No one would think of the Beltway as being a place of the naive innocents of our society. Washington is the only ecosystem composed entirely of apex predators. Yet, this week everyone seems to be eternally shocked by what has been obvious for years.
The press and pundits are coming off an embarrassing couple of weeks where the Hunter Biden laptop was authenticated in federal court as real. This occurred in the trial of the president’s son almost on the anniversary of a debunked letter of intelligence officials claiming that the laptop appeared to be Russian disinformation. Biden then repeated the claim in the last presidential debates to avoid answering questions over the massive influence peddling scheme of this family revealed by the laptop.
After the story was suppressed before the 2020 election, it took years for the media to admit that, oops, the laptop is surprisingly real.
For years, the press and pundits piled on experts who suggested that Covid 19 escaped from a Chinese lab. The New York Times reporter covering the area called it “racist” and implausible. Now, even W.H.O. accepts the lab theory as possible and federal agencies now believe it is the most likely explanation.
The response: surprise and spin.
This week, the Supreme Court ruled that the Justice Department has unlawfully charged hundreds of people with obstruction of an official proceeding after the January 6th riot. For years, objections to the excessive treatment of these cases were dismissed as the view of the radical right. Now, even Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson voted to toss out these convictions.
Surprise.
Whether it was the false story about agents whipping migrants in Texas or the photo op claim in Lafayette Park, false stories were disproven only to have a collective shrug from those who spread them.
For years, the press and pundits have repeated like gospel that Trump had called neo-Nazis “fine people.” At the time, most of us noted that Trump condemned the racists and neo-Nazis and made the statement about fine people on both sides of the controversy over the removal of historic statues.
Six years later, Snopes finally decided to do a fact check and, surprise, found that Trump never praised neo-Nazis as fine people. The only person not surprised was Biden who repeated the false story on Friday as true.
Heading into the presidential debate, the White House and the media attacked Fox News and other outlets for “cheap fake” videos designed to make the President look confused and feeble. For months, politicians and pundits have insisted that Biden is sharp and commanding in conversations even after Special Counsel Robert Hur cited his decline as a reason for not charging him criminally for the unlawful retention and mishandling of classified material.
On MSNBC, Joe Scarborough stated “start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. And F— you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever. Not a close second. And I have known him for years…If it weren’t the truth I wouldn’t say it.”
Then the presidential debate happened and, after years of being protected by staff, tens of millions of people watched the president struggle to stay focused and responsive.
After the debate, there was total surprise, if not shock, on CNN and MSNBC. Suddenly, it is not a cheap fake but reality.
Just seven days before the debate, the New York Times was running cheap fake articles on how Biden was being wrongly portrayed. The day after the debate, it was calling for him to withdraw from the race after expressing shock at his appearance.
On CNN, Biden biographer and CNN contributor Evan Osnos admitted that many Americans were likely “shocked” by Biden’s appearance: “I don’t think there’s any other way to put it. This was clearly a person who was diminished from where he was on the debate stage four years ago.”
Pro-Biden columnist Thomas Friedman wrote that he was floored by what he saw and that “heartbreaking” appearance of Biden made him “weep.”
Washington is now full of surprises. It is a city of people who display that practiced faux shock that you adopt when you learn in advance that your friends are throwing a surprise party. The key is to look stunned and then mingle.
It is a city of Claude Rains:
The laptop is real, the President is really old, and Washington is really really phony.
The only thing that would be more surprising is if pundits and the press started being a lot less shocked and more honest.
To be fair, Thomas Friedman has proven himself so intellectually limited that I believe he was sincerely surprised by Biden’s deterioration and performance. The rest of those mentioned are simply paid propagandists and liars.
I wish Turley was a bit more clear to ID the Democrat issue here. Too bad
Every example given shows it was Dems doing the lying.
The pattern is obvious.
The fact that Friedman and Obama can support Biden shows the power structure is alive and well; that it is politics and not love of country that is in play. Today Obama shows his slight of hand and has distinguished himself as nothing more than a political hack. With hate and ignorance and turning blind eye to the obvious, there will be nothing left except more violence and excuses for the chaos that is and will continue to plague our country. Biden hasn’t learned the artful grace of knowing when the show is over and the curtain should be drawn. When people call Trump arrogant and his behavior ‘buffoon-like’, one can say this and more for Biden. But it is far worse with Biden because of the cohorts that support and defend the indefensible.
