x2 SYDNEY PHOTOART by Carsten Burmeister

Trump fact checked

Update: 14 February 2021, Trump is acquitted ... again.

Thank God ... if not, he would've been turned into a martyr, at potentially the cost of a civil war in America. But fear not ... justice will catch up with him. (Don't miss McConnell's speech below).

(Republican) Mitt Romney said, in part, in a statement: "President Trump incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on January 6th and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes. He did this despite the obvious and well known threats of violence that day. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the Vice President, and others in the Capitol."

(Republican) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell directly blamed former President Donald Trump for fomenting last month's riot but voted Saturday to acquit him anyway of inciting an insurrection.

McConnell sharply criticized his former ally in a speech on the Senate floor shortly after Trump was cleared in a 57-43 vote, saying the rioters had been "fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth. Because he was angry he'd lost an election."

"Former President Trump's actions that preceded the riot were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty," added McConnell. "Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."

But McConnell - who, as Senate majority leader last month, rejected calls by Senate Democrats for a speedy trial during Trump's final days in office - said Trump was constitutionally ineligible for conviction since the punishment is removal, and Trump was already out of office. McConnell claimed that a verdict before Joe Biden's inauguration had been impossible.

McConnell argued that "impeachment was never meant to be the final forum for American justice," but suggested Trump could be subject to criminal prosecution in the future.

"We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one," he said.

The above are the comments - the facts - that will be recorded by history. 

Listen to Mitch McConnell's excellent speech: He is scathing about Trump's misdemeanours and crimes, but he explains clearly why the constitution doesn't allow for a person to be impeached after they left office. 

Let us never forget this: Trump is guilty of what he had been accused of, however ... he got off on a technicality; acquitted, but not vindicated.

By the same token, he - the Republican, who had defended Trump all the way while he was in office - is also clear about the fact that Donald Trump, the citizen, is liable in civil court. Don't fear ... the law will catch up with him!

So, after voting to acquit, McConnell offered this stunning rebuke of Trump's behavior during his speech on the Senate floor, dismissing Trump's conspiracy theories and blaming Trump for the riot. But he argued it was inappropriate to vote for impeachment because Trump was no longer in office ... essentially having it both ways, on a technicality.

But, but ... here's the thing: had Trump been found guilty as charged, and had he then been prevented from holding office again, well, who would've benefited? The Republicans, of course. Trump said he'll help the GOP with their 2022 mid terms ... well, that was before the impeachment trial. Now that's over. And if he now sets up his Patriots Party, who's going to join up? 70% of Republican party members, that's who. Doh!!!

However, this is not the end of the story.

Trump's acquittal won't be the end of accountability for the riot his words helped cause or his attempts to overturn the election. There are hundreds of cases pending for rioters, and their cases have begun to weave his words into arguments.

Take the case of Jessica Watkins, the Oath Keeper who federal prosecutors said in court documents this week waited for Trump's command before marching on the Capitol.

__________________________________________

Anyway, here's the main story: What happens when D. Trump is fact checked?

Your jaw will drop.

I am in receipt of a curious email with some alarming content (a comparison between Democrats and the Nazis ensures it is not taken seriously on this blog; nevertheless, I've dealt with that sordid issue on an extra page: Trump / Nazis).

However, it makes a spurious attempt at partly blaming Black Lives Matter and Anti Fascist elements for the Capitol Hill riots (Time), culminating in this attack on a perceived ‘crackdown on free speech ("wrong thought")’. Frightening!

“It is clear that the Democrats are using the recent Capitol Hill riot by about 100* fringe individuals belonging to extremist groups** including BLM and ANTIFA agent provocateurs***, to justify the purge of all Trump supporters in American life and the crackdown on free speech (“wrong thought”****). Frightening.”

100? You are very flippant with your zeros; as to the crowd size, you are way out by a factor of between 10 and 100.

