Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Trump vs. The Atlantic II
Predictably, the media did their best to make the allegations leveled by The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg the dominant three-day news story over the Labor Day weekend. As you recall, The Atlantic alleged last week that Trump disparaged our veterans during a 2018 trip to France.
Fox News was indistinguishable in its coverage from the leftist media. Foxdredged up things Trump said about John McCain without reminding viewers of the evidence that McCain helped to circulate the fake Steele dossier that started the Russian collusion hoax. Fox noted that Trump got five deferments during the Vietnam War. So did other prominent politicians.
At least a dozen individuals who were with the president in France have all publicly rejected Goldberg's claims. The allegation is that these offensive remarks were said during a particular meeting. Everyone, with the exception of Gen. John Kelly, who was in that meeting has publicly denied it.
But Kelly's top aide, Zach Fuentes, who was at the meeting, also rebuked The Atlantic story, adding, "Honestly, do you think General Kelly would have stood by and let ANYONE call fallen Marines losers?"
First Lady Melania Trump denounced the report. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denied ever hearing the president use such rhetoric about our veterans. Jamie McCourt, the U.S. ambassador to France who was with the president virtually the entire time, denied it.
Even John Bolton, who is no fan of the president, said that The Atlantic story is "simply false." Goldberg should either name his four sources or retract the story.
Trump's History With Veterans
In 1983, Mayor Ed Koch needed to raise money for a memorial honoring New Yorkers who died in the Vietnam War. He called Donald Trump, who immediately wrote a $1 million check, 40% of what Koch needed. That support was key to getting other donors to step up.
In 1995, New York City almost canceled its annual Veteran's Day parade due to a lack of funds. Organizers solicited donations from 200 corporations and walked away empty handed. Donald Trump saved the parade. Here's what he said at the time:
"This donation is the single most important thing I've ever done. This is more important than all of my buildings and my casinos. This is my way of saying 'Thank You' to all the men and women in the Armed Services who have made it possible for me to become a success. Without them freedom and liberty would be gone."
In January of 2016, Trump skipped a Fox News presidential primary debate and instead held a fundraiser for veterans organizations that raised $5.6 million.
In March of 2017, President Trump held the first Medal of Honor Day ceremony in the White House in 25 years.
In June of 2017, he signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability Act making it easier to fire or suspend VA employees for poor performance.
In November of 2019, Trump became the first sitting president to attend New York City's Veterans Day parade in its 100-year history.
The Left's History
Before there was Antifa, radicals were rioting in the streets in the 1960s. They were harassing U.S. soldiers coming back from Vietnam, protesting the military, law enforcement and the U.S. government.
The radicals marched by the hundreds of thousands behind the flag of North Vietnam chanting, "One, two, three, four, we don't want your f—ing war! Later they would add to it, "Five, six, seven, eight, turn the war against the state!"
When pilots were shot down over North Vietnam, leftists like Jane Fondaposed in North Vietnamese anti-aircraft weapons. It was leading left-wing senators who undermined the war effort and blocked funding for our troops.
One future senator came back from Vietnam and accused his fellow soldiers of committing war crimes. Liberals finally found a veteran they loved. They brought him to Capitol Hill for a hearing, and before a national audience John Kerry indicted his fellow soldiers.
Years later, Senator John Kerry accused U.S. troops of "terrorizing" women and children in Iraq. And Secretary of State Kerry negotiated the terrible nuclear deal with Iran.
Barack Obama insulted virtually every soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan when he traded five terrorist leaders at Guantanamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl, a deserter who abandoned his unit.
Rep. Ilhan Omar smeared U.S. troops, accusing them of war crimes in Somalia. Her daughter accused U.S. troops of killing innocent children.
Good News Ignored
One of the tragedies of The Atlantic story was that it distracted from the improving economic numbers that were reported last week. The unemployment rate fell dramatically, from 10.2% in July to 8.4% in August.
This is with major states like California and New York still largely shut down and suppressing economic activity. And it appears right now that the greatest fear for many liberals is that a Covid vaccine will be developed and announced before the election.
Follow The Science
One leading progressive senator said over the weekend that she would not trust the president when it comes to a potential Covid-19 vaccine. Her rhetoric makes it sound like the vaccine is being created in the White House kitchen.
The companies working on these vaccines are responsible for the various stages of testing, and the FDA must review the data and approve it. These companies are all publicly vowing to "uphold the integrity of the scientific process."
I know there are decent, intelligent people who strongly believe that all vaccines are questionable and possibly dangerous. They are usually mocked by the media and accused of being "anti-science." But no one in the media is condemning this high-profile progressive for her anti-vaccine position now.
By the way, if the Trump Administration had announced a month ago that no vaccine would be available until sometime next year, the left and its media allies would be condemning the administration for its incompetent.
Defending America
Over the weekend, President Trump made it clear that he wants funding cut off for any school district that is teaching the anti-American history of the 1619 Project. During a press conference yesterday, the president was asked if he objected to students learning about slavery in America. He responded:
"No, I want people to know everything they can about our history. I am not a believer in cancel culture. If you don't study the bad, it could happen again. I want it studied very, very carefully and studied accurately.
"But we grew up with a certain history and now they are trying to change our history. Revisionist history. That's why they want to take down our monuments, take down our statues. . . No. We don't do that. Never going to happen with me."