Donald J. Trump took to the stage on the last night of the 2016 Republican National Convention saying he “humbly and gratefully” accept the Republican nomination for president. Then he said that he would not lie to the American people.
Both statements were patent lies.
He proceeded to create a false narrative, a coming apocalypse that only he could save America from.
He lied about the economy, jobslessness, crime, about undocumented immigrants. He contradicted his stated positions.
And if you take him at his word, “I am the law and order candidate” and that from Day One of taking the oath of office, violence will therefore cease, ISIS will be defeated, the only way to understand that is in the context that he intends to make a police state.
That is indicated by his love for expanding intelligence.
First you create a false narrative – that America is sinking into an abyss of violence, bankrupt, that America is weak and humiliated – and then you offer empty promises that everything will be fixed by sheer force of personality.
And holding President Obama and Secretary Clinton to blame for every bad thing that occurs anywhere in the country and in the world, is preposterous – even the coup in Turkey. And yet, the Republicans don’t take any responsibility for four planes that over the course of hours on a single day on Sept. 11, 2001, were able to fly unimpeded, killing more than 3000, for the theft of trillions of dollars in wealth by banksters allowed to flourish in Bush’s laissez-faire deregulated environment, causing millions of Americans to lose their jobs, their homes, their savings and retirement.
“The American People will come first once again. My plan will begin with safety at home – which means safe neighborhoods, secure borders, and protection from terrorism. There can be no prosperity without law and order. On the economy, I will outline reforms to add millions of new jobs and trillions in new wealth that can be used to rebuild America,” Trump declared.
“A number of these reforms that I will outline tonight will be opposed by some of our nation’s most powerful special interests. That is because these interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit.”
A great bulk of his speech was devoted to violence. Indeed, it sounded like he was advocating for gun control – but then he used lies to threaten that if he is not elected, Hillary Clinton will repeal the 2nd Amendment.
Instead, the only remedy to violence here and abroad that he offered sounded a whole lot like a police state – a fact borne out by his declared admiration for Turkey Prime Minister’s Erdogan’s crackdown and purge after a failed military coup (50,000 judges, soldiers, teachers arrested and charged without due process).
“I will work with, and appoint, the best prosecutors and law enforcement officials in the country to get the job done. In this race for the White House, I am the Law And Order candidate. The irresponsible rhetoric of our President, who has used the pulpit of the presidency to divide us by race and color, has made America a more dangerous environment for everyone.
This Administration has failed America’s inner cities. It’s failed them on education. It’s failed them on jobs. It’s failed them on crime. It’s failed them at every level.
When I am President, I will work to ensure that all of our kids are treated equally, and protected equally.
“Every action I take, I will ask myself: does this make life better for young Americans in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Ferguson who have as much of a right to live out their dreams as any other child America?”
He promises, as if by mere force of his personality, to rid the world of the scourge of radical jihadist terrorism:
“To make life safe in America, we must also address the growing threats we face from outside America: we are going to defeat the barbarians of ISIS….
“To protect us from terrorism, we need to focus on three things.
“We must have the best intelligence gathering operation in the world. We must abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change that Hillary Clinton pushed in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria. Instead, we must work with all of our allies who share our goal of destroying ISIS and stamping out Islamic terror.
“This includes working with our greatest ally in the region, the State of Israel. Lastly, we must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.”
And yes, build that wall. “We are going to build a great border wall to stop illegal immigration, to stop the gangs and the violence, and to stop the drugs from pouring into our communities. I”
“By ending catch-and-release on the border, we will stop the cycle of human smuggling and violence. Illegal border crossings will go down. Peace will be restored. By enforcing the rules for the millions who overstay their visas, our laws will finally receive the respect they deserve.
“Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied – and every politician who has denied them – to listen very closely to the words I am about to say.
“On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced. We are going to be considerate and compassionate to everyone.
“But my greatest compassion will be for our own struggling citizens. My plan is the exact opposite of the radical and dangerous immigration policy of Hillary Clinton. Americans want relief from uncontrolled immigration. Communities want relief.”
But Trump, a failed businessman with multiple bankruptcies, who has defrauded and cheated investors, contractors and customers, is promising to lower taxes, eliminate regulations (like on environment and food safety and financial protection), and energy rules, which means promoting extracting of fossil fuels over clean energy.
