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I’ve Been Had—and I’m Mad!
My friends here on Ricochet tried to warn me. They coaxed, cajoled, and reprimanded my decision to rely on the media. And I mostly argued with them. Today The Federalist published an article by Mollie Hemingway, a woman I admire and hold in the greatest esteem when it comes to journalism. And she proceeded to tell me that I’d been had—and my friends were right: a fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump is a hoax.
How did I get taken in so easily? For one, I’ve often said that I admire much of the work that Donald Trump accomplished, but I just didn’t like him. I insisted that his demeanor and tweets were unacceptable and were unhelpful. (I still believe that to be true.) But the mainstream media baited me with distortions and lies, knowing that I and others like me look for reasons to discount Donald Trump—and they were successful.
So what have I learned from this episode? For one, I will need to question any writing by the MSM. I hate having to do that. I knew they were out for Trump, hated him, would criticize him, and simply make up lies. But how far could they possibly go?
Apparently as far as they choose to go. And that’s pretty far.
I’m a person who likes to give the benefit of the doubt. I also pride myself on accepting people with whom I disagree into my circle. I suspect, however, that pride has gotten in my way.
I’m embarrassed. I’m disappointed in myself. But I write this post to everyone as a warning. No matter how much you dislike Donald Trump—no matter how much you dislike any politician—you need to factor those emotions into your judgment of anything that is published. We have to take responsibility for our decisions, for the information we share with others, and for the positions we take. That discernment might even serve us well in other areas. As @franco, @drewinwisconsin, @edg, and @flicker stated in my previous post, discernment is a valuable and honorable skill; we can use it to make judgments not only about our government, but about the relationships we build, the positions we take in our communities, and the decisions we make.
For the foreseeable future, I am going to focus on building my discernment muscles when it comes to the media. I will work hard not to let my emotions overrule my own wisdom and common sense. I will listen to my friends when they caution me about my writing. I will try to be a productive citizen. And as much as I dislike having to do it, I will make it a practice to question just about everything from the media, especially those who likely have motives to destroy not only the people we support, but ultimately the country. I hope you will join me in this effort.
We have a country to save.
Published in Journalism
I don’t hate him. I just don’t like him; there’s a huge difference. I hate people like Hitler and Stalin. I save hatred for monsters. I don’t know that you were rude, although I did feel bad after some of your comments. But I can be kind of whiny sometimes.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that we can necessarily accept claims corroborated by the right. We have to be more discerning than that. Sadly, there are many right-leaning writers and outlets that I no longer find reliable, including National Review, Commentary, Jonah Goldberg, and David French. I’m not even sure about Andrew McCarthy any more. It is very sad.
Like Fauci.
The MisLedia are being outed as the lying charlatans they are. And they do it on their own. We simply need to observe, and fact check them.
I think it would be great for Trump to roll in in a landslide. Dems feel rewarded for all their treachery and this would undo the bad lesson they learned. Their heads would explode. This time he would take DC by storm and clean up some of the swamp. He would be a hero for undoing Biden’s mess. Sure, DeSantis would be great but his time is coming. Only Trump’s victory would be just punishment for what they did to him. I don’t believe reports of a feud. Democrats want a circular firing squad to remove both of them.
That’s certainly one take I’ve read (and posted yesterday in Susan’s other thread). Punish the establishment by reelecting their worst nightmare.
I can certainly relate to that impulse. Short of any other way to punish them, I’m not sure what else to do.
Hey, I have disliked Donald Trump since day 1! We can still be friends with people who disagree with us on these things, no?
Or a lot of Valerian Root tea.
Susan, I’m going to chime in on this one, with a suggestion that I’ve made before and which I don’t think is mentioned in your OP.
Don’t jump to conclusions.
You usually don’t need to make a decision right away. When you hear or read a report about something, be skeptical about whether or not it is true. Wait a while before forming an opinion, to see if more facts emerge.
I can cite Scripture for this. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Proverbs 18:17.
