The Stunning Synergy of The Atlantic’s Anonymous Attack on Trump

True or not, does it matter now? It is publicized and will be quoted non-stop, just as Russian collusion was, by leftists with now revealed levels of integrity and honor: Hillary Clinton, Adam Schiff, any Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee name a TV talk show host, and, well, you know the thing.  Leftist-dominated Google has swarmed their search engine with anti-Trump links.  TD

Donald J. TrumpSep 5, 2020You work so hard for the military, from completely rebuilding a depleted mess that was left by OBiden, to fixing a broken V.A. and fighting for large scale military pay raises, and then a slimeball reporter, maybe working with disgruntled people, makes up such a horrible charge..

Joel B. Pollak  "The Atlantic published a story Thursday evening that claimed President Donald Trump called the fallen American soldiers in a World War I cemetery “suckers” and “losers” in 2018. The author, Jeffrey Goldberg, cited four anonymous sources.

"Nearly a dozen current and former Trump administration officials disputed the story. One, notably, was John Bolton, the former national security adviser who says he will not vote for Trump. “I was there,” he said, and “I didn’t hear that.”

Other claims in The Atlantic story are refuted by documentary evidence. The article claims, for instance, that Trump refused to visit the cemetery because the rain would ruin his hair. Bolton’s tell-all book said otherwise; so do official documents.

What is more interesting than the details of the story is how it was produced, and how it was rolled out. It has the appearance of a well-coordinated, well-executed campaign of disinformation, utilizing the full toolbox available to the Democratic Party.

The article was published Thursday evening. By Friday morning, a left-wing group called Vote Vets had not only produced an ad based on the article, but had aired it on Morning Joe — MSNBC’s early-morning flagship news and opinion show.

Meanwhile, the article spread across social media like a brush fire in a derecho. It trended at the top of Twitter; it was shared widely on Facebook, all without any of the “fact checks” that typically accompany disputed news reports on such platforms.

The Biden campaign issued a statement Thursday night — “If the revelations in today’s Atlantic article are true” — and held a press call Friday morning. The call featured, among others, Khizr Khan — the Gold Star father who attacked Trump in 2016.

At the end of his presentation, Biden turned to his campaign staff, who chose which reporters would be allowed to ask questions, and in what order. The first question went to Edward-Isaac Dovere, who writes for — surprise! — The Atlantic.
Dovere asked, “When you hear these remarks — ‘suckers,’ ‘losers,’ recoiling from amputees — what does it tell you about President Trump’s soul, and the life he leads?” It was a setup for Biden to attack Trump over The Atlantic allegations again.
None of the other questions asked were challenging in any way; all appeared to be setup questions for Biden to attack Trump or to clarify some lingering problem — whether he had been tested for coronavirus (yes), where his running mate was (busy).
No one asked Biden whether it was appropriate to attack Trump based on an unconfirmed report. No one even asked Biden about his economic policies.  . . .

Tony Branco

Joe Biden and Trump's soul (Elsewhere in the TW)

"What do you think about the soul of Kamala Harris and others who were willing to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh with absolutely zero evidence?"

 President Trump denies this claim

John Bolton says he didn't hear Trump insult fallen soldiers in France  . . . "I didn't hear that," Bolton told The New York Times. "I'm not saying he didn't say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion."
"Bolton's remarks came after Trump himself denied any allegations of disrespectful comments toward American soldiers killed in action, which were first reported by The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
" 'I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes," Trump said to the press as he was exiting Air Force One early Friday. "There is nobody that respects them more. So, I just think it's a horrible, horrible thing ... no animal, nobody, what animal would say such a thing.' "  . . .

“I’ve watched President Trump solemnly sign letters to the families of fallen heroes. He’s honored their memories by doing more than any modern president to get us OUT of endless wars.”

White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah said, “It’s offensive & patently false. The President holds the military in the highest regard. He’s demonstrated his commitment to the force: delivering a pay raise to our troops, increasing military funding, signing veterans reform & supporting military spouses.”

