Trump's Personal Kryptonite: Fact Checking
He's become the 2024 campaign's "not so artful dodger"
For 50 years, each election year, the hard hitting CBS TV program “60 Minutes” has done a program featuring interviews with the Republican and Democratic nominees for president. This year, both candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump accepted the program’s invitation.
Then Trump cancelled.
Why?
Trump learned the show - which is the gold standard for investigative broadcast journalism - was going to fact check him. Just as it does with every interview it conducts and just as it did for every one of the interviews with presidential candidates from both parties - incumbents and challengers alike - over the past 50 years.
Trump turned around and ran in the opposite direction, like a truck load of his personal kryptonite had just been delivered to Mar-a-Lago.
Fact checking. For the ex-President of the United States who will go down in history as the biggest pathological liar to ever occupy the White House, fact checking is now his kryptonite. Certainly a bridge too far.
Kryptonite.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has the same aversion to fact checking. Apparently it is contagious if you get too close to Trump. You heard Vance squeal like a stuck pig at the vice presidential debate October 1, when working reporters had the temerity to act - not like potted plants but - like real journalists and corrected his misstatements of fact, his lies, actually.
Vice President Harris, of course, went ahead and did the “60 Minutes” interview as agreed and scheduled. And why wouldn’t she? She has nothing to fear from a fact check.
She also conducted five other major media interviews last week, in less than a week:
The View;
Anderson Cooper’s podcast;
Howard Stern;
Stephen Colbert;
and the “Call Her Daddy” podcast with 5 million, mostly female, Gen Z listeners.
Great strategy for reaching largely undecided voters who often listen to non-traditional media, and women voters who have as much at stake in this election as anyone ever has.
Of course Trump’s campaign attacked Harris for all those interviews. Trump’s campaign complained that Harris doesn’t do interviews.
Um. OK. She’s literally doing six big ones with lots of room for tough questions and follow up questions, practically as they spoke, but if that’s going to be their line of attack, sure, go for it.
Kind of explains why fact checking isn’t their thing and why it would scare him so, though, doesn’t it?
Trump is the last person who should be complaining about somebody else avoiding questions and interviews. This is a man who mostly reserves his “sit down” interviews for Sean Hannity, and other right wing cheerleaders.
Iowans had a preview in 2023 of Trump’s kryptonite-like fear of questions, challenges, and fact checking. For example:
He refused to speak at the Des Moines Register Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair that year, prior to the 2024 Iowa Republican Caucuses. Candidates often mix it up with voters there who shout questions or challenges from the crowd. Trump acted like that stage was made of kryptonite and kept his distance.
He refused to do anything at the Iowa State Fair that year that might expose him to a question he couldn’t quickly walk away from if that’s what he needed to do. He roamed the grounds, shaking hands, but also kept the option to high tail it away - with his security detail clearing a path - if he encountered a troublesome question.
He also bailed out of every presidential candidate debate during the Republican 2024 caucus and primary season. His personal kryptonite - non-softball questions, follow ups, and fact checking were everywhere that season for the candidates who did show up.
So Trump hid elsewhere.
Let me ask a question: Do you know anyone who tells the truth who objects to being fact checked?
I don’t. They welcome it.
Trump and Vance consider it grounds for loudly complaining about it, dodging major events because of it, and cancelling major TV appearances over it.
There are a number of important and special qualities the presidency requires of those who hold that office. Credibility, trustworthiness, and courage are three of them.
Trump, the pathological liar, whose word cannot be trusted, and who, when faced with a choice between “fight or flight,” has always chosen “flight” has none of them.
Not being able to believe a thing he says is really annoying and frustrating when he’s a candidatet for presiden. If he regains the presidency, however, it will be down right dangerous.
SWAQ: A NEW FEATURE AT THE END OF EACH OF MY WEEKLY COLUMNS - NEW THIS MONTH: “SEALED WITH A QUIP.” I’m doing something new, starting this month, a final brief quip or pithy observation at the end of each column. The aim is to provide a snappy or witty observation on a current political matter. Hopefully, it might even make you smile.
Let’s see how this goes, I’ll appreciate your feedback:
SWAQ: SEALED WITH A QUIP - 10/13/2024
It took the Republican Party a mere 164 years to go from “Honest Abe” to “Don’t Fact Check Me” Trump.
Barry: Everything you have said is true. That is a good quip.
Iowans still favor this criminal by 4% (Fact Check: Selzer/Des Moines Register).
I can only assume that Reynolds and the Iowa Guard will be visiting you in January. Abbott will be sending the Texas Guard to my house if they are not busy stopping the "millions" coming across the border. Maybe I can meet you in a camp in the coming months.