“I have made billions of dollars in business making deals – now I’m going to make our country rich again. I am going to turn our bad trade agreements into great ones. America has lost nearly-one third of its manufacturing jobs since 1997, following the enactment of disastrous trade deals supported by Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“Remember, it was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA, one of the worst economic deals ever made by our country.
“Never again.
“I am going to bring our jobs back to Ohio and to America – and I am not going to let companies move to other countries, firing their employees along the way, without consequences.”
Trump promises to overturn public education with school choice – with a dig at teachers unions – and repeal and replace Obamacare (“You will be able to choose your own doctor again,” he declartes, except that you never were able to choose your own doctor because of insurance companies, and you have the same ability now to pay for whatever doctor you want), to fix the TSA and rebuild a “depleted military.”
“We will take care of our great Veterans like they have never been taken care of before. My opponent dismissed the VA scandal as being not widespread – one more sign of how out of touch she really is. We are going to ask every Department Head in government to provide a list of wasteful spending projects that we can eliminate in my first 100 days. The politicians have talked about it, I’m going to do it. We are also going to appoint justices to the United States Supreme Court who will uphold our laws and our Constitution.”
In a payoff to evangelicals, who apparently don’t wield enough political power already, he promises to overturn the law that prevents religious centers from preaching politics or else lose their tax-exempt status – another sign so obviously on view throughout the RNC of Christians seeing the opportunity to turn the US into a theocracy.
Trump promises to bring back jobs, prosperity, eliminate violence and pretends to care about working families, about LGBTQ people.
“When innocent people suffer, because our political system lacks the will, or the courage, or the basic decency to enforce our laws – or worse still, has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash – I am not able to look the other way.”
And in a giant wink, suggests he will purge the political system of the power wielded by special interests: “I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders – he never had a chance.”
Closing out his 77 minute speech (longest of any acceptance speech; longer than Obama and Romney’s combined), he said:
“I am your voice.
“So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I’m With You, and I will fight for you, and I will win for you.
“To all Americans tonight, in all our cities and towns, I make this promise: We Will Make America Strong Again.
“We Will Make America Proud Again.
“We Will Make America Safe Again.
“And We Will Make America Great Again.”
Problem is, it was all complete and utter crap.
“Donald Trump’s big speech last night was full of false humility, false promises, false sympathy (for minorities, women, and workers), and outright falsehoods. He affirmed various right-wing tropes for his base, but the speech was — at its core — a naked attempt to con the voters Trump and the Republicans need to sway to their side by November,” writes Michael Keegan, President of People for the American Way (PFAW.org).
“Trump also distorted statistics to gin up the anxiety and inflame many of the false perceptions driven by right-wing media lies, oversaturation of sensationalistic news stories, and the violent videos and memes that constantly go viral on social media.
“The entire theme of Trump’s speech was that the country is beset by crises of a historic magnitude and that Trump and ONLY Trump can save us. His speech, which has widely been called “apocalyptic,” made the case that Americans are completely unsafe, and are under siege from enemies both within and outside our borders … that the state of the economy is terrible.
“He said he would fix all of our problems quickly upon taking office — make the streets safe, bring back all of our lost manufacturing jobs, expand opportunity for young people and minorities, and more — but declined to say how.
“He also reminded the crowd that his economic ‘plan’ includes the biggest tax cut of all of this year’s candidates in either major party — weighted heavily for the ultra-rich, of course — but at the same time promised wildly expensive programs, including his infamous border wall — the price tag of which analysts estimate would be at least $25 billion (no, Mexico is not going to pay for it). It’s a recipe for a behemoth deficit … but of course, facts don’t matter … and never have for Trump.
“Now, as if all of that wasn’t scary enough, here’s the really scary part: There are many — too many — Americans that will find all of Trump’s blustery rhetoric and empty promises appealing. If there is anything history has taught, it’s that when people are afraid, they will put power in the hands of strongman leaders who promise safety and national glory. We’re even seeing it right now in other places in the world,” Keegan writes.
The lies demand to be addressed. (See Independent Fact Checkers Review Trump’s Convention).
–Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features
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