read the comments and count how many are about "the Dome", aliens, flat Earth.
This is your public.
The fuck is "the dome" ?
Oh, you didn't know? There's a huge dome encasing the entire (flat) earth, and its edges are in Antarctica. Because that's where the edge of the earth is. Antarctica is a huge ice wall that keeps all the water in, which just makes global warming much worse 😂
Something tells me these people don't understand map projections, though that's the least of their problems.
Go to most any non-specialized social media platform and most any post devolves into fringe and/or right wing BS. Person a) “Nice day today…” person b) “…except for that bitch Pelosi.” a) “Man, it’s cold today.” b) “Fucking libs lying about climate change”. a) Picture of the sky, has a contrail. b) “chemtrails! The Illuminati and globalists are trying to control us!” a) “Nice day today…” b) only because god praise lord Jesus Christ died for your nice day and our veterans and police officers I support blah blah blah…
That's really funny and ridiculous. What if going out in public was actually like a youtube comment section? That would be amazing.
Move to Missouri or Florida
"Missouri Man" just rolls off the tongue, are they the next Florida?
High concentration of the public there, true.
"The Public" is not one thing. There's plenty of people who "understand the risks of a Trump victory." The fact that half of the public not only doesn't, but desires a Trump victory is also not the fault of "The Media," because we all have access to the same media.
People who are okay with Trump being in charge of anything are fascists, and that's their fault.
It's more like 1/3 dem, 1/3 fasc, 1/3 doesn't care until it affects them directly and often still don't since their world is so insular they have a hard time understanding the decisions of others controls much of how their life operates.
I would hazard a 1/3 to 1/2 of that last third genuinely doesn't have any resources to stay aware and engaged in the electoral process because they're already used up on surviving and on their individual scale it doesn't feel like either choice has a meaningful difference. The liberal establishment does itself no favors (and I say this a leftist who votes democrat)
For sure most of them I've met are people who lean sorta right because they're just in their own little uninformed group, but most are too busy partying, surviving, or just literally dumb. Functional enough to hold a job, but when presented with anything out of their comfort zone, they implode.
Not just trump. Any Republican president will use the federal government to go after his political rivals and critics. The entire GOP is an openly-fascist political arm of the billionaire class.
And let's be clear. "Democrat" is simply sucking their fucking dick.
It doesn't help that the media gamely both-sides every issue, even when the issue in question is not one that has two legitimate sides.
For example, it's a story when women lose their rights and protections and bodily autonomy, when brown and poor voters lose their voting rights or have their representative power gerrymandered away, when powerful men violate the law and aren't held accountable, etc.
There are two sides to these stories, but one of them is outside the bounds of the peace that makes civilization possible and when 'the media' decline to call that out, they've picked a side and it's not the one that will sustain or defend a republic
Nearly every single repub politician is a fucking worthless traitor.
"But.. but.. fairness! Both sides!"
Yeah, that's the damage Fox News has done to our national discourse. As if all sides of the story are backed equally by facts.
To quote Gingrich, "As a political candidate, I'll go with what people feel..." Because manipulating people's feelings is easier than manipulating facts.
found the centrist
A trump victory is great for ratings of mainstream media. They are fueled by trump hatred and it makes them billions.
the "Press" is Capitalism ~ only clicks and impressions matter ~ the world can burn
If the public didn't learn from his prior presidency then we are well and truly fucked and this country is over and done with.
Through the time, the media has changed. No so long ago, it was to inform the population of what was happening outside. The news freedom is important at this point. It allows everyone to build an opinion, and it's a counter power to the state. The last decade saw a radical change in how we use the media. It's for a good part of them about making money. Where money was critical to inform the population, this same money became critical to make profit. Internet accelerates the movement with the clicks and the views. The run to maximize the profit coming from the media ruined the quality of the articles behind the motto "more and shorter".
This change has been coming since the 90s, ever since Reagan shut down the Fairness Doctrine in the FCC and the media cross-ownership rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_cross-ownership_in_the_United_States
After the 1996 Telecommunications Act, most of those rules were repealed and we began to see quick consolidation of media outlets. That's why most newspapers and broadcast stations are owned by a single corporate parent. It has not led to greater competition and better journalism. Quite the opposite.
Almost nobody gets any news from anything that would be covered by the fairness doctrine, which was only a possible federal power due to the FCC being in control of allocating radio frequency.
Stop preaching like it would have made any difference at all, because it functional died with the rise of cable TV anyway, Reagan or no Reagan.
