America's Intellectual "Bloodbath"

If a censored tree falls in the forest, do we still have to misquote it?

Trump supporters in Dayton last weekend

I planned to leave the “bloodbath” topic alone, thinking it was over. Donald Trump gives speech, mentions “bloodbath”; Democratic PAC-funded oppo outfit circulates video out of context; lots of media dopes from Joe Scarborough to the Washington Post fall for it; critics catch up to the scam. Embarrassment ensues. Fin du Media Cycle. Haven’t these people watched The Three Stooges? If you somehow throw a pie in your own face, don’t do it again.

But, they do. Post-debunk, Substack’s own Robert Reich denounced the “bloodbath” speech as straight out “Hitler’s playbook.” Former Hillary Clinton lawyer Marc Elias roared about Trump’s plan to foment “another insurrection, maybe a bloodbath, to use a phrase that he recently used.” This episode is already on its third or fourth life, and will have more.

To recap: Trump gave a speech last Sunday in Dayton, Ohio. The “bloodbath” portion concerned a promise to slap a 100% tariff on foreign cars, and the quote was, “If I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath.” Acyn, a media chop shop funded by blue-party PAC Meidas Touch, put out a 17-second tweet, which the Biden-Harris campaign shortened to nine seconds:

This triggered the usual outrage battery. Biden spokesperson James Singer said it was clear Trump “wants another January 6th.” David Corn said Trump “endorsed political violence.” Even Hillary Clinton slid her crypt open to contribute: