Reigning Cats and Dogs

​On Saturday, a friend mentioned a TV commentary he'd heard that Trump’s fake story in the debate -- where supposedly immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing pet dogs and cats and eating them -- was likely the turning point in the election, because it was so outlandish, even by Trump standards.

I didn’t agree.  Saying idiotic, outlandish things is what Trump does.  It's his go-to move. He says that there were airports in the Revolutionary War.  That windmills cause cancer.  That airplanes with solar-powered batteries will crash at night when it's dark.  That over 100% of all the new jobs created during the Biden Administration are taken by migrants.  That it’s better to be electrocuted under water than eaten by a shark.  That John McCain wasn’t a war hero because he got captured.  That you can grab women by the p*ssy.  That drinking bleach might cure COVID.  And on and on and on.  And on and on.  And on and on and on and on.  And MAGOPs are okay with it all.  And he’s still neck-and-neck with VP Kamala Harris for being elected President of the United States. 

(And this doesn’t even take into consideration that he said he wants to be a dictator, said he wants to terminate the U.S. Constitution, has been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable of rape, found guilty of fraud, and shows signs of early dementia, which is degenerative.)

Now, yes, to be fair, saying that immigrants in Springfield are stealing pet dogs and pet cats and eating them is pretty high up on the list of insanely stupid things Trump has said.  And in some ways, it sounds more pathetically goofy than many of his greatest hits, and therefore made him look nuttier than usual.  Further, the fake story has been refuted by the city manager of Springfield.  And refuted by the Republican governor of Ohio.  Refuted because there are zero cases of immigrants stealing pet dogs and cats and eating them.  And unlike many of his other lunatic statements which tend to be seen only by those who follow the news, this was said at a live debate with 67 million people watching.  And so, it’s probable that Trump saying it at a debate with 20% of the country watching, and close to half of those who will vote, is something that will have a negative impact on how Trump is perceived during the rest of the camp.  But that’s different from it being “the turning point.”

However –

I do think that it’s the result of the statement that will have a significant impact on the election.

It’s the subsequent bomb threats – and Springfield having to close schools and hospitals – incited by Trump that are the far bigger story and what is dominating the news.  An insanely stupid statement is just that, an insanely stupid statement.  It’s noted when spoken, but stands isolated and will be followed by other insanely stupid statements.  But bomb threats and other concerns of violence prompted by Trump’s words – and by “JD Vance’s” tweets and statements – are something very different.  And very problematic for Trump.  That's why they are dominating the news.

In part, that’s for the literal, visceral threats of violence themselves, which are a highly impactful matter that affects people (especially when the threats affect the lives children and those in need of medical care) and are prompted directly by Trump and “Vance.”  But in part, it’s also because this is a story that’s ongoing.  It’s not one more idiotic comment by Trump, one among many thousand and buried.  Trump and “JD Vance” have to keep defending their irresponsible, inflaming words and doubling down.  As they two have been doing since the debate. 

So, it’s this that is the significantly bigger problem for Trump and “Vance”, by far.  And we can already see the evidence of that as “JD Vance” made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows.  Just look at the headlines.

Headlines this from, of all places, Trump-friendly ground of Fox --

​And this from when "JD Vance" was on CBS --​

Deeply problematic as those headlines are, there a couple of additional things worth noting here. 

First, what I didn’t post above were screen shots from all those appearances, including an interview "JD Vance" did on ABC – and on all of them (CBS, CNN and ABC), they all showed the words "baseless claims" in their chyrons at the bottom of the screen.  So, even if one wasn't paying close attention, or had the sound off, the words were there to read. 

And second, it's very important to note that the story is being reported properly -- not as mere "claims" made by Trump and “Vance” (which someone might think could possibly be accurate without watching the entire story), but explaining in full that they were "baseless claims."  And baseless because all the networks sent reporters to Springfield to check the story out.  And found it was absolutely untrue.

But it's worse, because Trump is Trump, and can't admit he is ever wrong about pretty much anything in life, has to double-down and dig deeper holes for himself.  So, when he was asked if he at least condemned the bomb threats, a softball no-brainer for a politician if ever there was sone -- he wouldn’t answer!  (Just like in the debate he wouldn't say he hoped Ukraine beat Russia, and wouldn’t say that he would veto a national abortion ban if he was elected and such a bill came to his desk.  But this is far worse – because not only is it part of an actual, ongoing scandal, and one that he and "JD Vance" created, but also it’s...well, it's refusing to condemn violence!)

And maybe even worse than that -- oh, yes, it's possible -- “JD Vance” didn’t just double-down…he expanded the disastrous story, saying in one of his interviews, “I don't align myself with the views of the Proud Boys but we have to remember this is a real problem. The media is using things like this to ignore the fact that thanks to Kamala Harris' open borders, there is a rise of HIV cases in Springfield, Ohio.”

Honest, really.  He said that.  And no, really, there is no rise of HIV cases in Springfield.  But hey, this is the Trump-"Vance" ticket:  as long as you've made the decision to go with "Immigrants are stealing pet dogs and cats and eating them," I guess they feel they might as well go for the Full Monty.  Shovel meet hole – dig it deeper.

Further, just because you say you don’t align yourself with the views of the Proud Boy, it makes it very difficult to support that when enough of your views overlap.  Moreover, what is perhaps more accurate is saying that the Proud Boys align their views with “JD Vance.”

Pro Tip:  Whenever you say "I don't align myself" with a terrorist group, never follow that with the word "but".

However, yes, it gets even worse.  (I'm not lying.)  Because when appearing on CNN, “JD Vance” said out loud that he and Trump have to "create stories" about immigrants eating cats and dogs "so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people."

Again, yes, really.  He actually said that.  Host Dana Bash was flabbergasted and followed-up, and “Vance” tried to fluster his way out of the mess by blaming the media.  But his words are all there to hear.  More to the point, after he said that he and Trump "create stories," everything else after that became gibberish white noise.

The public reaction, of course, was anger that “Vance” admitted they knowingly created the fake story, which has lead to threats of violence.  However, my response was different – after all, given that "JD Vance" has created his whole persona (born James Donald Bowman, changed to James David Hamel, changed to James David Vance, then J.D. Vance, then JD Vance and born and raised in Cincinnati, not Appalachia), it is not surprising he created this fake story. In fact, it's his Standard Operating Procedure.

As for Trump, considering the 30,000+ documented lies during his four years in office alone, the only surprise there would have been if he hadn’t made it all up.

All that is why the result of Trump’s ludicrous statement during the debate, the aftermath is overwhelmingly worse than the venal statement itself.  The story debacle is not only not over, but he and “JD Vance” are continuing it – and amazingly, expanding it.

And it’s hard to imagine undecided voters think this is a good thing.  Undecided voters tend to be undecided because they don’t like the tumult of politics, don’t like extremes, don't like the noise, and avoid it all as much as possible, waiting until the very end to make a decision and vote.  Wanting everything to be nice and quiet and happily calm in the middle.

This is not that.

And it is not going away any time soon.