This entire thread is pure amateur hour. The ignorance on display here is very disheartening and speaks to how a lack of media literacy contributes to the larger dysfunction. People know something is wrong, they just have no idea why or how it's gone wrong.
That's an important factor, but another is the shift from print to the internet. With print you bought a paper then looked to see what was inside. You could know which papers had more reliable reporting. With the internet there's no audience loyalty and most people are not paying, so they're always desperate to get you to click on their article instead of someone else's for the sake of the advertising views. So shock, outrage and clickbait win every time, not responsible reporting.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The poll, of course, is only one snapshot and it has been criticized, but it still tells a cautionary tale – especially when paired with the certainty that Trump, if elected, will quickly move toward making the United States an authoritarian regime.
Almost as troubling, two New York Times stories outlined Trump’s autocratic plans to put loyal lawyers in key posts and limit the independence of federal agencies.
Here’s what must be hammered home: Trump cannot be re-elected if you want the United States to be a place where elections decide outcomes, where voting rights matter, and where politicians don’t baselessly prosecute their adversaries.
“Women don’t want to die for Mike Johnson’s religious beliefs,” as Vanity Fair’s Molly Jong-Fast said on MSNBC, referring to the theocratic House speaker.
The Guardian’s David Smith laid out the contrast: “Since Biden took office the US economy has added a record 14m jobs while his list of legislative accomplishments has earned comparisons with those of Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson … Trump, meanwhile, is facing 91 criminal indictments in Atlanta, Miami, New York and Washington DC, some of which relate to an attempt to overthrow the US government.”
Pin down Republicans about whether they support Trump’s lies and autocratic plans, as ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos did in grilling the House majority leader Steve Scalise about whether the 2020 election was stolen.
The original article contains 950 words, the summary contains 227 words. Saved 76%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Most people aren't that bright to begin with.
Almost no one is smart when stressed, scared, or worried about survival and basic needs.
A lot of people in the US are stressed and worried about basic needs.
So you have a lot of people who weren't that sharp to begin with rolling with huge penalties because they're scared and worried if they're going to be able to pay their bills or be homeless.
It's not a good situation.
Fixing it won't be easy. Basic income, nationalized health care, breaking up monopolies would all help. But here we are.
Yes.
WAIT NO. This meatballs running again???!
Yes. It's now a race between convicting and imprisoning him, and him winning the election and pardoning himself. And then using being president to both dodge punishment and likely issue in a fascist autocracy via Project 2025.
Fuuuck no, it's been so nice and quiet for the last 2 years
Looking forward to the constitutional crisis that emerges if he gets elected while within a GA prison, unable to pardon himself of state charges.
When he is allowed to become a dictator he will do away with states rights and have anyone enforcing the law to be killed/jailed. He is also planning to do away with the constitution and plans to put the military in the streets to kill any protesters (project 2025). Any vote that isn't for Biden (if he is the D candidate) is going to be helping with the downfall of the US as we know it sadly.
Yeah. But I don't think there's any real way he ever gets sentenced to prison. Secret Service won't let it happen. Most likely he gets house arrest at Mar a Lago and he does all his rallies there.
And don't forget, there is no constitutional law that forbids a president from being in prison.
Honestly, I think Trumps gonna win.
Slowest pitch in history, and at the nth hour Biden outs himself as a genocidal fascist.
What a fucking moron.
Republicans will dutifully vote red and Democrats will refuse to support genocide.
Because of Israel? Trump would be so much worse. He already tried to expel Muslims.
Is he funding genocide anywhere else that I haven't heard of?
Trump being worse is a given, but that doesn't do anything for me.
I am done voting for horrible people because the other guy is more horrible.
Democrats want more votes than Trump? Get Biden off the ballot. Start actually listening to their constituents. Stop licking wall street and Republican taints for money, and start serving the people.
I recommend putting Bernie, or Katie Porter on the ballot. Oh hey, or AOC. She's going to be 35 by the next general election.
Again, I will not vote for a man who has sent tens of billions of dollars to continue an active genocide, and is pushing for the ability to do it more behind closed doors into a black box.
Jesus Christ this is stupid.
If purity-test people like you would actually fucking vote for change, we could actually enact meaningful change.
Instead, we will never have enough left-leaning politicians to enact any sort of progressive agenda because of braindead voters like you who refuse to vote because the lesser of two evils isn't perfect. And we get stuck in this 51/49 deadlock where nothing good ever happens.