"The nefarious purpose behind The Atlantic’s 'Trump and the military' hoax  . . . "The article’s primary allegations are that Trump refused to visit a WWI cemetery because of his hair, said the Marines who died taking Belleau Wood were “suckers” and “losers,” and drew back in revulsion from troops who lost limbs. Every assertion is false. People with first-hand information who were willing to go on the record exposed how terribly The Atlantic lied about Trump." . . .
 . . . "If I had to bet, I’d say that The Atlantic always knew the report was a lie. I’d go even further and say that someone in Biden’s campaign asked The Atlantic to publish the story." 

Jennifer Griffin of Fox News Did Not Confirm ‘Most Salacious’ Part of Atlantic Story
. . . "On Special Report, Griffin told host Bret Baier that her anonymous sources said Trump had used the term “suckers” to refer to Americans who fought in Vietnam.
"The latter claim is not actually new. Former Trump lawyer-turned-opponent Michael Cohen made the same claim publicly in early 2019.
"Griffin also said that she confirmed that Trump had asked why veterans served, “What’s in it for them? They don’t make any money.”
"That reflected a similar claim by the Atlantic about a remark Trump was alleged to have made at Arlington National Cemetery — though without context, it is impossible to know whether Trump was praising them for volunteering regardless of personal or financial gain, rather than (as the Atlantic and Griffith presumed) mocking them for doing so." . . .
I'd say The Atlantic claims Trump said the same things about our troops that many beloved leftists did about them>

Bradley Cooper Hammers Hollywood Awards Season as ‘Utterly Meaningless’

Breitbart  "The woke Academy Awards has seen its ratings fall through the floor as Americans sick of being lectured to by wealthy elites are tuning out en masse. Now eight-time Oscar nominee actor Bradley Cooper is taking a swing at Hollywood’s annual awards circus, calling it “utterly meaningless” and “completely devoid of artistic creation.”
"In a series of candid comments in Interview magazine, the American Sniper star said that Hollywood awards season is dominated by ego and vanity, though he stopped short of condemning it altogether." 
. . . 
"Bradley Cooper has received Oscar nominations for his performances in American Sniper, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and A Star Is Born. His most recent nomination was this year as a producer for Joker.
"The Academy Awards saw its viewership plummet an astonishing 20 percent earlier this year, drawing an all-time low of just 23.6 million viewers. The Golden Globes saw its ratings drop 2 percent, a relatively small decline thanks in large part to host Ricky Gervais, who skewered Hollywood pomposity at the top of the broadcast." . . .

Richard Grenell Tears Into Journalists Over Dumb Questions: ‘People Aren’t Listening To You Anymore’

American Lookout

Grenell rips journalists for not focusing on Kosovo, Serbia deal: ‘I don’t know if you can find it on a map’

"The Trump administration has just achieved another historic foreign policy victory, this time between Kosovo and Serbia.
"Richard Grenell, an adviser and diplomat in the administration, was prepared to take questions from reporters at the White House, and instead of staying on topic, they veered into stupidity like gossip columnists.
"Grenell had had enough and he tore into them. It was a thing of beauty
"Former Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell ripped into journalists on Friday during a briefing on an economic deal between Kosovo and Serbia when reporters asked instead about other topics — suggesting the topic was “too complicated” for them.
"I don’t know if you can find it on a map, but this is atrocious. I have to tell you guys,” Grenell said at a White House briefing.
"Grenell, who served as special envoy for the talks, was speaking to journalists about the deal to normalize economic relations between the two former adversaries…
Grenell shot back when a journalist asked him about a different topic instead.

“You might be too young to understand what this issue is about, maybe the older journalists should step up and say ‘this is a big deal, this is a big issue,’” he said. “I’m astounded at what happens in Washington, D.C., and especially in this room. It’s substantive, maybe it’s too complicated of an issue for you all.' " 

It’s about time someone admonished the press in this way.
They have become an absolute embarrassment to their profession.
At least they used to try to hide their liberal bias.

Biden: The Violent Riots Will Continue Unless You Vote Democrat

The Federalist
Biden may believe mouthing the words 'law and order' makes him strong, but his failure to call on elected officials in his own party to stop allowing murder and looting in the cities they run shows you how weak he is.

