As I wrote last night, Donald Trump's claim that President Obama founded ISIS is not only completely false, it's a way to "other" the President, imply he's a secret Muslim, and suggest to Trump's base that he is really a traitor.
Only the Orange One can save us from the Kenyan Usurper and his chosen successor. That is Trump's message.
Which is why I'm grateful to Brian Stelter for actually saying aloud on CNN the words which should and must be said whenever one of these outlandish claims arises.
“On one level, that’s a reference to foreign policy decisions by the Obama administration,” Stelter said. “On another level, that is a coded message suggesting the president of the United States is a traitor.”
“That’s what that is. It is a coded message. When we repeat that message and then we come on the air and fact check it, some people just take away the idea that it is true. They just hear it, and believe it,” he continued. “In fact, it reinforces people’s beliefs in some cases.”
Slate's Josh Voorhees reinforced that in a post earlier today.
“More than anything, Trump has built his campaign on (white) America’s fears of the other, and what better way for him to harness those than by othering the sitting president of the United States, be it by questioning his citizenship, his faith, or his loyalty. It doesn’t matter to Trump whether his wild-eyed accusations are true; it doesn’t matter to him whether they’re offensive. All that matters to him is casting an illusion his supporters want to believe in.
This is what makes Trump so dangerous. His desire to whip up a clamoring mob in order to win is a cynical, evil, fascistic strategy. He does not have one single positive idea for his supporters to get around. He has built his entire candidacy on a foundation of destruction, not building a positive movement around policy.
