Donald Trump is the President of the United States. He was inaugurated on January 20, 2017 after beating Hillary Clinton in the general election on November 8, 2016. He ran on a campaign of populism and nationalism.
These are facts.
These are basic building blocks of history, meant to cement past events into our collective understanding.
Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway and the rest of the Trump Administration don’t want the press to report on these. Instead, they have their own set of “alternative facts” at the ready. These are what we should be using instead.
“Trump’s Inauguration was the biggest Inauguration in history!”
“Trump won by a landslide, he only lost the popular vote because five million ILLEGALS voted for Hillary!”
“Trump unified this Nation and Made America Great Again!”
That presidents and other politicians lie is not a revelation. Of course they lie. Obama’s administration and the people who went to bat for it lied when it said that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was a terrorist. Bush 43’s administration and supporters lied when it said there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The lies are part of the game.
What isn’t part of the game is the Trump Administration’s insistence — not suggestion, not hint or vague nudge — that the press must go along with these “alternative facts,” that the press must report them as ultimate truths — that to do otherwise hurts Trump’s feelings and damages the morale of a new administration trying to get on its feet.
What has been heartening over the past few weeks is watching as the media develops backbones before our very eyes. Like anyone not accustomed to radical acts, at first their attempts to stand up to Trump and his cronies have faltered. But progressively they’ve been getting stronger. And louder. And angrier. And now they’re forming guerrilla factions to seek out and expose truth — and I love it.
This is only sustainable if we support the media in their efforts.
This is only sustainable if we don’t ever let the Trump Administration get a foothold. Call out false claims. Squash “alternative facts.” This is more than just countering political spin, it’s about keeping us from getting Stockholm Syndromed into oblivion. We are stronger than them. Fight.