Walter Mitty dreams

"Now that polls won’t let them ignore the rioting, looting, murder, and arson this summer in Democrat-run American cities, openly cheered on by leftists like the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times author Nikole Hannah-Jones, Democrats have made a hard pivot to — what else? — “Blame Trump.”
"We saw the blame-shifting begin last week with House Speaker “Republicans are domestic enemies” Nancy Pelosi. Today, it came straight from Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden: 
. . . 
"Biden just made Democrats’ election subtext public. He said the quiet part loud: The chaos will continue until voters pick Democrats.
"Democrats have been saying this implicitly ever since Trump won the election, of course. They have been the agents of chaos in the streets, in the administrative agencies, in the courts, and in the Congress. Democrats are the ones who said “impeach!” the second the ballots came out against them. They are the ones who used federal spy powers to subvert an American election before it happened, and then after.
"They are the ones who have been urging an unlawful and immoral “resistance” to the policies voters chose in 2016, standing athwart the electorate yelling “Stop!” Refusing to carry out the orders of an elected president, telling the president he may not do precisely the same things his predecessor did, filing lawsuit after lawsuit after complaint after records request — Democrats have made their refusal to abide by the social compact that prevents war by using words, persuasion, and elections crystal clear.
"When that didn’t work, they started breaking things and attacking innocent civilian bystanders. When Rep. Maxine Waters encouraged mob violence against people for the crime of supporting Donald Trump, Joe Biden didn’t sternly warn her to stop. When the Democrat mayor of Washington DC didn’t provide enough police to keep historic monuments safe from fires and defacement, and elderly people and U.S. senators safe from mobs of politically motivated rioters, Joe Biden didn’t stand up and demand equal protection under the law for peaceful civilians to attend presidential speeches no matter their political beliefs.
"When the openly socialist and Marxist Antifa and Black Lives Matter organizations took to the streets demanding that police stop protecting lives and property so they could loot, and when they set fire to police stations and blinded police with lasers for three months while Democrat mayors and governors refused federal assistance, Joe Biden didn’t tell them to stop. He invited socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to define his policy platform in an effort to reach out to the extremist wing of his party and capture their support." . . .  Full article.

Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist, a happy wife, and the mother of six children. Her newest ebooks are"Classic Books for Young Children" and "32 Classic Games You Can Play Anywhere." @JoyPullmann is also the author of "The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids," from Encounter Books.

Joe Biden and Trump's soul

"What do you think about the soul of Kamala Harris and others who were willing to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh with absolutely zero evidence?"

What about Obama's soul that he would use someone's dead child for
 a self-aggrandizing photo-op?

Jack Hellner  "Some reporter asked Biden how he feels about Trump's soul as if the latest story about Trump supposedly deriding U.S. troops were actually true from the Atlantic. Actually, it was an Atlantic reporter who asked. Match the picture here with this:

"The Atlantic reporter's question was part of a litany of softball questions handed by the fawning press to the dotard at the top of the Democratic ticket:

. . . "If the Atlantic practiced actual journalism instead of public relations for the Democrats, there are all kinds of 'soul' questions he could have asked.

• "How about: Joe, how do you feel about your soul when you continually lie about what Trump said in Charlottesville? 
• What about your's and Hillary's soul as you greatly enriched yourselves and your family with huge kickbacks from foreign parties while supposedly serving at the public trough? 
• What do you think of Bill and Hillary's soul as they sought to destroy the women that Bill and Hillary physically and mentally abused over decades? 
• What do you think about the souls of all the people willing to destroy Gem. Michael Flynn, President Trump and his family, Carter Page, and others with lies and investigations based on a fake dossier bought and paid for from a foreign spy by Hillary and the DNC? Do you believe people who lied to the FISA courts to get permission to spy have good souls? 
• What do you think about the soul of Kamala Harris and others who were willing to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh with absolutely zero evidence? 
• What do you think of President Obama's and Hillary Clinton's souls when they left Americans to die in Benghazi while they concocted a lie to blame a video? 

"Isn't it soulless to lie to the families of those who died? Doesn't that show that the Obama administration cared more about power than having empathy?....

