By DAVID PFEFFER
Media foreign to America often seem only to know what they “read in the papers” and with American media distorting events through preordained narratives, one cannot blame others for holding a distorted view of American politics.Current case – Donald Trump. The legendary non-politician’s candor has won vast numbers of voters disaffected by America’s deterioration and both parties’ hypocrisy. The narrative holds Trump as angry, bullying, ranting, egotistical, misogynistic, impulsive, unreliable, racist and xenophobic. Virtually all reports are couched in one or more of these terms.The terrified Republican establishment, while laughably denying its existence, recently trotted out presidential also-ran Mitt Romney who, in due sincerity, scathingly and personally attacked his own party’s front-runner. Bear in mind – for a party to air any opinion on – let alone broadcast animosity towards – one of its own primary candidates is extraordinary in the extreme.“Mr. Trump’s bombast is … alarming (our) allies and fueling the enmity of our enemies,” Romney said. “Insulting all Muslims will keep … them from fully engaging with us… Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities… bullying, greed, showing off, misogyny, absurd third grade theatrics… He creates scapegoats of Muslims and Mexican immigrants. He calls for the use of torture… for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists… (He) is a phony, a fraud… (whose) promises are… worthless … (He’s) playing (us) for suckers…” (Transcript, The New York Times 03 Mar 2016).Per CNN, Trump’s reaction was a long “rant”. However, video reveals no anger or even touchiness towards Romney, let alone anything approaching a rant. At worst, Trump called Romney a “choke artist”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gKyMLzdEA). Given what Romney had called him, FOX News commented that Romney had gotten off pretty easy.Newsmax headlined as “rant” a series of “angry” Trump Twitter comments on Ted Cruz’s deceitful tactics against Ben Carson in Iowa, although a plain reading of Trump’s factual statements yields neither rant nor anger. (http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Donald-Trump-Ted-Cruz-Ben-Carson-Iowa/2016/02/03/id/712541/).The narrative has Trump not convincingly disavowing the KKK and David Duke’s endorsement, implying racism. Yet fascinating evidence shows Duke did not endorse him and the KKK was disrobed, so to speak, decades ago. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhVePG1EN0).Distorted reporting has serious international consequences. The narrative for securing America’s southern border from illegal immigration maintains that calls for the former and apprehension from the latter are racist and xenophobic. Thus Trump’s advocacy of a fence and use of the term “Mexico” concerning its cost automatically make him a racist xenophobe.“Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto compared the language of … Donald Trump to that of dictator Adolf Hitler … and said it has hurt U.S.-Mexico relations … (He) complained … about these strident expressions that seek to propose very simple solutions and said that sort of language has led to very fateful scenes in the history of humanity”. (Associated Press 07 Mar 2016).Mexico has a fence on her southern border. Israel has a fence on her southern border. In Israel comparing someone to Hitler can get you into trouble with the law.
Reuters reports, “Foreign diplomats are expressing alarm … about … inflammatory and insulting public statements by … Trump … (and their) xenophobic nature … German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel branded him a threat to peace … (They) have been particularly disturbed by the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim themes … according to the U.S. officials … European and Middle Eastern government representatives have expressed dismay … about anti-Muslim declarations by Trump that they say are being used in recruiting pitches by the Islamic State and other violent jihadist groups … ‘The responses have ranged from amusement to befuddlement to curiosity,’ (an American) official said. ‘In some cases, we've heard expressions of alarm, but those have been more in response to the anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiment as well as the general sense of xenophobia’ ”. (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-foreign-idUSMTZSAPEC37O1O8W3 03 Mar 2016).Trump has called for an end to illegal immigration and a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on”. Declaring that racist or xenophobic is itself a political position – a politically correct position, actually.Trump holds press conferences while others make memorized speeches, taking televised questions from reporters he now greets on a first-name basis. After Super Saturday’s “thank you” statement, he invited questions from “... the most dishonest people ever created by God”. Despite the gibe, his willingness to take the heat and respond in candor is seen by multitudes as impressively refreshing. Whether the media will report it as such remains, dangerously, in doubt.