MIDLIFE CRISIS-19, Saturday, October 14, 2023 – Biden, the War President … Cough, Cough.
Polling?
“Biden’s position may boost Democrats with pro-Israel voters” (1.).
There it is, another war, Israel-Hamas. It is Biden’s 2024 SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pre-Election stump wedge, and who will handle it better?
The Ukraine-Russia war was not playing well in politics, American’s interest in continued aid, faulting. So, the week after Trump-Biden polling was crushing for Biden, another war breaks out.
“President Joe Biden’s strong support for Israel is one of his most deeply held beliefs, dating back to his childhood. It also may pay political dividends as he ramps up his reelection bid” (1.).
Yet Biden, complicit in both wars, is making his self-inflicted global diplomatic failures a “political dividend.”
***
So, what did the polling look like pre-war, Friday, October 06, 2023, the day before the Hamas attack?
“Washington, DC, October 6, 2023 – Nearly one year out from the 2024 Presidential election, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remain locked in a too-close-to-call race, according to a new Ipsos/Reuters poll conducted in early October. These results hold true in a hypothetical matchup in which now-Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. runs as an independent” (2.).
But wait, there is more.
“In a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Biden (35%) and Trump (35%) are essentially tied in a 2-way race. In a three-way race between Biden (31%), Trump (33%) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (14%), Biden and Trump remain too close to call” (2.).
Pay special attention to latter poll numbers factoring in Robert F. Kennedy Jr., referring to him as a “Democratic candidate,” where Kennedy now in the race as an Independent, tips the scales in Trump’s favor.
In addition to vaccines, this poll had another interesting angle, U.S. support for, “democratic countries when they are under attack by non-democratic countries” (2.).
“Most Americans agree that that the U.S. must support democratic countries when they are under attack by non-democratic countries (61%), and 52% are more likely to support a presidential candidate who continues to support Ukraine with military aid” (2.).
So war is good for presidential candidates, as long as you support the virtuous war, but again, American’s support for continued “aid” to Ukraine has been waning. Solution? Another war, a better war, a more palatable war. How a about a religious war?
Less than twenty-four hours later, done. The Saturday following the Ipsos poll reporting on Friday, Hamas – funded by Iran, and Biden – launch a massive terror attack on Israel, followed by a declaration of war by Israel.
***
What about Trump, Biden’s likely 2024 opponent? Well, Democrats needed to smear him, basically paint him as antisemitic, a Jew hater.
Enter, the art of word craft and propaganda.
“Trump criticized for calling Hezbollah 'very smart' as he talked of potential risk to Israel” (3.).
But what did Trump say, in context? Trump criticized public statements regarding Hezbollah’s likely attack plan against Israel, if they entered the war.
Background and context:
“Hezbollah, based out of Lebanon to the north of Israel, has fought with Israel before, underlining the concern that it could open up another front in the conflict. A senior U.S. defense official earlier this week told reporters that the Pentagon was ‘deeply concerned’ about such a possibility. ‘We are working with Israel and with our partners across the region to contain this to Gaza,’ they said.
“Trump referred to that in a campaign speech in Florida on Wednesday night.
“’Two nights ago I read all of Biden’s security people ... they said, 'Gee, I hope Hezbollah doesn't attack from the north, because that's the most vulnerable spot.' I said, 'Wait a minute. You know, Hezbollah is very smart.' They're all very smart,’ Trump said, going on to add that ‘the press doesn't like when’ he says things like that, as he has when praising the effectiveness of China's authoritarian President Xi Jinping” (3.).
So, Trump was criticizing the Biden Administration for publicly disclosing likely Hezbollah’s tactics. He was not praising Hezbollah, he – as the former Commander in Chief – was taking the threat seriously.
But how were Trump’s words characterized?
“Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said in a Thursday statement that what Trump said about Hezbollah was ‘dangerous and unhinged’” (3.).
Right there, truth turned on its head. Not taking Trump’s statement seriously, but in exchange distorting them, is what is dangerous and unhinged. Knowing the enemy in the leadup and during conflict is critical.
So that is the pivot point from which the following false “praise” narrative was created.
“’It's completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as 'smart.' ... This is a time for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against 'unadulterated evil,'’ Bates said” (3.).
Then, GOP candidates piled on, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has zero chances of winning the Republican nomination against Trump.
“Another GOP presidential candidate [in addition to former Vice President Mike Pence], Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said in a statement on social media that ‘it is absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel, much less praise Hezbollah terrorists as 'very smart.' As President, I will stand with Israel and treat terrorists like the scum that they are’” (3.).
Trump’s comments continued.
“’In his campaign speech, Trump had touted ‘how much safer the world was’ while he was in office while spending much of his nearly two-hour speech blaming the Biden administration for the Israel-Hamas conflict. He said that if reelected, he would seek to ‘permanently’ destroy Hamas.
“’I was ... proud to be the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House by far,’ he said” (3.).
From the Trump campaign.
“In a statement, a Trump spokesman did not address his Obama remark but said, ‘President Trump was clearly pointing out how incompetent Biden and his administration were by telegraphing to the terrorists an area that is susceptible to an attack. Smart does not equal good. It just proves Biden is stupid’” (3.).
