Sunday Shows: Republican Math Never Adds Up
We watch so you never have to.
From supply side/“trickle down” economics to the Bush and Trump tax cuts to counting votes even for their own House leadership, Republicans are bad at math.
It was a running theme on the Sunday shows this week.
Alternative Math
Normally we don’t cover Fox Business’s MAGA Funhouse “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, but some things cannot go unmentioned. This time it was former Trump senior counselor and professional liar extraordinaire Kellyanne Conway.
Conway shared attendance numbers more overblown than old WrestleMania estimates for Trump’s appearance on Saturday at a Black church in Detroit.
CONWAY: Biden's not doing anything like that, look at the contrast of just this weekend. You've got Donald Trump in Detroit talking to 8,000 people at a Black church.
Eight thousand people? Was Kellyanne Conway also counting the victims of the Bowling Green Massacre? (Never Forget.) The only thing more ridiculous than this estimate, as Twitter users pointed out, was the lack of Black people at the Black church for Trump’s visit.
As PatriotTakes on Twitter also pointed out, some of the Black people in attendance were racking up frequent flyer miles.
Income Inequality Only Happens When Democrats Are In Charge
Another mathematical hazard for Republicans is economics. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds was on NBC’s “Meet The Press” to dodge questions on trade while calling for a return to Trump’s economy, something host Peter Alexander pointed out makes zero sense.
ALEXANDER: The debt rose by $8.4 trillion when Donald Trump was in office, and also the Fed chair, who Donald Trump himself selected, has said this week that the economy is “growing at a solid pace” and we have a “strong labor market.”
Republicans, because they were counting on a recession to help them get elected, have desperately resorted to borrowing progressive talking points.
DONALDS: Under Joe Biden's economy, their purchasing power is being destroyed by Joe Biden's radical inflation. Prices are up 20 percent across the board. So while unemployment might be low, wages adjusted for inflation are significantly down. How can a Black person get ahead when you have less disposable income today than you had in 2017, in 2018, in 2019?
Why stop there? Why haven’t wages adjusted for inflation for decades and Americans now have less disposable income than previous generations? The answer is because that conversation on income inequality would bring up decades of Republicans destroying unions, tax breaks/loopholes for billionaires and deregulations of corporations. This like when an abuser uses therapy-speak to manipulate and continue abuse.
Donalds also tried to polish Trump’s statement last week about Milwaukee, host of the 2024 Republican National Convention, being a “horrible city,” and Trump’s campaign saying he was talking about crime. After Peter Alexander pointed out that murders are 39 percent lower this year than last, Donalds deflected:
DONALDS: I think it's important for people to understand your murder rate may be down, but that doesn't mean that violent crime, et cetera, are also lower. Those are two different pieces of crime. Obviously, murder is the most heinous of them all.
ALEXANDER: Fine, but –
DONALDS: […] The reason why the RNC and President Trump want to go to Milwaukee is because we know there are voters in the state of Wisconsin, like voters all across America, who are frustrated with what has happened to our country under Joe Biden. […]
ALEXANDER: Again I – I apologize for the interruption. A lot to get to. We should note it's not just the murder rate. The overall violent crime has fallen during Biden's presidency. It is now at a near 50-year low.
Feelings are more powerful than facts for Republicans. It’s the only way we can explain trotting out the same imaginary crime wave when facts easily debunk it every time.
Anything Byron Donalds Can Do, Tim Scott Can Do It Worse
We conclude with South Carolina Senator and Lindsey Graham rival for Trump’s affection, Tim Scott.
Appearing in front of a bookshelf full of his unsold books on ABC’s “This Week,” Scott tried the same lie about rising crime as Donalds with similar results.
SCOTT: Under Joe Biden we've seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime. And so focusing on ways for us to reduce that crime means getting four more years of Donald Trump. […]
JONATHAN KARL: Actually, senator, as I – as you probably know, the latest stats on violent crime and on the murder rate, they're actually down this past year.
Tim Scott then muttered the same bullshit about Chicago, after the mildest correction from Karl.
The subject then shifted to something that would affect crime: The Supreme Court overturning the ban on bump stocks. Karl noted that Scott previously said a congressional ban would sail through easily in the aftermath of the Las Vegas mass shooting, and asked if he’d still support it. Scott, with what we’re assuming is the same suaveness that wooed his fiancé, tried to change the subject and also answer a different question.
SCOTT: Well, I'm strongly in support of the Second Amendment. But what we're going to do in the party, and President Trump said it on Thursday, we’re going to focus –
KARL: I asked about the ban on bump stocks, not the Second Amendment.
Smoother than Josh Hawley kissing a human, Tim.
Have a week.
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With all the subtlety of a speeding brick wall, the NYT shows their closeted relationship with tRump.
“Biden Campaign Ad Paints Trump as a Felon”
Paints? Really? Usually when one “paints” their opponent, it means they are exaggerating, or more to the point, lying about their opponent (aka smearing, etc.).
TRUMP IS A FELON, YOU DICKWEEDS! Biden is not painting him as a felon. Sheesh! Either it’s done on purpose, or along with law schools and education schools, we need to shutdown half of the schools of journalism.
"Why are you lying?"
"What you just said is a lie."
"Please answer my question honestly, if you lie again I will cut your mic and move to the next guest."
If you cannot do this, then you are not ready to interview modern Republicans. This is no longer the era of "spin", this is flat out weaponized bullshit, streaming at you from a firehose, and if you don't snap back hard you are part of the problem. All those viewers saw is "wow, Republicans are pointing out that things are, in fact, quite shitty under Sleepy Joe!" rather than "wow, Republicans are spewing bullshit, maybe they are mentally ill, how can I vote for such people?"