Can You Complain About a Witch Hunt If You’re Actually a Witch?

Now that Sean Hannity has identified me—by association—as part of one of the five powerful groups trying to destroy President Trump, I though I would examine who exactly is destroying what. Honestly, I don’t think the way Trump is being treated is extraordinarily unfair, at least not in comparison to other Republican Presidents.

Is the media largely slanted to the left? Absolutely. The only ones who deny that are people slanted so far the the left that they see the world sideways. But a leftist media has been a constant for ages. Have reporters and editors changed during the halcyon days of the “scandal-free” Obama administration? Or have Republicans just provided them with large slow moving target with a habitual tendency to wander into the line of fire?

Despite the sort of whining he brings to speeches before the CIA or the Coast Guard Academy graduation I don’t think Trump can complain about unfairness.

“No politician in history — and I say this with great surety — has been treated worse or more unfairly,” a fiery Trump said during a commencement address at the New London, Conn., school.

I say with great surety that he’s full of it. First, Trump is a “topper.” He has to be the superlative in any given category. In addition to that, I question whether he even believes this himself or if it’s just red meat for the red-capped rally set. Either way he calls it a “witch hunt.”

This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2017

That’s a lot like an actual witch complaining about a witch hunt. The key word in Trump’s complaint to the graduating class of the Coast Guard Academy is “unfairly.” Being treated “worse” isn’t necessarily the same as being treated unfairly.

Ronald Reagan didn’t have a gaggle of 24 hour news networks to deal with but the media Democrats and elected Democrats alternated between portraying him as a senile old fool and as a dangerous madman bent on destroying the earth with nuclear fire. It’s hard to even imagine what the talking heads on CNN or MSNBC would have done to him with 24 hours to fill. Imagine what they would have done with Iran-Contra.

Similar to Trump, George W. Bush had disruptive protests at his inauguration. To this day there are left wingers perpetuating the myth that he “stole” the election from Al Gore. Democrats were constantly salivating about the possibility that they would be able to indict Karl Rove for…something. There were even some idiots who tried to put Rove under citizen’s arrest. Dubya had to contend with the 24 media onslaught but somehow he managed to endure 8 years without whining. He also benefitted from there being a conservative new media online and on radio, but he didn’t receive the sort of boot licking worship some of those outlets give to Trump.

Why does Trump whine about the unfairness of the rest of the media then, like Obama did about Fox News? As I said above, unfair isn’t the same as worse. Trump might very well be treated worse than Reagan or Bush. The difference is that they were grown men, not perpetual adolescents. Trump started his presidency by calling out virtually every non-Fox media outlet as liars. He did it to people in front of their competitors. Did he think that would make them less inclined to smear him?

His adoring red-caps love when he attacks the media but they get mad when they don’t just sit and take it. It’s as much a double standard as anything on the left. (This isn’t about what side is right or wrong, mind you. Politics and media also has a lot to do with personalities. Trump’s makes him a big target. His bluster entertains his fans but it does nothing to actually beat the biased media. It just makes them more biased and more motivated

Critics enjoy going after opponents for whom they have a visceral dislike. So, if you’re complaint is that the media is making you look like a clown, your first action should be to stop being a clown. Stop tweeting things like this as if you have no authority to look into Clinton’s and Obama’s misdeeds and abuses of power.

With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2017

Not pursuing the investigation of Hillary Clinton was one of Trump’s first broken campaign promises. He’s complaining about a decision that he made. It’s the same with Obama. One of the biggest scandals of the scandal free Obama years was the weaponization of the IRS against conservative organizations who were fighting Obama’s agenda. The FBI Director who was bothering Trump has been fired, yet John Koskinen, the IRS Commissioner who narrowly dodged impeachment for the IRS targeting scandal is still running the IRS. Why should anyone who was targeted by the IRS trust Trump right now?

Finally, Trump’s complaints about being treated badly by the media would be a lot easier to empathize with if he wasn’t always making his own version of fake news. The Washington Post story broke about Trump giving classified intelligence to the Russians. The administration’s story went from complete denial, to Trump tweeting that he did it, and then to boasting about what a great idea it was to do it. It may have been a good idea but when your first instinct is to lie, who knows when you’re telling the truth?

As for being part of a group trying to “destroy the president,” why bother. He’s doing a good enough job of that by himself.

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