On the day that the Republicans released their secretly-crafted, Democrat-excluded “health care” bill, designed to be rammed through the Senate with as little scrutiny and Democratic input as possible, Donald Trump pretended to long for bipartisanship. Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt was there to cheer him on.
Earhardt started the interview by worrying – not about how Americans will fare under Trumpcare nor how much it is hated. No, Earhardt worried about “senators who are not on board.” She asked, “What is your message to them because your supporters who voted for you are a little frustrated ‘cause you have the White House, you have the House - Republicans have the House and the Senate but you have these senators who are not on board.”
Naturally, it didn’t take long for Trump to start boasting about how glorious he is for having done so much in so short a time. “It’s a very complicated situation,” Trump said, as if anyone believes he knows anything about health care policy.
But he clearly had a different message prepared and so turned down Earhardt’s bait. Instead, he talked about how the four senators who have spoken out against the bill are “four good guys and four friends of mine” who, he thinks will “probably get there.”
Also notably absent? No discussion about what’s in the bill and its effects on Americans. It seems Earhardt doesn’t want her viewers to spend too much time thinking about all the ways it shafts working folks in favor of Trump’s rich cronies any more than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does. Or maybe she didn't want to expose Trump's almost certain ignorance about the substance of the bill.
So after striking out on getting Trump to attack independent-minded Republicans, Earhardt moved on to prod him to attack Democrats. “We’re getting word now that some Democrats even want Nancy Pelosi to step down,” she said. “A lot of Republicans think Democrats are in denial” because of their losses in the recent special elections. “Are they in denial and what do they need to do to get on board?”
This was almost certainly an attempt to get Trump to reiterate his sneering tweet saying that it would be bad for Republicans if Pelosi and “Cryin’ Chuck” were to be forced out.
Sure enough, Trump repeated what he surely thought was his amusing disrespect.
TRUMP: I hope she [Pelosi] doesn’t step down. I think that it would be a very, very sad day for Republicans if she steps down. I’d be very disappointed if she did. I’d like to keep her right where she is.
Earhardt smiled admiringly and nodded as Trump went on and on about his glorious win in Georgia's recent special election. Nate Silver thinks it was a much less glorious night for the red team but Earhardt didn’t challenge a word.
So Trump moved on to posture as a uniter. Right after he called Democrats “obstructionists.” “I think they’d do much better as a party if they got along with us,” he said, without a trace of irony.
TRUMP: I think the American public is tired of obstructionists and I honestly believe that and when I say that - boy, would the people love to see two parties getting together and coming up with the perfect health care plan because Obamacare has failed now, it’s dead. The insurance companies are all flocking and leaving and it’s a real problem.
This is a lie. Obamacare has reduced the number of uninsured by about 20 million while Trumpcare will likely cause more than that to lose their insurance. Furthermore, much, if not most, of insurance company flight from Obamacare is the result of Republican sabotage.
But Earhardt thinks her job is sycophancy, not truth telling. “Wouldn’t that be refreshing if we could all come together?” she chirped. Meaning, of course, wouldn’t it be great if Democrats would just roll over and let Trump be dictator?
“That’s the way it should be,” the Birther-in-Chief argued.“Whether it was Social Security or Medicare, it was two parties got together and came up with great solutions to problems. I don’t think that’s gonna happen but that is what should happen.”
So why did the Senate prepare its bill in secrecy and is now trying to ram it through?
Earhardt didn’t ask. Instead, back in the studio, Earhardt joined her co-sycophants to plead, “All the nasty rhetoric, all the collusion, all the corruption that hasn’t been proven, all the leaks – just give him a chance so that everyone can work together.”
In other words, Earhardt’s idea of bipartisanship means we should all bow down to Glorious Leader the same way she does.
Watch the propaganda below, from the June 23, 2017 Fox & Friends.
Will I be accused of being one of those violent libs if I suggest Der Furor take a long walk on a short pier? 😉