“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
This guy told you what was in store for you but you just weren’t listening. Let’s hope the transformation isn’t permanent.
It is the leftist news media that is the “cheap fake” and responsible for the lies spewed over the last 8 years. The responsibility of journalists should be to debunk the propaganda sponsored by the deep state, not serve as a vehicle to spew it. I don’t see how anyone, other than someone afflicted with willful blindness and willful deafness, could ever believe the main stream media again. Their best hope to regain any semblance of trust would be the fire all the faces responsible for this fraud on the American people and start over.
Vincente, your point is right on the money. We could use more comments from you.
I wonder why trust in government, experts and media has vanished?
Beats me.
I really love movies. They usually have scenes or total movies that describe truly bizarre occurrences in life and pseudo life (politics) and right now one comes absolutely to mind and that is the recent “Death of Stalin’. The flying around and hysterics and blaming and finger pointing is a caricature of the movie. Suddenly all of the different power centers are laid bare and the massive figure and dominance of Stalin has been removed and now all must reconfigure, leave, form new alliances, quake at what the people might do, what the army might do, what the KGB might do and on and on and on. It’s actually hysterical.
I”m particularly struck when the call for a really good Jewish doctor and the response is that they have been killed or sent to Siberia. Maybe that’s why the Democrats could not get a very good physician / neurologist / psychiatrist who would not be cowed to give them the real real truth about Biden. All the good Jewish doctors are just genocidal maniacs for Israel and not to be trusted and should be fodder for Hamas.
Obviously the first step will be to fire the White House doctor. He may never be seen again.
After that, well it will be hard to tell. Once a domino close to the dictator falls then who is next becomes the big worry.
I disagree with Professor Turley on one thing.
The greatest apex predator in this country is an enraged populace, when they wake up. The have conquered continents and laid waste to others and waged war on a scale than no other nation has ever done.
Cleaning out a nest of rats in D.C. is basically child’s play. Clean up the game there or disappear from history.
The Democrat Party is not run by their figure heads…they have Unelected Cabal that TRULY HATE America Marc Elias, Soros, etc.
Democrats have accumulated total Centralized power
We need to DEFUND IT
50% cut in federal spending
End ALL Federal aid to cities, states, non-profits and colleges….let capitalism visit CORRUPT democrats!
Trump is on a roll and mostly the result of his opponent’s anger and senility. It’s good to see the sycophants that have propped up this phony wizard finally come clean. Those around Biden who are trying desperately to sustain his role as POTUS are guilty of seditious behavior, a nonviolent form of insurrection. That would include his wife and family members who are profiting from his remaining in office. On Monday, the Supreme Court may end this long nightmare by granting Trump’s claim of immunity for acts taken while POTUS. Ironically, the decision may immunize Biden for his unlawful use of the office of POTUS to pursue illegal prosecutions of his opponents but that’s OK, Biden’s legacy is already in the toilet and soon, time may put the rest of him there, too. It is, after all, where he and his anti-USA policies and cronies belong.
What Trump supporters fail to acknowledge:
Promises tax cuts without corresponding spending offsets
Promises to shovel more $Tens of Billions to the hyper-bloated War Machine
Promises to end the war in Ukraine with no actual plan
Ignored the Minsk 2 Accord Ukraine signed in 2015 to end hostilities in Donbas
Kept the U.S. military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, North Africa
All in to Israel as the 51st State
Ignores the $34 Trillion National Debt
Ignores $2 Trillion annual deficits projected out in perpetuity
Trump is only a symptom of what is systemically busted in the United States. He is too stupid to be the solution.
Being anti-Biden and anti-Trump is not mutually exclusive.
Steaming turd^^^^
Read at the peril your brain cells
Anyone can list all the problems that exist. What is too stupid is thinking that a president, any president, has the power to fix them. He is merely one branch of a complicated system of government, he is not the King. The problems you listed have no solution, that’s why no one is rushing in to solve them.
