Share this page!

Greg Sargent Profile picture
Twitter logo
15 Oct, 5 tweets, 4 min read
The single most important fact about Trump's new fake scandal about Hunter Biden and his emails is that lots of news outlets are running stories about Hunter Biden and his emails. Media coverage of disinformation inevitably rewards it. My new piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Steve Bannon candidly explained how all this works. The key is to somehow vault the disinformation out of the conservative media bubble and into mainstream news coverage, where it gets laundered and legitimized simply by virtue of getting covered there:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
It's obvious that coverage of disinformation, even negative, rewards its purveyors.

@brianbeutler calls this the "conservative shitstorm" problem.

It's a real pitfall, and TBF, there isn't a clear answer. But media figures often won't admit to it:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Also, though I didn't quote him, @jonathanchait got into this problem as well not long ago. What I'm adding in this new piece is that Bannon has laid out this playbook and that there really isn't a simple answer to it.

nymag.com/intelligencer/…
@jonathanchait Ultimately the strategy contains the seeds of its own destruction. Trump is so addicted to right wing media that he'll hear these attacks reverberate and conclude they're working. But Hunterghazi won't win back alienated voters. And the clock is ticking:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Greg Sargent

Greg Sargent Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ThePlumLineGS

Greg Sargent Profile picture
13 Oct
1) Trump just made a big concession that has largely escaped notice. But it's a very important one.

It strongly suggests that Trump no longer expects William Barr to bail him out before Election Day.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
2) At his Florida rally, Trump railed about the "Obamagate" scandal. The usual lies.

But Trump also vowed to deal with all those criminals (Hillary, Obama, Biden) "after the election."

Why? Because Barr has let it be known no big surprises are coming.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
3) This is funny, because Trump has promised his voters big revelations in the fake "Obamagate" scandal for months.

But the big story has been that his many efforts to corrupt the election are blowing up in his face.

The same is now happening with Barr:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 6 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
6 Oct
Trump's chief of staff is blocking FDA guidelines on a vaccine because they'd ensure its release comes after the election. But, by making Covid all about him and by pursuing his bottomless corruption out in the open, he's already blown it on this strategy:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Trump had a big opening to use his brush with the virus to show a shred of basic humanity towards hundreds of thousands of dead and bereaved.

But, by turning it into a megalomaniacal pageantry of North Korea-level agitprop, he blew that chance:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Here's the thing: One can envision a legitimate public debate about whether we need a vaccine faster than the scientists are willing to countenance.

But Trump has entirely blown any presumption of good faith, by corrupting everything in sight:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
5 Oct
Trump's reckless armored car stunt, which put people at grave risk to demonstrate his supposed invincibility to supporters, captures the depraved dereliction of duty he's demonstrated from the start of Covid. Authoritarian politics at its worst. New piece:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
After Trump's stunt, @DrPhillipsMD, an acting physician at Walter Reed, tweeted out his anger at the appalling risk this inflicted on those in the car.

But Dr Phillips went further on NBC today, noting that this sent an awful message to the country, too:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/… Image
@DrPhillipsMD The physical invincibility of the leader is a standard authoritarian trope. Trump and his propagandists will try to spin his triumph over Covid (if it happens) into a symbol of the infallibility of his handling of it as president.

With @jasonintrator:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/… ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
2 Oct
My take:

* Sure, wish Trump well, but then get right back to work in removing him

* The news only adds to a much broader case against his towering failures

* Spare a thought for the deep injustices all this has exposed in our economy and health system:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
The pandemic has exposed so many crushing injustices. This is the most unequal recession ever. Millions lack health insurance. A rolling catastrophe in terms of testing access.

In so many ways, Trump getting infected throws this into even starker relief:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
You'd think Trump and all those around him would seize this moment to apologize to the country for their monstrous failures, now that those failures have deeply invaded the White House. How about showing some remorse right about now?

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
1 Oct
Trump attacked Rep Omar for telling "us how to run our country." Let's be clear on what he's really saying: That the opposition's voters are not entitled to legitimate representation. That's the grounds for canceling millions of ballots, too. New piece:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Striking new @LarrySabato forecast: Ohio and Iowa are now "Toss-Ups." Michigan is "Leans Dem." Minnesota is "Likely Dem."

Why? Because Trump is losing Midwestern white support. And the NYT reports Republicans fear his race-baiting is backfiring:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@LarrySabato Elite journos decided Trump possessed a mystical grasp of the rural and small town Midwestern whites they'd neglected.

But now, all that's left is racism and voter suppression. And that region is slipping away from him. Is it time to rethink that mythos?

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 4 tweets
Greg Sargent Profile picture
30 Sep
1) Now that Trump mobilized his far right army for a struggle over the results, we need to take the possibility that he'll try to steal the election more seriously.

Importantly, Trump again confirmed that he expects SCOTUS to invalidate ballots.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
2) The idea that a GOP legislature might try to appoint pro-Trump Electors seems crazy.

But as @bartongellman reports, Rs are openly discussing this.

Crucially, they'd use fictitious fraud as the justification. Trump opened the way for this last night:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
3) This scheme would likely be unconstitutional, because it would probably require a new state law, which a Dem governor could veto.

Here I rely on a terrific analysis from @dorfonlaw and @tribelaw:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get email notifications when new thread is out from this Author!

Check out other threads from this Author!

Read all threads by @ThePlumLineGS