Trump’s Virtual Town Hall: A Vehicle for Deception, Finger-Pointing and Threats

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On Sunday, Trump appeared on a Fox News televised virtual town hall session, using the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop.

The event was part of his reelection campaign, notably an attempt to boost his low public approval rating in key battleground states.

According to PRRI poll results published April 30,

“Trump’s favorability in battleground states has dropped substantially since March, from 53% to 38%,” adding:

“Trump’s favorability among non-college graduates in battleground states has dropped 20 percentage points between March and April (59% to 39%), putting it more in line with his favorability in 2019 (45%).”

Biden leads Trump in most national polls. The presumptive Dem presidential nominee leads in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin, states Trump won in 2016.

Both aspirants are virtually even in Ohio, one late April poll showing Biden with a one-point lead over Trump.

Since the late 19th century, Ohio has been the most notable bellwether state.

Presidential aspirants winning its popular and electoral college votes became US president 28 of 30 times.

The two exceptions were in 1960 when Ohioans chose Nixon over national winner JFK and in 1944 when Dewey won the state over FDR who won a fourth term in office.

Most often, as Ohio goes, so goes the nation in presidential elections.

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Biden ahead of Trump by a 49 – 43% margin in 11 swing states.

On which candidate is viewed as best able to handle a crisis, respondents favored Biden by a 47 – 38% margin.

On which aspirant is best able to deal with current crisis conditions, 45% of respondents said Biden v. 36% indicating Trump.

The November 2020 presidential election is shaping up to be a referendum on which candidate is perceived by voters as best able to handle current public health and economic conditions.

As of now, it’s Biden by a wide margin — despite no evidence suggesting he’s better able to handle things, just public opinion that’s key on election day.

On Sunday, Trump was his usual congenital lying self, falsely boasting to viewers that he’s “done more than any other president in the history of our country.”

At a time when the nation faces a public health crisis and economic collapse, he falsely claimed things are “all working out. You know, the numbers are heading in the right direction.”

He ducked questions on how his regime could aid small businesses and get tens of millions of unemployed Americans back to work, saying:

“(M)aybe there is something we can do.” It’s been pathetically little so far for ordinary people — while Wall Street and other corporate favorites were handed trillions of dollars of free money.

Claiming 2021 will be a “phenomenal economic year” ignored an ominous Thailand Medical News (TMN) report, warning that “people need to start preparing for the actual first wave” of COVID-19 outbreaks.”

TMN’s assessments of what’s going on have been accurate so far.

Looking ahead, it warned that what’s happening now is a “trial run” for what’s coming, adding:

The SARS-COV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 illness has been “adapt(ing), evolv(ing), and mutat(ing) to something more potent, virulent and omnipresent…as it passes from one person to another.”

“There are no known drugs that can actually treat the COVID-19 disease by having the efficacy to completely eradicate the coronavirus.”

Antibodies in recovered patients “are only short-lived and will not be able to protect against reinfections despite whatever that has been said as we are already witnessing numerous ‘recovered’ patients getting reinfected again.”

No single drug is likely to be effective in treating the coronavirus, “a combo of drugs” needed that will take time to develop.

Separately, Trump threatened to terminate the trade deal with China if it doesn’t buy around $200 billion more worth of US goods and services over the next two years as agreed on.

Given its weakened economy and global economic collapse that reduced its exports, China’s US purchases are likely to be considerably less than what Trump demands.

Bilateral relations are already greatly strained. If Trump pushes things too far, he’ll risk rupturing them.

Pompeo falsely claims “enormous evidence” that COVID-19 came from a Chinese biolab.

No evidence suggests it. More likely, it was made in the USA, released in an attempt to achieve its diabolical imperial aims domestically and geopolitically.

Notably they include wanting China, Russia, Iran, and other nations it doesn’t control weakened.

Throughout most of the post-WW II period, US efforts to enhance its global power weakened it instead because of endless wars and other hostile actions.

In contrast, Washington’s leading adversaries seek world peace, stability, and cooperative relations with other nations, threatening none.

They’re rising on the world stage while the US is a nation in decline because of its self-destructive policies and unwillingness to change.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Featured image is from Gage Skidmore


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Articles by: Stephen Lendman

About the author:

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

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