You are still blind to reality. Still propping up the puppet and his many puppet masters who are working only to destroy the USA
“Promises tax cuts without corresponding spending offsets”
That is false.
He dramatically cut government regulations, which is a cut in government spending — and which frees producers to create wealth and jobs.
The rest of your points are equal drivel.
“Promises tax cuts without corresponding spending offsets”
Agreed. Trump is NOT as bad as Biden with respect to spending but he did not slash spending.
“Promises to shovel more $Tens of Billions to the hyper-bloated War Machine”
Agreed.
“Promises to end the war in Ukraine with no actual plan”
Ending the War in Ukraine is trivial.
“Ignored the Minsk 2 Accord Ukraine signed in 2015 to end hostilities in Donbas”
Please explain how Trump did this further.
“Kept the U.S. military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, North Africa”
Agreed, but at the same time – REDUCED US foreign involvment more than any 21st century president and id not start new wars anywhere.
Had Trump moved more agressively to get US forces out of these places faster – even more NeoCons would have abandoned him.
“All in to Israel as the 51st State”
Whatever its faults – Israel is the only rational democracy in the mideast.
“Ignores the $34 Trillion National Debt”
The Debt was only 27T under Trump.
“Ignores $2 Trillion annual deficits projected out in perpetuity”
Pre Covid Deficts were under $1T closing on 1/2T
“Trump is only a symptom of what is systemically busted in the United States. He is too stupid to be the solution.”
Trump is a small step in th right direction. More importantly he is our best hope short of actual failure for a reverse of course.
“Being anti-Biden and anti-Trump is not mutually exclusive.”
Correct, but even if you add in all the demorats and republicans waiting in the wings – there is no better choice.
Democrats have punished America and Republicans since 2008….when do we start really punishing them!
I suggest Bannon for AG! And Navarro for FBI chief.
so the Bidens and his cronies GOT Millions from China? Why
Soros et al operate a Conspiracy to OWN THE LAW enforcers….We need to JAIL these TERRORISTS!
so when do we jail the 1000’s of criminal Democrats and swamp dwellers for their MANY Crimes?
Russian Hoax
Jan 6th trap
Protecting Bidens and his cronies
The CONSPIRACIES to persecute Trump and his people
BY THE 1000’s! They are FIGHTING A CIVIL WAR to Destroy America….currently the GOP is FUNDING THEM!
Given the latge number of lies propogated by the left, democrats and the media,
Why should we beleive them on ANYTHING.
Why are we to beleive the election in 2020 was not stolen ?
Why are we to belive those who have sold us these lies – about anything ?
John Say,
Well said.
The amazing part is how they are trying to spin it away.
What is more amazing is how people are denying what the rest of us are all seeing and have said since 2020.
You do not need to beleive everything Trump or Republicans say – I certainly don’t.
But we are very close to a point where you should disbeleive EVERYTHING said by the left, the media or most democrats.
I beleive Missing in Turley’s list is all the lies regarding Covid.
Like that was only a “little lie” or two or twenty ?
I still see people in public with masks.
Your choice – do what you want.
But why would anyone wish to essentially wear a flag saying I am a clueless moron that beleived and STILL beleives vile proven liars.
It’s a set up for the unmasking of the dems true candidate and it will be feigned shock and awe. I’d like to suggest it’ll be Michelle aka big Mike and a well deserved grand entrance. What else can a queen do? You can’t expect her to enter a race like a commoner.
Instead of inauguration it really should be a coronation and the obamas can come out of the closet and expose the royalty they’ve always been.
Fundimentally while the debate is a scales falling from their eyes moment for many.
Biden’s dementia is really a non issue.
The country is being run by someone.
And it is being run badly.
Either it is being run badly by someone non-compis mentis,
or it is being run badly by a a competent Biden who had a bad night.
If anythng it is WORSE if Biden is competent.
It is being run by a cabal.
He cant even call on a reporter without permission. And you think he is running the country?
It is not a non-issue if someone else is running the country. Biden’s dementia is why we are here, he has no idea what is being done in his name. Did you see his face when Trump said that the “good people on both sides” lie had been debunked? He was shocked to hear that and it was obvious that he had never heard it before. The cabal gives him censored information and he has no clue what is happening.