So in even broader context, Trump was assessing the threat, including identifying the incompetence of the Biden Administration’s involvement, while stating his unwavering commitment to Israel, and peace, if reelected.
It did not stop there though. Propaganda is caused to spread, and grow, with the repeating of narratives.
***
Enter, the next headline.
“Trump's criticism of Israel's Netanyahu draws strong condemnation from GOP rivals” (4.).
Taking additional comments from the same speech out of context, it has now become a political tar and feathering, a faux campaign narrative.
“Trump at a rally Wednesday night said Netanyahu ‘let us down’ just before the U.S. killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020. He also said Israeli leaders needed to ‘step up their game’ and referred to Hezbollah, the group Israel fears may launch a large-scale attack from the country’s north, as ‘very smart.’ In an interview that aired Thursday, he added to his criticism, saying Netanyahu ‘was not prepared’ for the deadly weekend incursion from Gaza” (4.).
Interestingly, albeit stern, these are all fair statements in context. Trump states his opinions clearly, even when they are critical of stakeholders. That is honesty, sans the political correctness that can often be exhausting, especially during election cycles.
Watch how DeSantis steps up the rhetoric using the word “attack” which basically characterizes Trump as the enemy.
“’Now is not the time to be attacking our ally,’ said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s 2024 rivals, echoing denunciations from the White House and elsewhere. More than 2,700 people are dead on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and Hamas is believed to have taken around 150 hostages” (4.).
Notice how the AP journalist frames DeSantis’s comments with body count statistics? It is crafty, but it is a form of subliminal messaging to not only associate Trump with the enemy, but with their ill deeds.
And it continued, cue “9/11,” and “Pearl Harbor,” while the only global atrocity missing was a reference to the “Holocaust.”
“North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, another GOP presidential contender, compared Trump’s comments to a foreign ally criticizing the U.S. in the aftermath of 9/11 or the attack on Pearl Harbor. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said, ‘We cannot accept a single message to any of the enemies of Israel’ that U.S. and Israeli leaders are at odds” (4.).
From there, the AP journalist goes completely off the rails making a near-seamless smear, digressing all the way back to the 2020 Election, which was in fact fraudulent.
“Trump is generally treated with a hands-off approach by his leading Republican opponents, who are fearful of alienating his loyal base. But his criticism of Israel, so soon after the unprecedented attack, underscores the extent to which the man most likely to take on President next year is driven by personal enmity and resentments toward those who rejected his lies about winning the 2020 election” (4.).
And the 2024 Election, what about voter sentiment?
“While the war in Israel was not top of mind for many of the Republican primary voters who gathered at the New Hampshire statehouse on Thursday to see DeSantis, several were aware of Trump’s comments. One of them, 34-year-old Republican Melissa Blasek, of Merrimack, said it was another example of why she had lost faith in the former president.
“’One of the things I always liked about Trump was his strong support for Israel,’ said Blasek. ‘I don’t really know what he meant. It was very rambling. What’s clear is that this is not the Trump of 2016. He is not the same candidate … And so things sound less coherent. And I am tired of incoherency. I like an articulate and coherent president’” (4.).
Nor do voters have to be coherent, “I don’t really know what he meant.” I get it, the Middle East is complex, and from this voter’s comments, the only thing that matters is the unwitting impact of propaganda.
***
At the time of that reporting, Reference (4.), the AP had not yet obtained Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response, reporting, “Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment.”
Reference (5.), The Hill, then refers to The Associated Press reporting as noted.
“Israel’s communications minister said recent comments by former President Trump criticizing Prime Minister and complimenting the Hezbollah militant group “wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens.’
“Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi told Israel’s Channel 13 it is ‘shameful that a man like that, a former U.S. president, abets propaganda and disseminates things that wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens,’ according to The Associated Press.
“’We don’t have to bother with him and the nonsense he spouts,’ Karhi added” (5.).
So, by the time the lie made it to Israel, Trump is “shameful,” although Karhi – a Communications Minister of all titles – has zero clue about what he is talking. Ironically, he is also unwittingly responding to American propaganda – propaganda that he is further spreading – claiming that Trump himself is the one abetting propaganda.
***
Credit must be given to Democrats; they know how to control the narrative, and note, giving credit is not abetting Democrats.
Biden? Now a war hero. Trump? Aiding and abetting.
“’Our nation’s support for Israel is resolute and unwavering,’ Biden wrote on X, along with a clip of Trump’s speech. ‘And the right time to praise the terrorists who seek to destroy them is never’” (5.).
***
Biden, the war President … cough, cough.
- Matfucius
1.) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-13/biden-s-israel-support-shows-personal-beliefs-helps-2024-campaign#xj4y7vzkg
2.) https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/trump-biden-rematch-still-too-close-call
3.) https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-criticized-calling-hezbollah-smart-talked-potential-risk/story?id=103941138
4.) https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-netanyahu-let-us-114721847.html
5.) https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-minister-says-trump-comments-162850130.html
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