It’s bad enough that we have to question just about everything the media tells us. They refuse to report the facts on the cities being trashed by rioters, characterize federal law enforcement in cities as the actions of a dictator, and one of the latest insults came from Nancy Pelosi calling COVID-19 the “Trump Virus.” I guess I should have seen that one coming; we’ll probably hear the media saying it’s only right to name it after Trump, since he appears to be regularly calling the virus the “Chinese Virus.” You know, tit-for-tat.

Lately I’ve been especially concerned about the distortions that the media is promoting regarding COVID-19. I’m perplexed at their willingness to mischaracterize just about everything about the virus: how children respond to it, which children are spreaders, whether schools should be re-opened, which drugs are effective and how they are best used, death and hospitalization rates versus cases. They try to create the most alarming narrative that they can, and people are terrified. It’s one detestable thing to lie about things that Trump has said and done, but why would they be terrorizing the American public, when people are literally concerned about who will live or die?

Wait. Aside from the click-bait opportunity for TV and newspapers, are these distortions also all about Trump? Do the media think that they can say anything at all, even if their readership is paralyzed by their agendas, in order to somehow damage Trump before the elections? I think the answer is yes, but I couldn’t figure out how the media’s lying about the development and progression of the COVID-19 would damage Trump.

Then I realized the answer didn’t have to make sense. Anything, anything, that can tangentially be connected to Trump is fair game. It was tough for me to make the connection, but this is what I think the media are doing.

Follow me here: The virus is all Trump’s fault; forget about the role of the Chinese. Questions about treating the virus: Trump’s fault. Delays in getting a vaccine: Trump’s fault. Confusion about whether to wear masks: Trump’s fault. Trump’s insistence about opening up to save the economy—well, there it is! The virus is spreading—never mind that the virus is doing exactly what viruses do, and probably would have done the same regardless of when businesses re-opened—do I need to repeat myself? It’s Trump’s fault.

So, promoting the worst possible message about the virus may horrify people enough to hide in their homes, true or not, and supports the media’s greater goal to destroy Trump before the election. Please disregard that those actions are a betrayal of the public trust.

After all, it’s Trump’s fault.