The nefarious purpose behind The Atlantic’s 'Trump and the military' hoax  . . . "The article’s primary allegations are that Trump refused to visit a WWI cemetery because of his hair, said the Marines who died taking Belleau Wood were “suckers” and “losers,” and drew back in revulsion from troops who lost limbs. Every assertion is false. People with first-hand information who were willing to go on the record exposed how terribly The Atlantic lied about Trump." . . .
 . . . "If I had to bet, I’d say that The Atlantic always knew the report was a lie. I’d go even further and say that someone in Biden’s campaign asked The Atlantic to publish the story.

"The fact is that the truth was never important. All that was important was to get the story out there to help Biden hide the military-related uglies in his past."

...Or the soul of Hillary Clinton that she would lie about the cause of death for our nation's Benghazi victims?

Mother of Benghazi Victim Screams "Hillary Is A Liar."
She included Panetta and Biden in her accusations.
More posts at the Tunnel Wall

The Democrats’ Laughable ‘President Chaos’ Strategy

The country knows that this completely unacceptable state of violence has been facilitated, denied, apologized for, and to some extent encouraged by elements of the new and radicalized Democratic coalition. CB

Conrad Black  "It is humorous and even gratifying to see the Democrats—including the legion of their talking television plants—dragging themselves to the recognition that President Trump might actually be reelected. The powerful fragmentation grenade detonated at the Republican National Convention provoked the Democratic television commandos to brief outbursts of alarmist sincerity. 
     "CNN’s Don Lemon, one of the dumbest and bitchiest Trump-haters, blurted out that as the polls were moving unfavorably, it might be wise for Democratic candidate Joe Biden to criticize mob violence, something he and his partisans had conspicuously failed to do at their convention the week before. He did this within a day of his colleague Brian Stelter, who will enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the frequency of his utterance in reference to President Trump in the last three years, “The walls are closing in,” righteously wagging his glabrous head at the viewers as he told them that the urban guerrilla violence sweeping the country really was “peaceful protest.” 
     "The same assurance was given by correspondents of CNN and the other anti-Trump networks reporting from riot-torn cities, even as largely minority-owned businesses torched by the “peaceful protesters” belched flame and smoke behind them.  
     "Having studiously pretended throughout the summer—as unusually violent rioting erupted in city after city ultimately injuring 700 policemen, killing over 30 people, and inflicting over a billion dollars in damage—that it was just a continuing vigorous protest over the death of George Floyd, the official and media Democrats have been rudely awakened by their own allies and protégés. 
"It’s All Trump’s Fault! 

     "Rather than serve the convenience of the Democratic Party, which for the purposes of the anti-white racists and other extremists who lead the riots is just a vast assemblage of useful idiots whose naiveté and cowardice they can exploit to assault American society, Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa wish to expose the weakness and moral bankruptcy of those who appease them as much as they wish to assault Trump’s America." . . . More

NEWS: Joe Biden Interview Goes South Quickly – He Starts Reading Script And CNN Anchor Covers For Him

Key Takeaways:

• Joe Biden struggled in an interview with Anderson Cooper, opting to read from a script.
• CNN’s Cooper appears to cover for Biden, prompting him and refusing to ask real questions.
• Biden called Trump “incompetent” even as he couldn’t finish a single thought.

 

Conservatives Post.    . . . "Joe Biden finally got out of the basement to do an interview… from his living room.
"In a friendly interview with CNN, he struggled to finish his thoughts.
"Anderson Cooper decided to step in and help the ailing Biden, prompting him.
"But it seemed like Biden had to revert to an obvious script:  
"Anderson Cooper had the pleasure of watching Joe Biden sputter out of control as he tried to slam Donald Trump.
""It was obvious that Biden was reading from some pre-written script, with talking points—trying to accuse Trump for all the COVID deaths in America.
"(Apparently, the Democrat governors and mayors have no blame, nor does China—who let the disease loose.)
" 'Cooper doesn’t even bother grilling the Democrat or try even ask him an original question. He just sits there, like a liberal lapdog, giving Biden time to figure out what he’s trying to say.

