“You look at what's happening last night in Sweden ... Sweden ... who would believe this? Sweden, they took in large numbers, they are having problems like they never thought possible.”
Wait what?
On Saturday, Donald Trump held a rally in Melbourne, Florida looking to speak to the American people "without the filter of fake news.” He then followed that up by delivering this gem, a foreboding warning of the dangers of sheltering refugees as evidenced by the tragedy that took place in Sweden that day. Except, nothing happened in Sweden that day. Unless, of course, you count Melfest, which is a music competition that chooses Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. In fact, since the enactment of their open-door policy in 2013, Sweden has allowed in approximately 200,00 refugees while suffering no terrorist attacks.
But of course these are just normal facts, and the president seems to only understand the alternative…
Nevertheless, this false claim continues a disturbing trend within the Trump presidency and administration – a pattern that bends reality into a morose, war torn world in which only Donald Trump holds the key to salvation while the evil press dares to practice their first amendment rights by calling him out on his discrepancies.
His train wreck of a press conference earlier this week only further cemented his hatred for the common journalist, as he continually and without fail referred to the press gathered as “fake news” and even changed it up to “very fake news” later on.
It’s not just our orange Commander in Chief either. The members of his administration are also quite keen on maintaining a narrative that paints their leader in the best light. From the notorious Kellyanne Conway’s artful deception during news channel interviews, to Stephen Miller’s reiteration of the baseless claims of Trump’s fraudulent voter conspiracy, to even Sean Spicer’s disappointment in the mainstream media for losing sight of “what he’s [Trump] done, accomplished, and intended to do.” If Spicer is referring to the chaos, disorder and confusion that’s followed since Trump’s inauguration, then I would like to say that the media is doing a fairly good job.
Media that challenges the leadership within the United States or any country has always been integral in the foundations of democracy. No leader is perfect (Obama included) and it is the responsibility of the press to call to question and/or inform the American citizens of all government action – all of this, too, from an unbiased platform that can be digested by an overwhelmingly bipartisan audience. Being fed a stream of false information by the administration in power is how harmful rhetoric is perpetuated, how legislation passed on the marginalization of oppressed groups is overlooked and how democracy gives way to an oligarchic autocracy.
Senator John McCain expressed his concern with Trump’s tyrannizing relationship with the media, saying that this subjugation of free press was "how dictators get started."
With that said, keep questioning, keep fighting for the press and keep calling out the blatant misinformation that this ridiculous administration is trying to press onto the public. After all, it's only fake news.
