Trump's Super PAC just bought $2.7 million in ads in Wisconsin, $2m in MI, $5.5m in PA to push an ad attacking Biden as pro-China—on same days as Fox reports "sources" saying China created COVID-19 in a gov lab. Their 2020 Big Lie strategy, fully visible.
wispolitics.com/2020/america-f…
wispolitics.com/2020/america-f…
As the NYT reported, Trump's team was obsessed with the idea that COVID-19 had been created by a gov lab, and accidentally unleashed. Echoing the march to war with Iraq, officials pushed WMD experts for backup.
The prob: "They didn’t have any evidence."
nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/…
The prob: "They didn’t have any evidence."
nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/…
The pieces all link up. Trump's relentless push to label it the "Wuhan virus" or "Chinese coronavirus." The leaked, evidence-free conspiracy theory. And now, millions in ads attacking Biden on China. It's Bush's 02-04 playbook, repurposed, with COVID-19 as this year's 9/11.
It's utterly divorced from reality, in every possible respect. It even puts us at risk by endangering supplies of PPE and testing reagents. The only way to beat a global pandemic is global cooperation. Trump is making it worse, endangering everyone everywhere.
But never underestimate the power of mortal fear—and the power of finding an "other" blame. When people are provoked into fearing death, psychologists argue, they reach for authoritative symbols of strength. Time to read up on Terror Management Theory.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_ma…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_ma…
Trump and his allies are freaking out that the election is slipping from their grasp. The progressive victory in Wisconsin ramped up their panic. They're going to counter the way Trump always does—with racism, xenophobia, and division. We're going to keep organizing—& fighting.