Social media is probably a negative influence in this respect. There seems to be some sort of psychological pressure to remain “plugged in,” to form rapid opinions, and to comment upon them. It’s sometimes better to resist this impulse, I think.
Just like all the MSM reporting on Trump . . . a lie.
I don’t think that this is correct, either, Stad. They’re not always lying, or incorrect. Sometimes they are.
I keep praying for Trump to turn into his cable version self and anoint Gov. Ron DeDantis as his ‘Apprentice’ for 2024. He can do this. It won’t be easy for his ego, but as a business man, he can turn on his charming self, if he wants to. He ran for POTUS to save the country, he can do it again by being selfless. For America!
Sorry. I totally misread a bit of your post. I take it that “dislike” is more in order. Either way I think you’ve shown grace.
And I apologize for they way I said things.
Yes, one should examine reports from our media “friends” as well as the “enemies.” I haven’t let anyone tell me what to think since I was a toddler.
Don’t know if it’s necessary but apology accepted. And I apologize if I was harsh, too.
Really? Can you give me three examples off the top of your head in which MSM reporting was fair and not deliberately incorrect, skewed, or in any other way meant to deceive and misguide people’s perceptions?
Apology accepted, as well. But I don’t think you were harsh with your readers at all.
Boy aint that The truth.
I’m more likely to believe some YouTubers
@susanquinn is incapable of being harsh.
This may be a bit off-topic, but since the original post was about Trump not running, I suppose I’ll mention a few things. First, I don’t there’s anyone in whom I have confidence to stand up to the intelligence community and their subservient Press the way Trump did. Secondly, DeSantis is an unknown commodity in this regard, but who knows? And Cruz is a game-player who is crafty in what he says, and how, and to whom, and he’s a distant third place, in my view. And if one thinks Trump can be a king-maker and guide policy, I tend to doubt that right now.
My concerns about Trump, not that he’s even running, or running a campaign — he seems to be campaigning for others, and for himself complaining without saying what he’s going to do. In 2016 he ran with things like Lock her up, and Build that wall. But as of now, though it is quite early, he has yet to strike a chord with any presidential goals. But I still sy, he’s the best we’ve got.
I will say this about Trump. Three things that concern me extremely are in chronological order (1) covid lockouts, (2) election integrity, and (3) US debt and inflation. And these are three things that a president can have some strong effect upon.
The first, I think Trump would have prevented. The second I think Trump is facing now, either effectually or ineffectually – I don’t know what he can do other than expose it, which is what he’s doing. But the third continued to accelerate during his watch, and besides the covid “crisis” he seemed to maintain a hands-off approach, perhaps feeling that debt could be controlled by (spurious?) GDP growth.
I’d like to see what any contenders for the presidency would do to restrain the growth of debt, and its resultant inflation.
End the Fed.
Thanks for the link to the Mollie Hemingway article. I especially found this passage intriguing:
Graham is a much more politically attuned creature than most of his fellow members of the Republican Senate caucus. He sees the relevant electorates, state by state, have changed.
McConnell’s problem has been his close connection to the corporate community. The corporate community has been closely connected to China. Those in this mold will have trouble in a Trump led Republican Party. (I don’t know if the GOP label will work as we go forward)
I’m down with that
Like the tabloids, they print something true every once in a while to maintain one tiny thread of credibility . . .
Senator Graham is a much changed man ever since John McQueeg ceased to control his thinking.
I fear that Mitch has much McQueeg within himself. Sad.
Agent K regarding supermarket tabloids: Best investigative reporting on the planet. Read the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.
Man, I got work to do.
Seriously?
I’m a parent of four. Do you have kids? Do you want them to take this sort of attitude?
We’re supposed to teach our kids values, to teach them right from wrong, aren’t we?
I think if there was some kind of tension between the two men, it seems now to be resolved. I don’t feel obligated to post articles by people who are out to call attention to the story either in the hope of creating the tension they’re alleging is there or in an attempt to revive whatever real tension there might have been.