How Propaganda Works and the Battle Against Delta

The David Pakman Show - June 22, 2021

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Trump DENIES Conceding 2020 Election in PATHETIC Interview

Donald Trump gave an interview on the obscure right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice with Just the News. The host, David Brody, opened the exchange by really striking a nerve with the former president. Brody said that the headlines from Trump’s recent Sean Hannity interview suggest that the former president finally conceded defeat in the 2020 election. In a sad tone, Trump replied that he “never admitted defeat” and that “we have a lot of things happening right now. I think that that was an election that was, I don’t think, all you have to do is read the newspapers and see what’s coming out now. No, I never, the word is ‘concede.’ I have not conceded.”

From a legal standpoint, it doesn’t matter whether or not the losing candidate concedes an election. However, the act of conceding defeat has been a tradition in American presidential politics as a way to stabilize and unite the country. Trump’s ego was too big to concede to Joe Biden, even though he lost to him handily in both the popular vote and the all-important electoral college. But there is a secondary reason for Trump’s denial, which is that it can be used to string along his ignorant followers. If Trump’s voters don’t think he lost and instead believe the ex-POTUS was cheated, it could motivate them to come out in bigger numbers for the next election. It also keeps these supporters loyal and prevents them from moving onto another propagandist. This entire interview was bonkers and later on, Trump couldn’t help himself but to blame Mike Pence for accepting the election results and certifying it for Joe Biden on January 6th.

Tucker Carlson: The Architecture of Right Wing Propaganda

Fox News and other right-wing outlets are stuck in a vicious propaganda cycle. Typically, a primetime show will introduce a narrative with no evidence, and then the “news” branch of the network will cover it as if it’s actual journalism. This is sometimes coupled with a flipping of the burden of proof, wherein conspiracy theorists will challenge skeptics to prove them wrong on an unfalsifiable hypothesis.

Tucker Carlson offers a perfect example of this cycle. Carlson recently ran a story speculating that the FBI’s refusal to release names of unindicted coconspirators in the January 6th riots is evidence that the rioters were actually undercover FBI operatives. Tucker never provides any proof of this. He might as well have said they were all aliens from Mars, because he never backed up the claim with any substance. Nevertheless, the message circulated through right-wing circles until it got to Congressman Louis Gohmert from Texas. He went on the House floor recently and recycled Tucker’s baseless talking points. Gohmert said there should be consequences and said “we need to know how much participation that any of our federal friends, either at DOJ, FBI, or any of the intel community, what kind of role were they playing.” Now, the train has left the station, and it’s a runaway train. Long gone are the words “potentially” and long forgotten is how no evidence of this conspiracy theory was ever actually provided. This is how the propaganda cycle works, and it’s super effective on those who don’t know what’s happening.

From yesterday’s show:

Wacky Trump Doctor Demands Biden Dementia Test

One of the narratives being built up by the right wing is that Joe Biden is suffering from dementia. Many of these same people believe Donald Trump to be at the pinnacle of health and fitness. One such person is Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician who is currently a congressman from Texas. Jackson went on Fox News and compared the current president’s health to the former’s. He referenced the Montreal cognitive assessment that Trump took and said that “President Trump . . . he had a perfect score on his cognitive test, an outstanding performance. And I’m just saying now, that is the new standard, that the precedent has been set, and I’m asking Joe Biden and his medical team to get out there and to get this physical exam done. Get this cognitive testing done and get the results back to the American people.” The test that Jackson was referring to included questions like asking participants to state what city they’re in and to identify animals like a lion and a camel. The fact that all these years later, Ronny Jackson is still talking about Trump’s test results is pathetic. But it is after all, why he’s now a sitting congressman.

--More on the show:

--We are in a race between vaccines and the fast-spreading Delta COVID variant

--In a new Morning Consult poll, only Russia beats the United States among major countries in COVID vaccine opposition

--Donald Trump reportedly wanted to send foreigners infected with COVID-19 to Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba

--Fox News host Tucker Carlson is outed as an anonymous source for many journalists

--Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz could be criminally charged as soon as July of this year

--17-year-old voicemail caller explains that his mom doesn't want him getting vaccinated against COVID-19

--On the Bonus Show: WHO says Delta is fastest & fittest COVID variant, CA to pay off all past due rent accrued during COVID, Obama backs Manchin's voting rights compromise, much more...

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