Imagine being so stupid that you'd support the greater of two evils simply because you weren't a fan of the lesser of two evils. Imagine this: You have to eat either a pile of dogshit with a small piece of corn in it, or a pile of corn with a small piece of shit in it. But you get to choose. And you say "ehhhh I don't like corn so I won't choose." How stupid can one be???
I don't care how badly you or I want Bernie, or AOC, or whoever to be the next president. IT ISN'T HAPPENING. So do everybody a favor and fucking vote for the candidate who is BETTER.
If there are two evils to choose from, and you get a choice, CHOOSE THE FUCKING LESSER EVIL.
That's not how party politics works. If you abstain from voting or throw your vote away by voting third party, you may as well just vote for your least favorite candidate because you're robbing the least worst of a vote.
Grow up.
Party politics don't work for anyone but billionaires, politicians, and military contractors.
Grow up, stop believing in Santa Clause, and stop enabling a broken system.
What do you mean "enabling"?
The system is broken, I fully agree. But it exists, and sadly it isn't going anywhere. Not voting is not going to change that, the system is just going to continue, unaffected, and will continue to affect people's lives. Your only options, within the system, are to minimise harm or to not do that.
The system absolutely needs to be changed. But not voting isn't going to change it. And reducing harm isn't somehow making that change more difficult.
That's a default vote for Trump then.
Stupid, dumb ass logic.
Like a 4 year old going "I'm rubber, you're glue."
You are voting for evil. I am not voting for evil.
That simple.
Burn it to the ground 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Edit- or feel free to keep taking it. Put up with the same media that between 2014-16 published THOUSANDS of articles about Hillary Clinton's emails and benghazi and next to nothing about the truth and dangers of that mutant trump. Keep taking it like good consumers. Let Billionaire agendas influence and control the narrative of your lives. Keep paying into the system that empowers plutocracy and divides us as a nation and is destroying the fabric of society and our planet just so some assholes that couldn't spend their entire wealth in multiple lifetimes can add a few more zeros onto their bank statement.
Even applying the military? Come on guys. Really? I hate the orange fuck as much as anyone else but this makes us look silly.
That's not hyperbole.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025#:~:text=The%20Washington%20Post%20reported%20the,Justice%20to%20pursue%20Trump%20adversaries.
Fucking Christ.
I only wish.
it's so so sooooo difficult to take this language seriously. because EVERY election is phrased with this sky-is-falling rhetoric. i am 45 and for as long as i have been a voter, this-next-one is the-big-one.
nevertheless, i do actually think that this time bad things really will happen.
also, i want to get it out there that even though this guardian piece downplays "biden is old", i cannot stress enough that i will unconditionally NOT vote for biden. so these fuckers better put up a reasonable candidate very quickly.
In other words, you're going to help enable the "bad things" that you agree really will happen.
How brave of you.
I'm 50 something. 2015 was the only big one the USA has experienced during that time. Yet people were too goddamned moronic to see it.
I think you'd have to ignore everything Trump did 2016-20 and ignore what the SCOTUS has become to not see this election as the second big one.
But if Americans are really this idiotic, then I guess we will get what we deserve.
So... you're the proof of the article I guess?
I have little doubt that the country will end up as some version of Trump's authoritarian state. The question is the timing.
I actually think that our best chance of avoiding it (in the long run) is another Trump victory. He will make those changes so abruptly that people will react far more strongly than if we slid into an authoritarian state gradually. I mean....think about the possibility of Trump having won in 2020. The DNC would have to accept that they need to nominate a truly progressive candidate, and people would be demanding change immediately. Instead, we're justifying Biden/Harris again because they're not Trump.
Are you serious? Deploying the military to put down dissent is his strategy to deal with that. And we've seen it happen around the world. If the military gets involved in politics at home, it's bad news for everyone.
Too late. He's already normalized this behavior for too many people.
If Trump won in 2020 we'd never have another real election. That's the stakes now.
Almost reminds me of some other "president" from a different country. Vlad Putita? Or something like that.
Likely American windows will become flimsy and people just start falling randomly out of windows.
I think they'd rather die.
That is one of the options, yes.
I agree. Centrist leaders will do anything for their overlord billionaires to fight the (real, actual) left. Look no farther than the lead up to Nazi Germany. It's why the commies hate liberals (as in moderates, centrists, etc) so damn much.
If he wins again he already has a plan and people working to have the military in the streets to slaughter protesters on day one. He is also planning to arrest/execute anyone that has tried to hold him responsible for anything. If he wins its game over for democracy full stop, he isn't going to take a chance of going to prison again.