Trump’s dangerous strategy to undermine reality

A recent op-ed in the Washington Post titled “Trump’s dangerous strategy to undermine reality” written by John Podesta makes some valid points. However it’s impossible to consider the source an unbiased observer as Podesta was Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. He writes about Trump “First he benefited from fake news stories during the campaign; then as president-elect and now president, he has constantly used the epithet against mainstream media outlets that dare criticize him.” It seems that Donald Trump benefited most from the very real news of the contents of Podesta’s emails in the month before the election that may have cost Clinton the presidency. Podesta, himself, pushed the narrative of Russian hacking to take media attention off of the contents of the emails.

Podesta argues that what Trump is trying to do goes beyond the spin that all politicians do, Trump is trying to undermine the public’s faith that any news is true. “Trump is attempting to build a hall of mirrors where even our most basic sensory perceptions are shrouded in confusion. He is emulating the successful strategy of Vladimir Putin.”  The Kremlin combines reality TV and authoritarianism to blur the line between fact and fiction. When Russians see something on TV they assume it is a lie. Trump’s constant cries of “fake news” every time a poll or a news story shows him in a bad light are having a similar effect on Americans. He is undermining faith in journalism which has traditionally been the fourth estate to keep politicians in check. This is especially dangerous when you have an administration that needs to be fact checked.   

GOP Votes to Repeal Rule Banning mentally Ill From Owning Guns

Last week while most Americans were focused on Trump’s Muslim ban, House Republicans voted to repeal an Obama-era rule barring gun ownership from people deemed mentally incapable of managing their own affairs. This rule affected about 75,000 recipients of disability insurance and supplemental insurance income because of a disabling mental disorder ranging from anxiety to schizophrenia.  While the number of attacks committed by immigrants from the seven predominately Muslim countries named in Trump’s travel ban stands at a hard zero it is estimated that 10% of all homicides in the US are committed by the mentally ill. The rule issued in December of last year as a response to the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings required the Social Security Administration to send records of people on disability insurance because of mental illness to the federal background check system. Although 93% of Americans support background checks to keep guns out of dangerous hands, Republicans lobbied by the National Rifle Association feel that this rule was infringing on the Second Amendment rights of the mentally disabled.