On Sunday, Trump said that he was too busy dealing with the pandemic to be able to throw the first pitch at the New York Yankees game on August 15th. There was just one problem.
When he abruptly announced on Sunday that he would not be throwing out the first pitch at the Yankees game August 15, Donald Trump claimed that it was because he couldn’t break his “strong focus” on the coronavirus pandemic and a host of other issues he’s never before had a problem ignoring. But the real reason he won’t be taking the mound next month is far simpler: He hadn’t actually been asked.
According to the New York Times, the president surprised both the Yankees and his own staff when he said during a press conference that he’d be tossing the opening pitch on the 15th next month—a day he hadn’t been invited to do so, and which evidently conflicted with something already on his schedule. It’s not clear what that prior engagement is, but aides—shocked by his announcement—“scrambled to let the ballclub know that he already had plans for that Saturday. “We will make it later in the season!” Trump promised in his tweet canceling the outing.
Why would Trump impulsively announce he’d been asked to throw a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game he hadn’t actually been invited to, on a date when he already had something on his schedule? Because Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert whose clear-eyed assessments of the coronavirus crisis contradict the president’s wishful thinking, was about to throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals home opener against the Yankees. Jealous of Fauci, and irritated that the public health expert is stealing the spotlight, Trump said an hour before the doctor’s first pitch Thursday that he, too, would be taking the rubber before a Yankees game. “Randy Levine is a great friend of mine from the Yankees,” the president said. “And he asked me to throw out the first pitch, and I think I’m doing that on August 15 at Yankee Stadium.”
Why do I think such a silly thing is worth mentioning? Because I really think it is such things, such impulsive and easily exposed lies about trivialities, that reveals that Trump is seriously cognitively challenged. I do not what is worse: that he knows he lies when lies or that he actually believes the lies he tells himself.
It says even more about his supporters, who wave away the thousands of times he has told easily disproven lies on subjects great and small.
@1, According to the Washington Post, as of 9th July, since occupying Wacko House, hair furor has lied 20,000 times (the Grauniad’s report, ‘Tsunami of untruths’: Trump has made 20,000 false or misleading claims). Which seems to reinforce your point… and it’s not just his “supporters” (which I read as “base”), but also the thugs (from rethugicans) and federal employees / contractors who enable him (e.g., the gestapo currently in Portland and being sent to other cities). Then there is all the federal judges he’s appointed and moscowmitch has had waved through…
Got another one. To decry cancel culture and the defund the police protests the White House sent out a press release out showing how bad these two things are for entertainment. A whole list of cop shows (the propaganda ones of the type of drop in with 10+ people to arrest one person), Paw Patrol (a kid animation series which happens to have police in one of the main roles) and Lego cancelling their police stations.
Well neither Paw Patrol is cancelled nor has Lego removed the police station from their city sets.
There is no problem there though. The people that both that press release was aimed at or the claim about to busy to pitch are essentially a conspiracy cult at the moment. They will only accept certain new sources as valid and ignore the rest.
@3, LOL (literally). Gizmodo’s report on that buffoonery, The Trump Administration Doesn’t Understand Memes. Broadly, there was an online viral joke to “defund Paw Patrol”; and Lego merely paused marketing its police station (they are still sold, just not currently being marketed). Teh dalekocrazy (originally-accidentally misspelled dalekocracy, rule by Daleks, or in this case, by wannabe-daleks) thoroughly misunderstood…
Not misunderstood, pure laziness born from the fact that the people who that these messages are aimed at will accept them at face value else it would have taken less time fact checking then it takes Trump flipping out because reality is not doing as he demands again.
@5, Poor wording on my part in @4, Sorry. Albeit I quibble with the suggestion they know how to, or ever try to do, any fact-checking, especially outside their own echo chamber.
It’s not just memes, and it’s not just BunkoBabies that don’t get it. Republicans just can’t popular culture without kicking their own teeth in. I remember when W. was running, they ran an ad trying to say Kerry feared yakuza taking over here more than Al Qaida. To illustrate “yakuza” over a background of orange and yellow stripes to evoke the Japanese war flags, or maybe Arizona, and the clash of a Chinese gong, was a picture of the cross/gun-toting priest Wolfwood from the anime Trigun, with clumsily shopped eyes from a Yu-gi-oh character. Since they also hate paying royalties, I suppose they preferred the cartoon figure over lifting yakuza characters from domestic movies like Black Rain. I guess it worked on their target audience, but it was a jaw-dropper among anime fans. lol
Or rather, a police dog. Actually, a police pup. Actually, a German Shepard pup who wears a police cap and coat. I don’t know if the police stuff is anything more than a costume. Paw Patrol does rescue and crisis management (lost baby whale, giant plant grows under the mayor, earthquake traps people, etc, etc) which never results in anyone being arrested . . .
. . . and I’m really overthinking this, I think.