The presidential propaganda wars rage on

Get the Point!

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, in alternate ways, are no strangers to one of the oldest plays in the political playbook: propaganda!

Trump and Biden's first debate in Atlanta

When I was a kid with a huge fascination with all things World War II in general, and the battle to defeat the Nazis, specifically, I always wondered how people in Germany knowingly and willingly gave up their democratic rights to bow down to the fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler?

What I often read was how Germany's defeat in what was then known as "The Great War" (World War I) led to such harsh economic and geopolitical sanctions that by 1933, when Hitler assumed power four years after the devastating worldwide Great Depression began in 1929, the German Republic was in such dire straits that the people ate up his propaganda, namely, that their lack of jobs—and struggle to make ends meet—were the direct results of a global conspiracy by Jewish bankers and industrialists made manifest in the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the Great War in favor of the U.S. led Allies. 

German Dictator Adolf Hitler circa 1933

Of course, those were despicable lies, but as Hitler's own propaganda minister, Dr. Josef Goebbels, is often credited with averring:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Such is why I don't like propaganda, and why I often struggle with those who fall prey to political propagandists across the political spectrum. 

And trust me when I tell you that propaganda hails each and every day from the ideological right, center, and left! Which is why the best informed people, those willing to read and listen to facts and carefully weigh other’s opinions before forming their own opinions, seem to be a dying breed in an era in which misleading memes, reels with little context—and outright lies shape public perception. 

Such mass deceptions are why I am wary—and weary—from the reality that some within the mainstream media, both large and small, have moved beyond asking the tough questions to cull facts, to favor a form of sensationalism, if you will, that draws lucrative clicks, likes, and shares on social media. On this business end of journalism, legendary journalist Dan Rather raises a great point below about what's reported—and how it's reported.

In light of Mr. Rather’s points, and in the spirit of bipartisanship, allow me to offer two examples of obscured truths this past week. From the left of political center, if you watched all or part of last month's first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, then you know that Biden, 81, looked even older than his age, sounded extremely hoarse, and could not summon facts from the recesses of his mind as quickly as he could even four years ago. 

Now, in the three weeks since what he admits was a poor performance, Mr. Biden has done a number of interviews and town halls to try and allay concerns from politicians, pundits, and people on social media about his fitness to serve another full term. The traditional media have had a FIELD day with this topic, as the daily headlines consist of calls for Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee either in favor of his Vice President, Kamala Harris, or any one of a number of younger Democrats. The media field day stems from the fact that clicks, likes, and shares are at seasonal highs because people, by and large, love controversy!

President Biden's timing was off during the first presidential debate…

From the right of political center, Donald Trump was shot last week by an AR-15 carrying disgruntled 20-year old registered Republican who, from early FBI reports, was running searches on Trump and Biden's pending public appearances. Meaning, the would be assassin just as well could have been firing at the sitting president as he did at the former president. 

But alas, the shots were fired at the former president—with one bullet grazing his ear—only days before the Republican convention was set to begin in Milwaukee.

Trump being attended to by his personal Secret Service detail after last week's shooting…

While I continue to condemn last week's assassination attempt as a humanist and out of respect for the office of the presidency, I was not surprised when some within the mainstream media began "reporting" about the event in a way that to me, seemed to help fuel propaganda from Candidate Trump himself (and his ravenously loyal supporters) who believe that his near brush with death is a sign that he is "God's" anointed candidate. 

Keeping with the above two examples, as to the back room attempts to replace President Biden, I ask why aren’t more mainstream media members asking "why now?" Meaning, it has been crystal damn clear to anyone with a pair of eyes and ears that President Biden has lost a step since 2020, but none of the power brokers now calling for him to step down in public or private, including such Democratic luminaries as Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi, stepped to him with these age and acuity concerns last year—or encouraged a younger Democrat to mount a primary challenge!

Yes, I know that there is still time to make a change, but it strikes me as odd that Biden is receiving all of the blame from his political "friends" and the media for not listening to polling data right now when those same friends—and the media—said little about his declining abilities when there was ample opportunity for a robust Democratic Primary. 

President Biden briefly addressing reporters about his current bout with Covid…

As to the Trump attempted assassination story, I find it curious that many of the same mainstream media sites that the former president has repeatedly called "Fake News" since 2016, are now trying to normalize arguably the most controversially abnormal political figures in modern American history.

Within hours of the assassin's near miss, there was widespread media speculation that the same tragic event would all but secure a win for Trump this Fall! Such propaganda belies the existential proposition that “reaping” and “sowing” are still real; no President in my lifetime has ever talked tougher at rallies—or palled around with violent malcontents like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers—like Trump has for almost an entire decade. 

But Trump's past violent rhetorical tirades and demagoguery was in muted media tones during the GOP convention, as neither he nor the majority of convention speakers dropped mention about how his own Tweets and rhetoric led to the January 6th attacks on the Capitol that left six people dead—and led to his indictment in federal court for sedition.

Donald Trump was lauded by the same media he vilifies for commemorating the life of Corey Compertore, 50, the rally goer killed during last week's assassination attempt. Few of those same media organizations called out the fact that Trump has yet to pay homage to the people killed during the January 6th MAGA Riot that his violent rhetoric caused in 2021…

Indeed, rehashing hard facts about Trump’s past, or his Project 2025 future, might not garner as many clicks, likes, or shares as publishing propaganda about Trump's miraculous avoidance of the grim reaper!

But such are the times in which we live, where the reporting of certain facts, such as Joe Biden being old and discursive, or Trump being old, discursive, and extremely lucky to be alive, shouldn't prevent the reporting of equally important objective facts! These ones include the reality that Biden has a competent vice president and thousands of aides to assist him should he win a second consecutive term, and that Trump, should he win a second non-consecutive term, remains a threat to radically reshape the federal government and judiciary in ways that could make America more like a theocracy than a democracy—if the Heritage Foundation's racist, sexist, and xenophobic Project 2025 comes to fruition!

And while I believe that most voters have already made up their minds on whether they will select Biden, Trump, or neither of the two this coming November, decisions made from facts, opinions, and yes, degrees of propaganda, I admittedly still struggle with the notion of how, moving forward, to best encourage my colleagues within the so-called Fourth Estate—and myself—to do a better job of making sure that the facts hold equal (or greater) weight in our public fora than "I feel," "I think," or "I believe." 

Lest we forget…