Jonathan Swan Shows The Power of Ignoring The Distraction of Trump’s Lies.
Monday night Trump faced a formidable adversary to his dishonest reports. Relentlessly challenging his baseless claims, Jonathan Swan, a reporter at Axios, revealed the dangerous dishonesty spewed by Trump.
In an interview on “Axios HBO,” Swan capitalized off of Trump’s tendency to deflect unflattering questions with grossly boastful, irrelevant facts on what he has achieved as president. Swan seemingly found the solution to this deflection:
persistence.
Trump has a pattern of distracting reporters with aggression and ego. Focusing on his accolades and accomplishments, he makes sure that the actual question at hand is never answered. Swan focused on facts and statistics. And Trump clearly, could not handle them.
Swan: Last time I was with you was the day before your Tulsa Rally in the Oval. You were saying big huge crowds, it was in doors. These people they listen to you.
Trump: First of all, we had 12,000 not 6,000 which you reported and other people reported. You could not even get in; it was like an armed camp because they had 120 Black Lives Matter people there.
Swan: I understand, but why would you have wanted a huge crowd
Trump: Well because that area was a very good area at the time… Oklahoma was doing very well as a state. It was almost free. It spiked about a month and a half later, but it was a good area. We had a tremendous crowd. We had tremendous response; it was like an armed camp. You couldn’t even get in. We had 12,000 people; it was incorrectly reported. The other thing we had that nobody wants to talk about. So, Fox broadcasted, it was the highest rating in the history of Fox television.
Swan: I think you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not criticizing your ability to draw a crowd. Are you kidding me, I’ve covered you for five years, you draw massive crowds, you get huge ratings. I’m asking about the public health.
Trump moved away from the point, but Swan remained persistent, acknowledging his achievements while still pushing him to answer the question. As a result, Trumps inability to surrender to his shortcomings blatantly showed.
Narcissism is an issue for the president. Most of his weaknesses stem from his reluctance to acknowledge the greatness in others. Ironically, according to his narrative, he seems to be the only person that can do no wrong.
When asked about the late politician and civil-rights leader, John Lewis, Trump had this to say:
Swan: How do you think history will remember John Lewis?
Trump: I don’t know. I really don’t know. I don’t know John Lewis. He chose not to come to my inauguration.
Swan: Do you find him impressive?
Trump: I can’t say one way or another. I find a lot of people impressive. I find many people not impressive. He didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union. And that’s okay, that’s his right. And again, no one has done more for Black Americans than I have.
John Lewis, the son of sharecroppers, became a leading figure of the civil rights movement. In a life-threatening beating by police during the historic march in Selma, Alabama, John Lewis showed his commitment to equality and Black liberation. Every moment of his life thereafter, up until his last breath, he used his time as a citizen and a U.S. Congressman to continue the fight. John Lewis was a pillar in African American history.
In an almost blasphemous comparison, Trump had the audacity to compare his accomplishments to the tireless efforts of John Lewis. Swan pushed back on Trump’s proclamation that he had “done more for the Black community than anybody with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln, whether you like it or not,” with understandable confusion.
Alarmingly, Trump wholeheartedly believes that his work with criminal justice reform, Historically Black Colleges and University’s (HBCUs), and Black unemployment rates is comparable to Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson. Let us not forget Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society Program”, which included the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which catalyzed the ending of slavery. Nonetheless, understanding the totality of the presidencies of both Lincoln and Johnson suggests surface level advancement in Black communities. The hardships endured by the Black community under these presidents overshadows the good done during their respective terms. In that way, Trump is at best similar to Lincoln and Johnson.
I can understand Trump wanting to compare himself to Lincoln and Johnson. They too used Black communities to push their own agendas. But John Lewis is another story. His entire life was built on sacrifice for what he believed in. No matter the feat, he stood up and fought. Trump does not know sacrifice, and likely never will.
Police brutality is one of the most pressing issues facing Black communities. When asked about the Black Lives Matter Movement, the president referred to the demonstrators as “ANTIFA people” and “anarchists”. Clearly in support of law enforcement, Trump made excuses for police brutality declaring “police have killed white people in a larger number.”
Trump’s claim is true, but misleading. According to data of police shootings since 2015 compiled by the Washington Post, half of the people shot and killed by police are white. Considering rates, Black Americans account for 13% of the U.S. population, but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans.
So again, Trump does not necessarily lie, but he absolutely distracts from important truths. If Trump were just a citizen his lies would not be as dangerous. But he is the President of The United States, people depend on him to be transparent and forthcoming with information. Specifically, his support base. Trump supporters avoid the media and rely on Trump for their information. That is why thousands of people show up in decent numbers for a rally in the middle of a pandemic. Or why people think the media and celebrities are personally attacking Trump supporters. Whatever Trump says, regardless of how obscene it may appear, his fan base listens.
Opinions on Trump are irrelevant. The reality is, his reach is powerful. For whatever reason, too many people blindly submit to his authority. This month alone, he has Republican Governor’s sending young children and vulnerable teachers back to school, simply to appease him. He has intelligent politicians questioning the trustworthiness of mail-in voting, as if there are many other options in the middle of a pandemic killing 1,000 Americans a day. And controversially, he has a Black man conspiring with him to win another election at the expense of the legitimacy of the election.
Donald Trump is dangerous, at one point his lies were comical at best. Now, his lies are dictating how many more Americans will die in the coming months.
