Donald Trump’s Lies Have Real World Consequences!

​The United States is in the throes of a contentious presidential race, and it is no surprise that political rhetoric has risen to a fever pitch. But there is a big difference between political rhetoric and blatant lies meant to hurt and deceive people for political gain. We are now witnessing in real time the purposeful spread of malicious lies by the Trump campaign, and real people are suffering. Haitian immigrants living in the city of Springfield, Ohio are the latest victims of Trump’s lies, vitriol and stupidity, and the entire city is suffering as a result.

Most political rhetoric during a campaign is relatively harmless and generally recognized as pandering to prospective voters. But there comes a point when political rhetoric crosses the line and becomes dangerous. Donald Trump has crossed that line several times. The most prominent examples are his insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him and today Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. 

​The Big Lie: We are all familiar with the “Stop the Steal” movement created by Donald Trump in the aftermath of his loss to Joe Biden in 2020. The lie about the 2020 election being stolen did much more than massage the ego of a narcissistic man, it extorted hundreds of millions of dollars from gullible supporters and damaged the lives of thousands of Americans. The most visible example was the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

​It is important to remember that Trump summoned his supporters to Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 to protest the certification of the 2020 presidential election. At his urging thousands of Trump’s supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol and a violent riot ensued. A bipartisan Senate report determined that at least seven people died in connection with the Capitol riot and about 150 law enforcement officers were injured and many more will carry the emotional scars for the rest of their lives. 

​Thousands of Trump’s supporters who were at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 had their lives upended by the events of that day. By August of this year over 1,100 people had been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, approximately 900 have been convicted of crimes, and over 500 of the convictions have led to prison sentences. Ask these folks if their lives are any better for having believed Trump’s Big Lie.

The Big Lie did much more than impact the lives of the people involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, it upended the lives of hundreds of election workers and officials in over a dozen states. Many of these people and their families received threats of violence and death from Trump supporters inspired by his false claims that the election had been stolen. Reuters did extensive reporting on the full extent of the campaign of fear launched against election workers in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Here is a link to Reuter’s findings.
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The devastating impact to the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Americans as a direct result of Trump’s Big Lie should be condemned by all. When you factor in the tens of millions of dollars states across the country had to spend to defend against bogus claims of election fraud, it is a mystery to me how the electorate of this country has let Trump get away with his lies.  

Trump’s New Big Lie: During the nationally televised presidential debate on September 10 Donald Trump went on a tirade about how the Biden/Harris Administration had allowed illegal immigrants to destroy this country. Referring to Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio Trump said, “In Springfield they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating-they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” This is of course not true, but the Trump campaign has been pushing this lie for over a week.
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Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance started the rumor by posting online that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were abducting and eating pets. Vance also posted the lie that Aiden Cark, an 11-year-old boy who was killed when a mini-van driven by a Haitian immigrant crashed into a school bus, was, “murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here.” This is a racist lie intended to inflame hatred against immigrants and people of color. Young Aiden’s death was a tragic accident, not murder, and the Haitian immigrant involved in the accident was in this country legally. 

Trump and Vance aren’t letting up on their deplorable hate speech against the Haitian immigrants in Springfield. Trump vowed during a press conference on Friday that he would conduct mass deportations of immigrants. “We’re going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country.” “And we’re going to start in Springfield”, Trump said.
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The rumors of immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield are false, and most Haitian immigrants living there are doing so legally. But this has no relevance in Trump world. The lies feed their narrative that illegal immigrants are destroying America, and Springfield, Ohio and the Haitians living there are collateral damage.

​Last week city officials began to receive threatening phone calls, and bomb threats closed two elementary schools and caused the evacuation of Springfield City Hall and other state buildings. The lies spread by Trump and Vance have put Springfield, Ohio in the cross hairs of racists and conspiracy theorists who take Trump’s words as gospel. Trump is playing with fire and has proven once again that he will say and do anything to regain presidential power.

The New Trump Whisperer: There have been several influential advisors to Donald Trump since his improbable political rise nine years ago. The most notable of these was Steve Bannon who is currently serving a four-month prison term for defying a subpoena to appear before the House Select Committee that investigated January 6, 2021.

The newest Trump whisperer is Laura Loomer, a far-right political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality. She has made a name for herself in far-right wing circles for her frequent racist, sexist, homophobic and Islamophobic comments. Ms. Loomer has championed conspiracy theories, most notably that 9/11 was “an inside job”. She makes RFK Jr. seem like a reasonable guy.
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No one would much care about Ms. Loomer if not for the fact that she has been getting a lot of face time with Donald Trump in recent weeks. She has been traveling with Trump on his campaign jet, she attended last week’s debate and appeared with Trump in the spin room afterwards. Inexplicably Ms. Loomer attended the 9/11 memorials with Trump last week in Pennsylvania and New York. If a man is judged by the company he keeps, Laura Loomer does not reflect well on Donald Trump.  

According to people close to Trump he is listening to Ms. Loomer’s advice. Trump has called Ms. Loomer a “free spirit” and “supporter”. Is she somehow behind Trump’s insistence that pets are being eaten by immigrants in Springfield, Ohio? We may never know. But what we do know is that throughout his political career Trump has listened to “advisors” who flatter him and play to his vanity. We also know that Trump is averse to reading policy statements, and gathers most of his information by watching television and through verbal communications with trusted advisors. This leaves Trump open to manipulation by people pushing a particular policy or agenda, knowing full well that he won’t fact check them or do his own due diligence.

​It is frightening to think just how easily Trump can be manipulated by those he trusts. Repeating false claims and conspiracy theories as facts is disturbing and dangerous. But the real danger lies in Trump’s inability to recognize just how vulnerable he is to manipulation by sophisticated foreign adversaries such as Russia and China. Is it any wonder that the Russians would prefer Donald Trump in the White House over Kamala Harris? 

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Armchair American