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An excerpt from George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984. (Photo: Jason Ilagan/Flickr/cc)
Trump Resorts to 'Pure 1984 Totalitarian Gaslighting,' Telling Supporters to Ignore News Coverage of His Policies
"What you see is true, it is happening, and it is getting worse every day."
Jul 25, 2018
Hours before President Donald Trump's former lawyer released an audio recording of Trump discussing a hush-money payment to a former Playboy model, the president uttered a phrase that critics said seemed ripped from the pages of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984.
"It's all working out," Trump told a gathering of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri. "Just remember: What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."
Journalists and observers immediately drew comparisons to a line from Orwell's book, which reads, "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
The remark was made as the president promoted his plan to hit China with new tariffs in an address that took on the form of a campaign speech. Trump's escalating trade war has resulted in rising costs for some products that farmers rely on, as China has responded to Trump's first round of tariffs introduced earlier this month.
"Don't believe the crap you hear from these people--the fake news," he said of reports of the negative impact of his trade policy.
It was just Trump's latest attack on the news media, which he has denounced as "really bad people" and "dishonest" and whose licenses he threatened to revoke last year, complaining of the news media's negative coverage of his presidency, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his 2016 campaign's contacts with Russia.
In addition to negative coverage of his tariff proposals, whose impact he attempted to offset on Tuesday with $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers--a move that was dismissed by trade groups as "a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs"--Trump is facing new questions over the tape his former attorney, Michael Cohen, released on Wednesday.
The president is heard apparently asking Cohen how much money is available to transfer to Karen McDougal, a former model who claims to have had an affair with Trump, in exchange for her story.
The tape was recorded during the 2016 campaign, offering new evidence that the president may have violated campaign finance laws.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Hours before President Donald Trump's former lawyer released an audio recording of Trump discussing a hush-money payment to a former Playboy model, the president uttered a phrase that critics said seemed ripped from the pages of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984.
"It's all working out," Trump told a gathering of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri. "Just remember: What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."
Journalists and observers immediately drew comparisons to a line from Orwell's book, which reads, "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
The remark was made as the president promoted his plan to hit China with new tariffs in an address that took on the form of a campaign speech. Trump's escalating trade war has resulted in rising costs for some products that farmers rely on, as China has responded to Trump's first round of tariffs introduced earlier this month.
"Don't believe the crap you hear from these people--the fake news," he said of reports of the negative impact of his trade policy.
It was just Trump's latest attack on the news media, which he has denounced as "really bad people" and "dishonest" and whose licenses he threatened to revoke last year, complaining of the news media's negative coverage of his presidency, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his 2016 campaign's contacts with Russia.
In addition to negative coverage of his tariff proposals, whose impact he attempted to offset on Tuesday with $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers--a move that was dismissed by trade groups as "a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs"--Trump is facing new questions over the tape his former attorney, Michael Cohen, released on Wednesday.
The president is heard apparently asking Cohen how much money is available to transfer to Karen McDougal, a former model who claims to have had an affair with Trump, in exchange for her story.
The tape was recorded during the 2016 campaign, offering new evidence that the president may have violated campaign finance laws.
Hours before President Donald Trump's former lawyer released an audio recording of Trump discussing a hush-money payment to a former Playboy model, the president uttered a phrase that critics said seemed ripped from the pages of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984.
"It's all working out," Trump told a gathering of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Kansas City, Missouri. "Just remember: What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."
Journalists and observers immediately drew comparisons to a line from Orwell's book, which reads, "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
The remark was made as the president promoted his plan to hit China with new tariffs in an address that took on the form of a campaign speech. Trump's escalating trade war has resulted in rising costs for some products that farmers rely on, as China has responded to Trump's first round of tariffs introduced earlier this month.
"Don't believe the crap you hear from these people--the fake news," he said of reports of the negative impact of his trade policy.
It was just Trump's latest attack on the news media, which he has denounced as "really bad people" and "dishonest" and whose licenses he threatened to revoke last year, complaining of the news media's negative coverage of his presidency, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his 2016 campaign's contacts with Russia.
In addition to negative coverage of his tariff proposals, whose impact he attempted to offset on Tuesday with $12 billion in emergency relief for farmers--a move that was dismissed by trade groups as "a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs"--Trump is facing new questions over the tape his former attorney, Michael Cohen, released on Wednesday.
The president is heard apparently asking Cohen how much money is available to transfer to Karen McDougal, a former model who claims to have had an affair with Trump, in exchange for her story.
The tape was recorded during the 2016 campaign, offering new evidence that the president may have violated campaign finance laws.
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