Dave Williams: 7/2/15 Donald Trump is being thumped

I knew he would be. In fact, I said so the day he announced his candidacy to become the next POTUS.

The media pounding is shock-and-awe relentless. They love the guy because he is so easy to attack.

dave williams blog photoI’ve spent most of my four decades in the news business trying to convince people that there is no conspiracy in the news media. The networks and major publications don’t have secret meetings every Monday morning to plot a joint political strategy to further their nefarious agenda. They really don’t.

But sometimes I wonder just a bit. For a group of people with far more money and power than Trump has the message they’re sending about him seems oddly strident and unanimous.

Considering Trump’s wealth, his TV fame, his famously weird comb-over, and his audacious proclamations he is as unlikely to be elected president as a Kardashian sister. And yet the major media organizations are pounding the crap out of Trump, because he’s a symbol of evil corporate wealth though certainly not a threat.

Personally, I don’t care about Donald Trump one way or the other but I do care about the careless and casual use of the word “hate” these days in social media. When NBC severed their enormously profitable association with Trump this week even they, the network that can still find a place for Brian Williams, did not call Trump hateful. They called him arrogant. Big difference. And by the way, his actual comment that has everybody all fired up was nothing more than a strong opinion shared by millions who know better than to speak their minds on immigration because it is a taboo topic in polite company.

If you care at all about accuracy, here is the exact quote that got Trump in trouble:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re sending people who have lots of problems,” Trump said in the speech. “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”

That’s just passionate opinion, not hate.

We really need to stop elevating every disagreement to the level of historic atrocities.

We need to stop the hyperbolic flaming and save the word “hate” for ISIS and people like Hitler.

Trump is either an egocentric man with brash opinions or he’s a fool. Your choice.

But he’s not a hater and he’s shown no sign yet of being a racist.

 

Dave Williams