When I saw the video of Trump saying it's going to be a "bloodbath" if he doesn't get elected from major news agencies my first thought was to ask what the context was. After a long while of being in this business, I learned that if Trump did something really bad...it probably wasn't that bad.
Sure enough, the context followed closely. Trump was in the midst of discussing the auto industry and how China and Mexico would be eating our lunch if something wasn't done. It was pretty clear that Trump was speaking in the context of jobs in the U.S. and he's not wrong. The Biden administration has proven it can't be trusted with a lemonade stand judging by how horribly it's handled this economy.
Here is the full context of the clip below:
Since the mainstream media falsely claims that Donald Trump warned of a "bloodbath" if he loses the 2024 election, I encourage you to listen to what he actually said and what he was referring to and draw your own conclusion: the automobile industry and the loss of jobs. WATCH pic.twitter.com/txlK67Etjm
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 17, 2024
Whether you like or dislike Trump, it's pretty clear that in order for you to arrive at the conclusion that he's talking about a literal bloodbath with violence in the streets if he's not elected, you'd have to do some Olympic-level mental gymnastics.
But that's exactly what people did. I posted on X stating that this is a perfect example of why people shouldn't trust corporate media and taking them seriously has come to an end. What I got in response was a host of leftists attempting to justify their feelings that Trump is actually talking about a real bloodbath in the streets.
Here are a few examples.
I listened to the whole piece. He started in the context of autoworkers and unions but pivoted that comment to be about violence in the streets if he loses.
— Gertrudes Larkin (@GertrudesLarkin) March 17, 2024
You are lying. I heard it.
"that would be the least of it" is his reference to the Chinese cars, meaning the "bloodbath for the country" portion stands on its own. #MAGAmoron
— bill truther (@BillTruther) March 17, 2024
After J6 anything is now possible from Trump. America is tired of him and his cult followers.
— Mike (@Mike12108735) March 17, 2024
We are witnessing the spin masters trying to convince us Trump didn't pivot to a call for violence if he loses.
— RustyZ (@rustyztwo) March 18, 2024
They know he was throwing meat to his fans but pretend he was talking about cars bleeding.
These are just a few of the responses I got, but if you were to explore the responses you'd see varying degrees of denial and hatred for people they've given the blanket title of "MAGA." That word, in and of itself, has become a catch-all term that automatically sorts anyone who might have anything positive to say about Trump into a category of people considered "others."
What we're witnessing is something of a common phenomenon that's been going on for decades but, thanks in part to the internet, is being seen in far better contrast.
I would describe it as a media-induced madness. A nationwide folie à deux.
There's little doubt that many in the media are infected with a hatred for Trump that's so intense that they're willing to do everything from tell half-truths to lie about anything and everything Trump says or does. This hatred controls their reporting of him and that madness is put on a platform that's broadcast to the rest of the people, and without the proper guard, those minds are then infected as well.
So powerful is this madness that you can point out the truth to the person with it and they can register this truth but not accept it. For instance, Nick Arama reported on Sunday that Elon Musk pointed out to MSNBC's Joe Scarborough that he was lying about the context of Trump's "bloodbath" comment, which then forced Scarborough to take down his tweet.
(READ: Elon Musk Wrecks Joe Scarborough and His Wicked Take on the 'Bloodbath' Hoax)
However, on Monday morning, Scarborough was repeating the lie on Monday morning's "Morning Joe." As Will Cain said in his post, "They've lost their minds."
Holy crap they’re tripling down! These people have lost their minds.
— Will Cain (@willcain) March 18, 2024
pic.twitter.com/lnlISU0eKL
And they have. This isn't normal even though it's so common nowadays.
I'm not saying Trump is an angel who is completely without his faults. He is human after all, and you can make an argument that he says certain things with the full intention of getting the media talking about it, but even if that is the case then this is Trump taking advantage of a sickness people can just choose not to have if they were being more honest with themselves.
Ultimately, the problem isn't Trump. The problem is the corporate media which has lost its damn mind. It's gotten to the point where it's not looking at the news industry as a profession, but as a responsibility, and one that demands they manipulate the people for the supposed good of the people.
If it wasn't for the internet, I'd hate to see where we'd be today, and how controlled we'd be.
Moreover, it only reinforces my opinion that we as citizens need to utilize the internet to make the corporate media as irrelevant as possible and resist any internet censorship bills that come through Washington.