* 100? There were several thousand people there, maybe even 10,000

The Conversation

** The FBI … hunted down more than 300 suspects … thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators ... Trump true-believers ... Proud Boys ... Boogaloo Bois … costumed QAnon conspiracists … neo-Nazis … white supremacists

CBS News, 60 Minutes

*** I could not find any fact-checked reference to BLM or ANTIFA infiltrating the far-right mob ... but plenty of evidence that the stories were 'fake news'

The Conversation, The Washington Post, USA Today, Reuters,

**** "Wrong thought" ... In one of the ultimate don't-believe-your-eyes moments of the Trump era, Republicans have retreated to the ranks of misinformation, claiming it was BLM protesters and far-left groups like antifa who stormed the Capitol, in spite of the pro-Trump flags and QAnon symbology in the crowd

NYT

In this context read excerpts of Liz Cheney's Fox interview:

"I think, you know, that people in the party are mistaken. They believe BLM and Antifa were behind what happened here at the Capitol. It's just simply not the case, not true and we're going to have a lot of work we have to do."

"The extent to which the president, President Trump, for months leading up to January 6 spread the notion that the election had been stolen or that the election was rigged was a lie and people need to understand that. We need to make sure that we as Republicans are the party of truth that we are being honest about what really did happen in 2020 so we actually have a chance to win in 2022 and win the White House back in 2024."

This is the video that was played to the senate at Trump's impeachment trial.

We are dealing with a "crackdown on free speech" ... apparently while Trumpists are silenced. This "free speech" thing is - of course - the platform on which Trump built his career ... in the trumpist view anything can be said, absolutely anything. Then truth in speech is not an issue; "wrong thought" and "alternative facts" are.

I had stopped writing about "The Worst President In History" ... however, this "wrong thought" thing drew me back in. So, why is D. J. Trump the worst president? Because of his - wait for it - thirty thousand five hundred and seventy three misleading, false claims and outright lies, with "wrong thoughts" galore ... and him successfully:

Manipulating

Angry

Gullible

Anarchists

In four years, President Trump made

30,573 false or misleading claims

Go to the Fact Checker’s database of the false or misleading

claims made by President Trump while in office.

To think, he actually said this:

“But one thing I can promise you this: I will always. Tell you. The truth.”

And the crowd (the basket of deplorables, Time) cheered.

Here is just one example:

“We also built the greatest economy in the history of the world … powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world.”

FACT CHECK:

This is Trump’s favorite false claim, so there should be no surprise he said it twice in his farewell address. (In this database, we only count a falsehood once per venue.) By just about any key measure in the modern era, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton presided over stronger economic growth than Trump. The gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in 2019, slipping from 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2.4 percent in 2017. But in 1997, 1998 and 1999, GDP grew 4.5 percent, 4.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. Yet even that period paled in comparison with the postwar boom in the 1950s or the 1960s. Growth between 1962 and 1966 ranged from 4.4 percent to 6.6 percent. In 1950 and 1951, it was 8.7 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate reached a low of 3.5 percent under Trump, but it dipped as low as 2.5 percent in 1953. (After the novel coronavirus tanked the economy, Trump jacked up his claim even more, falsely saying it had been the greatest economy in the history of the world.) This marks the 493rd time that Trump used a variation of this line, meaning he said it on average every other day.

REPEATED 493 TIMES

On a different note, it appears Trump will not be convicted in his impeachment trial, since not enough Republicans can be won over (17 are needed). This is strange, since it is the Republicans who would benefit from a comprehensive conviction ... which would prevent Trump from holding office ever again.

Imagine ... Trump is not sent off into the sunset and instead starts his own party? How many Republicans would switch to his 'American Patriots Party'? Well, surely enough to split the GOP and render it largely meaningless ... strange indeed; obviously they don't know on which side their bread is buttered.

Now, this is what methinks: Trump has vowed to the GOP that he will help them with the 2022 mid term elections. Doh! Of course he'd say that ... and the gullible Republicans believe that?! This is what will happen: once his impeachment trial is over, I reckon he'll get right back on to his hobby horse of wanting his own party.

But why does Trump deserve conviction? Because he gave rise to outrageous conspiracy theories about the election having been stolen. The whole QAnon movement was a love-child ofTrump's, even if he was not directly involved ... those conspiracy theories were fed by him and his cronies. Shameful.

But lets commiserate with America's comedians ... their bread and butter stand-up comedy-routine-carpet is pulled away from under them. What will they do now?

Bill Maher,Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Alec Baldwin, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Chris Tucker, Jimmy Fallon, Dave Chapelle, Stephen Colbert and Sarah Cooper ... google their name, followed by 'Trump'.

Poor bastards ... if anybody really misses him, it's them; he was the gift that just kept on giving and giving.

1042 Trump - Maher

1047 Trump - Cooper

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