- 3 days ago
Over the weekend, an apparently angry but definitely delusional Trump posted an onslaught of 14 lunatic AI-generated memes, including him standing in front of the White House beside JFK like close buddies (or at least as close as buddies can be when one tried to abscond with the other’s legacy); a CNN anchor manipulated to look like a well-known transgender personality; attacking Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon as homeless, out-of-work bums in Skid Row; a slobby, food-stained Chris Christie pigging out; mocking his hated Rosie O’Donnell surrounded by a roomful of Irish artifacts and a leprechaun while she writes an adoring love letter to Trump; and even an exploding Iranian tank on Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz. And a 15-second AI-video, "A Time Travel Epic," of Trump atop Mount Rushmore reaching down to drag up George Washington in need, as a helicopter searchlight scours the area and a giant clock appears in the sky. And other treats of delusion. All of which is, of course, what commanders-in-chief do in the middle of a war they’re supposedly leading.
This came days after Trump’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner speech where, apparently under the flexible guise of “jokes,” Trump went into his standard, paranoid rally speech attacking his enemies, often based on cruelty and lies and off-color inuendo. From those like Kimmel, Barack “Hussein” Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Kaitlan Collins, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Adam Schiff and many more. Generally to silence in the audience.
After the near-universal bad review for how unfunny, cruel and in poor taste the speech was, and the subsequent criticisms of Trump’s barrage of weird AI-memes, the MAGOPs in Trump’s circle had a difficult time defending him.
For instance, Stephen Miller’s wife Katie (who has a sort of interview podcast) did her best online to defend one of Trump’s efforts, where he compared CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins to a transgender influencer. Miller wrote online, “The joke wasn’t transphobic. President Trump didn’t call Dylan Mulvaney a man.”
Sometimes you want to tell a person, “I know you have a shovel, but you don’t have to keep digging yourself a deeper whole.” Though, admittedly, sometimes it’s fascinating to watch.
The problem, of course, is that when you're saying a "joke" isn't transphobic, that’s a really bad starting point. And worse when you're trying to explain why a "joke," whose whole intent is to insult someone for seeming transgender, isn't (supposedly) transphobic.
But most of the defense of Trump by MAGOPs on social media was less convoluted and basically went with just cries of “Free speech.” Or as former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer put it, “You gotta love free speech.”
And yes, you do gotta love free speech! Even Trump's right to lie and smear people. But -- the important thing that these attempts to defend Trump miss is -- they are still lies. And smears. And harmful. And bizarre. And can be dangerous, particularly when coming from the U.S. president. Just because someone has a right to say something doesn’t mean it’s a great idea to do so. Especially when you’re the leader of a country.
It’s also worth noting that while, yes, you gotta love free speech -- apparently Trump himself doesn't agree, particularly when it comes to museums and National Parks creating exhibits that are based on intense research and reality which he wants to censor -- and in many cases has -- and teaching history in schools (which transcends even free speech, since it’s educating people about facts and what actually happened), and editing out words related to DEI in government manuals, and more.
But still, yes, you gotta love free speech.
You just should understand that crying, “Free speech!” doesn’t cancel out the concept that words have meaning and that you have responsibility for your words.
Nor is shouting, “Free speech!,” a defense for whatever words you say, merely because you said them out loud. There are consequences to words, and some come at a cost, transcending just personal responsibility. There are, in fact, laws against slander and libel. And laws against hate speech. And laws against calling “Fire!” in a theater when there’s no fire.
But mainly, most people recognize that as sacred as free speech is, it’s not the only thing sacred in life. And we do our best in society to protect it all. Which is why hiding behind a knee-jerk cry of “Free speech” for every uttered word out of our mouths doesn’t excuse lies and smears and harm. Most people understand that our words and actions follow us everywhere. And understand that how we handle our free speech is one of the things that defines us as individuals.
Not understanding that is what toddlers do. Until an adult corrects them. Or sends them to the corner for a time-out.
Or is what someone does his whole life who doesn’t have a filter. Or a sense of understanding or empathy. Having dementia only exacerbates the problem. Made worse by not having any adult supervision around willing to correct him. Worsening further by being degenerative.
Yes, you do gotta love free speech.
But being free to lie and smear still means they are lies and smears.