"The best part, though, is when Biden actually calls Trump “incompetent.”
"Wow. This guy can’t even finish his own statements off a script, yet he calls the president incompetent.
"I wonder if Joe was able to catch Trump’s 70-minute long speech from last night?
"Will Biden be able to give that kind of speech in this election? Could he even stay up late enough to listen to all of Trump’s speech?
"The Democrats are running on a platform that’s entirely anti-Trump. They slam Trump over COVID but haven’t provided a single alternative solution to the problem.
"They blame Trump for the disease, even though it’s China who is to blame.
"Democrats especially ignore the many mistakes they made at the state and city level, as in New York and California’s disasters.
"Perhaps Biden is better off not attacking Trump. Each time he does, Joe looks the worse for it."

Democrats want to script Joe's conferences. Naaa. He'll be oh off script; trust him.

We protest to get our voices heard, we protest to show that not just Blacks are tired of what’s going on…”

‘They’ll shoot me!’ Joe Biden slammed for ‘sick’ joke in Kenosha after police shooting  "Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been slammed for insensitivity after he joked “they’ll shoot me” at a community event called to discuss the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
"Long before he hit the 2020 campaign trail, Biden had a reputation as a gaffe machine. His latest clanger, though, left pundits groaning.
"Speaking at a community meeting in Kenosha on Thursday, Biden explained his tax plan to voters, promising not to raise rates for low- and middle-income Americans, and vowing to slap the country’s biggest corporations with tax hikes. Wrapping up his spiel on corporate 
tax, Biden quipped: “I’m not gonna lay it out for you. I won’t now because they’ll shoot me.”
. . . 
"Ill-advised jokes weren’t the only snafus the former vice-president’s trip generated though. When an audience member took the stand to question the Democrat, she opened her statement by saying that she’d be going off a “script” she held in her hand. The soundbite fueled speculation that Biden’s team vetted audience members before the questions-and-answers session, and only approved scripted questions."

Internet EXPLODES When Girl Refuses to Ask Biden Question She Was Told to Read Off Piece of Paper

New Narrative: Democrats, Media Team Up To Blame Trump For Riots

Daily Caller

. . . "CNN’s Don Lemon called for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to stop ignoring the rioting in August, adding that Biden should suggest the incidents are due to Trump.
“He’s [Biden] got to come out and talk about it. He’s got to do a speech like [former President] Barack Obama did about race,” Lemon said. “He’s got to come out and tell people that he is going to deal with the issue of police reform in this country.”
“And that what’s happening now is happening under Donald Trump’s watch – on Donald Trump’s watch. And when he is the president, [Democratic California Sen.] Kamala Harris is the vice president, then they will take care of the problem. But guess what, the rioting has to stop.”
. . . 
Lemon praised Biden for blaming Trump after the former vice president’s second statement, saying he put Trump “on his heels.”
“We need to hear our leaders denouncing the violence in our streets,” Lemon said. “Denouncing it. We need to hear them tell us the truth that rioting divides instead of unites. But this president can’t say that. He cannot denounce the violence. He just cannot. He cannot admit that it divides instead of unites… Election Day is just 63 days away. He’s desperate and he desperately needs to change the subject.”
"Other media personalities and Democrats have pushed the blame on Trump for riots, too." . . .

The plan going forward now that this accusation has appeared in print will be to ignore the rebuttals; they never happened. Next will come the snide accusations about our troops being considered "losers" by this president, with his remarks about the McCain captivity being played many times with the help of Hollywood's resources. TD

President Trump Outraged Over Report Claiming He Mocked Fallen Soldiers

A statement from the Atlantic that they "stand by their story" should appear in three...two... one...

The Political Insider  "On Thursday night, President Donald Trump thoroughly denounced a story by The Atlantic that cited anonymous sources claiming he called America’s fallen soldier heroes “suckers” and “losers.”
“ 'To think that I would make statements negative to our military and our fallen heroes … it is a disgraceful situation by a magazine that’s a terrible magazine,” Trump said. “I don’t read it, but I just heard about it.”

