Donald Trump, bloodbaths and fake news
Donald Trump may be his own worst enemy, but the Fake News Media and the Democrats are his best friends.
When Leftists and the news media were apoplectic over Donald Trump's prediction of a "bloodbath" if he not is elected, Trump fans rushed to his defense. I will not defend Trump. To be clear, did he mean an actual bloodbath would result from Biden winning, or an economic bloodbath? It is the latter. But it is Trump's fault that he used inflammatory language instead of a more measured response. Trump goes out of his way to stir people up, and his fans love it. Sadly, this includes many Christians who have cut Proverbs 15:1 out of their Bibles.
All Trump needs to do for the next seven months is be focused and disciplined. Make your point without being needlessly provocative. Trump petulantly refuses to do that, and he is like a child who was never told "no" and is now an unbearable brat.
Trump loves offending people. He loves to "own the libs." This does not mean winning elections or getting conservative policy passed into law, but making Leftists angry. Then when people get offended and take him literally, his supporters cry about "fake news." But had Trump been focused and disciplined, he could have avoided the problems his mouth causes for him.
Trump is his own worst enemy, and regularly uses violent and inflammatory rhetoric. In the aftermath of January 6, people are going to (fairly or unfairly) take his rhetoric literally. Sometimes they will overreach and accuse Trump of saying things he did not say, but Trump could avoid these misrepresentations by not using rhetoric that invokes violence. If Trump wins in November, he will have more than four years to make himself the center of attention every single day. All he has to do is keep his mouth shut for seven months, and he will be in the clear to make a spectacle of himself every day.
Sure, a totally unrestrained Trump from December 2024 onward will hurt the Republican Party in 2026 and 2028, but he has never cared about that. He just needs to restrain himself until November. Delayed gratification is beyond him. He needs to mouth off right now, and that lack of discipline hurts Trump more than anyone else. Trump, as always, is his own worst enemy.
Now, with all of this said: Donald Trump may be his own worst enemy, but the Fake News Media and the Democrats are his best friends. We have been down this road how many times now? Trump says something inflammatory, and then the media and the Democrats totally overreact to it and take it out of context. If they had been restrained in their criticism, they could have made some arguments that actually resonated with the American people. Instead, they get so sputtering mad that they damage themselves instead of Trump.
The bigger issue that almost everyone missed completely is that Trump promised a 100% tariff on cars imported from Chinese automobile factories in Mexico. That is economic malpractice - especially at a time when we are experiencing terrible inflation. That hurts consumers, not China. Plus, one of the best ways to reduce illegal immigration is to raise the living standard in Mexico. There will be far less incentive to immigrate if people can make a good living in their home country. It harms Americans to have a failed state south of the Rio Grande.
The whole "bloodbathgate" dust-up was a failure on every level. It was a failure of Trump, it was a failure of the news media, and it was a failure of everyone who focused on the soap opera of what words the former President used instead of the harmful and counterproductive tax increases he promises. Policy ought to matter more than the words used to promote that policy, and if we were a serious country they would be.