Excellent article.
My question for Turley and liberals and democrats everywhere is
What took you so long ?
Each and every one of these lies – these Left Wing not tinfoil hat conspiracies was OBVIOUS from the start.
Why has it taken you so long to see the obvious.
Very few of us take any pleasure in the fact that Joe Biden has been in slow mental decline
They’ve always known. But they are people more than willing to totally sacrifice their integrity to serve a bankrupt ideology for what they see as a seat at the “inner party” table.
I am not even sure they see the obvious now. In real time, you had “journalists” trying to spin this just a bad cold. They are entirely in on journalism designed to shape stories to fit a narrative. Biden’s poll numbers, even after that performance, are still in the mid 30 to upper 30’s. He’ll still win a lot of states in his mental condition. The left isn’t going to throw in the towel over this. Their next move will probably be a vigorous attempt to jail Trump.
“Their next move will probably be a vigorous attempt to jail Trump.”
Possibly,
But all this is becoming more and more transparent.
Each lie that you are caught in makes it less likely you will be beleived again.
The good news for Biden is the guy we saw thursday is CLEARLY not orchestrating the lawfare and election interference.
He is not putting on his own socks much less running the country.
The bad news for democrats – is it does not matter who is pulling Biden’s strings.
THEY FAILED
It is wrong to think of Thursday as the end of Biden.
It is or should be the end of ALL who were selling these obvious lies. It is or should be the end of ALL who have run the country so badly in Biden’s name.
I am sure that this wasn’t intended to be a complete list, but when Prof. Turley rattles off the list of democrat lies and frauds, he misses quite a few. For example, using a phone call to the Ukraine regarding an investigation into political corruption of the Biden family, which, post laptop, appears to have been a perfectly reasonable call to have made, as a vehicle for an impeachment. Using the hoax 1/6 riot as the vehicle for a second impeachment…after Trump left office. Using the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign, and having the media spin this as being perfectly normal and laughing at Trump for calling “spying” instead of what it really was, an unprecedented, warrantless, investigation into your opponent’s political campaign. Having an extremely unusual oval office meeting meeting with Obama, Biden, the directors of the DOJ and FBI, and CIA all present along with Susan Rice (unusual enough for her to create a CYA email to herself), and others, to discuss surveilling the Trump campaign and how the Logan Act could be used by the FBI to create a perjury trap for Gen Flynn over a perfectly legal conversation with the Russian ambassador. Of course, there is the mother of all frauds, the Russia Hoax. Then there has been the post presidency lawfare. First it was the attack on Trump’s company, leading to the jailing of a 78 y/o CFO with no criminal record over another made up “perjury” charge, all over minor deductions taken over a 14yr period of fringe benefits, in a case not brought or even initiated by the NY Div of Taxation, nor the IRS, but by the NYC DA. For anyone else, this would have been settled through a fine with interest. Then we get the fraud case for the business valuations, leading to a $500mil judgment, another unprecedented case. Then we get the classified documents case, also unprecedented. Then comes the made up NDA/campaign finance case, also unprecedented, then the RICO case in GA that was so broad that at one time she tried to charge Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruise, and the GA governor in this witch hunt. Then comes the phony defamation case, when an idiot accuses you of sexually assaulting her in dept store changing room 20, 25, or possibly 30 years ago, with no witnesses, and no corroboration, you respond by calling her a liar, and only in NYC, could that lead to a defamation case. Never mind that both parties are public figures, or that she’s never mentioned this in any of her books, even though she’s mentioned other instances of sexual assault, but for some inexplicable reason, not this one. Then we have the Hunter laptop, this just keeps going on and on. Even with this list, I am still leaving out many more examples of lawfare, with dozens of civil lawsuits filed in NY against trump. Even now, they tried once again to have Merchan preside over another Trump related case that NYC was bringing. And we’re all still waiting for this clown to sentence Trump with possible jail time.
I have tried for a very long time to see things from a leftists point of view but have been unable to stick my head up my a** that far.
It has always been a game of “The Emperor Has No Clothes”.