"Trump made his comments at Andrews Air Force Base after returning late Thursday from a campaign rally in Wisconsin.
"“It’s a total lie; it’s fake news. It’s a disgrace, and frankly its a disgrace to your profession,” Trump told reporters as he exited Air Force One.
"The Atlantic cited anonymous sources in a Thursday story who claimed that in 2018, Trump did not want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the site of Battle of Belleau Wood while in Paris because he was worried about his hair in the rain.
"The sources claimed Trump expressed that the cemetery was “filled with losers” and that the fallen soldiers were “suckers” for being killed.
“ 'They made it up and probably it’s a couple of people that have been failures in the administration that I got rid of and I couldn’t get rid of them fast enough,” the President said. “Or it was just made up, but it’s unthinkable.”
"Trump explained that his presence at the ceremony at the cemetery was canceled because of unsafe weather for flight. He added that a motorcade was out of the question because French police would have to shut down parts of Paris to make the trip happen." . . . Full article

John Bolton’s Book Refutes Claims In Anonymously Sourced Atlantic Hit Piece Against Trump  . . . "Meanwhile, the anonymous sources claiming President Trump disparaged fallen soldiers are under fire, being urged to come forward and put their names to their accusations, rather than hiding behind the Atlantic like cowards.
“ 'The sources in the Atlantic story should go on the record, if they want people to believe them over Trump,” CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson tweeted. “Otherwise, the president’s supporters will largely disbelieve this story.” . . .   More...

Here's How We Know The Atlantic's Hit Piece on Trump Is Pure Fiction

. . . The media has largely reported on this story as though it were true or at least likely to be true.

. . . "Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, called The Atlantic story B.S. on Twitter, “I was actually there and one of the people [who were] part of the discussion – this never happened. I have sat in the room when our President called family members after their sons were killed in action and it was heart-wrenching,” she said. “These were some of the moments I witnessed the President show his heart and demonstrate how much he respects the selfless and courageous men and women of our military. I am disgusted by this false attack' .” . . .

. . . "While Trump’s supporters have countered many claims in Bolton’s memoir, it’s beyond dispute that, had Trump actually made the remarks alleged in The Atlantic‘s smear piece, Bolton would have had every incentive to include them in his description of the events.
"Documents released as the result of a FOIA request also debunked the allegation that weather wasn’t the true reason behind his canceled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery." . . .

Joe Biden should apologize to President Trump for being so desperate as to rely on a debunked story based on anonymous sources to launch an attack.

Blow Dryer Rebellion: Angry beauty parlor–owners hang blow dryers, curling irons from tree near Nancy Pelosi's home

After all, the rules that keep salons shut are not observed by the elites.  Just little people have to play by those oppressive rules. 

Monica Showalter  "How do you know a movement has caught fire?

"When the symbols start appearing.  Everyday symbols, placed preposterously, mockingly, giving a scandal a name and associating it with the tangible, the popular.  It's very effectively used in Latin America, where housewives in Chile started the practice, banging on pots and pans to protest the communist Allende-Castro puppet regime's signature socialist food shortages.  Coat hangers for abortion supporters, underwear for Clinton protesters — when it happens, it's a popular movement that's taken off. 

"And in this case, the instrument is blow dryers and curling irons, and the target is House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who turned up at an expensive San Francisco hair salon to get her hair done, not even wearing a mask, while everyone else had to stay home, and every salon had to legally remain shut, ostensibly out of fear of COVID, an old crisis that has since peaked.  The unused blow dryers are now turning up in trees, as loony decorations, a tangible symbol to show that the public is outraged.  And that's one heck of a memorable protest." . . . 

Gov. Kristi Noem Extends Offer to Salon Owner Smeared by Pelosi   . . . "Asked by Carlson if she thinks she'll stay in San Francisco, where she's been for 12 years, Kious said she doubts it. And it pains her because she thought this was her community. But ever since the Pelosi controversy, her Yelp page has been inundated with bad reviews, and she's received hateful threats, including one that warned her they'd burn her salon down. 

"Gov. Kristi Noem, who watched Kious's interview, took sympathy on her situation and said that South Dakota would welcome her with open arms." . . .

You knew this was coming, didn't you?  San Fran Mayor Blames ‘Dictator’ Trump For Pelosi’s Salon Fiasco….   Video