Tranquillus in Exile
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For most of a decade, Donald Trump and his allies at Fox News have beguiled some Americans and enraged others as they spun up an alternative world where elections are decided by fraud (unless Trump wins), one party oppresses another, and one man stands against his persecutors to carry his version of “truth” to an adoring electorate.
This week, Trump and Fox News were delivered a dose of reality by the American legal system.
On Thursday Trump became the first former president in history to be indicted on criminal charges. The next day, a judge in Delaware Superior Court ruled that Fox had repeatedly made false claims about Dominion voting machines and their supposed role in a fictitious plot to steal the 2020 election, and the defamation lawsuit against the network should go to trial.
“There will always be a remnant, no matter how the matter is resolved in court, who will refuse to accept the judgment,” said Norman Eisen, a government ethics lawyer. “But when you look at other post-upheaval societies, judicial processes reduce factions down to a few hard-core believers. A series of court cases and judgments can break the fever.”
That could prove to be wishful thinking. Even the courts have had difficulty puncturing the ideological bubbles that Trump and Fox News have created. The courts imposed a $25 million settlement of fraud charges against Trump University, dismissed dozens of lies about malfeasance in the 2020 election, and ruled numerous times that Dominion’s machines did not change votes. Yet millions of Americans remain devoted to Trump and Fox News.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/us/politics/trump-fox-news-court-cases.html
(edited)
What are we to make of someone who would risk wrecking American politics for no reason but his own monstrous - and utterly misplaced - ego? Unless you are one of those who believe every word he says, the answer should be clear.
This week, Trump and Fox News were delivered a dose of reality by the American legal system.
On Thursday Trump became the first former president in history to be indicted on criminal charges. The next day, a judge in Delaware Superior Court ruled that Fox had repeatedly made false claims about Dominion voting machines and their supposed role in a fictitious plot to steal the 2020 election, and the defamation lawsuit against the network should go to trial.
“There will always be a remnant, no matter how the matter is resolved in court, who will refuse to accept the judgment,” said Norman Eisen, a government ethics lawyer. “But when you look at other post-upheaval societies, judicial processes reduce factions down to a few hard-core believers. A series of court cases and judgments can break the fever.”
That could prove to be wishful thinking. Even the courts have had difficulty puncturing the ideological bubbles that Trump and Fox News have created. The courts imposed a $25 million settlement of fraud charges against Trump University, dismissed dozens of lies about malfeasance in the 2020 election, and ruled numerous times that Dominion’s machines did not change votes. Yet millions of Americans remain devoted to Trump and Fox News.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/us/politics/trump-fox-news-court-cases.html
(edited)
What are we to make of someone who would risk wrecking American politics for no reason but his own monstrous - and utterly misplaced - ego? Unless you are one of those who believe every word he says, the answer should be clear.