Late Saturday afternoon brought something which has become almost as certain as death and taxes in the last 11 months–an unhinged tweetstorm from Donald Trump.
He saw fit to rail about the disaster that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had been under Obama holdover Richard Cordray–who abruptly resigned on Friday.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
Check out the recent Editorial in the Wall Street Journal @WSJ about what a complete disaster the @CFPB has been under its leader from previous Administration, who just quit!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
He also saw fit to take a potshot at CNN, and praise Fox News.
.@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
But fear not. Trump found an alternative that he felt he needed to share with his followers.
Wow, even I didn’t realize we did so much. Wish the Fake News would report! Thank you. https://t.co/ApVbu2b0Jd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017
The quoted tweet points to an obscure, rabidly pro-Trump blog called “MAGA Pill.” It’s a play on “red pill,” a term used by far-right figures for moments in which people reject liberalism and veer hard right. MAGA Pill was quoting a supposed list of Trump’s accomplishments since taking office.
THE President Donald Trump Accomplishment List Website#AmericaFirsthttps://t.co/AEbz4PRJZE
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) November 25, 2017
ThinkProgress took a deep dive into MAGA Pill, and discovered that it is a steaming pile of conspiracy theories, fake news, and outright lunacy. For instance, in October, it suggested that when Lady Gaga joined forces with all five living former presidents to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief, she had a darker purpose in mind.
The Spirit Cooker presiding over the Globalist cabal.
It's a sick representation of what we are fighting against.#MAGA @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/jjDcHLbQI3— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) October 22, 2017
According to a number of conspiracy theory peddlers–most notably Alex Jones–Gaga’s halftime show during Super Bowl 51 was a Satanic ritual known as “spirit cooking”–supposedly tied to Pizzagate.
It also claims that the government is lying to us about the Vegas massacre.
Do you believe the narrative that this guy just 'snapped' and did this alone?#vegasshooter #vegasstrong #LasVagasShooting
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) October 3, 2017
They don't want there to be a debate about the vegas shooter. There's a Massive online campaign effort going on to suppress conversation
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) October 3, 2017
As more evidence of how unhinged this outfit is, it recently cobbled together a flow chart that takes nearly every conspiracy theory floating around the Internet and rolls it into one steaming pile of nonsense.
Interesting 'Flow Chart' of #TheSwamp pic.twitter.com/5THoB7J5XV
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) November 18, 2017
And as if you needed more proof these people are living in an alternative universe to match their alternative facts, it saw fit to share a video by Pizzagate peddler and pseudojournalist Liz Crokin, one of many far-right figures who believes there are pedophiles lurking under every rock. In this video, Crokin claims that if authorities take a close look at Anthony Weiner’s laptop, they’ll find a tape of Hillary Clinton having sex with an underage girl.
.@LizCrokin is #WOKEAF
Hidden Files on Anthony Wiener's laptop to bring down the Cabal.Watch Full Vid: https://t.co/Aw4AKPgxRM pic.twitter.com/QHk66zYoOf
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) November 25, 2017
As I write this on Sunday morning, this video is currently pinned to the top of MAGA Pill’s Twitter feed.
Not long after Trump gave MAGA Pill his blessing, it crashed. To hear the site owner talk, it was more proof that the deep state is trying to suppress the truth about how Trump is making America great again.
Wow… How is that possible @Domaindotcom ?? Coincidence? pic.twitter.com/B8YG09FFDs
— MAGAPILL ?️ (@MAGAPILL) November 26, 2017
Gee, you don’t suppose it could be because the server couldn’t handle the massive surge in traffic that came from Trump tweeting his approval?
We already knew that Trump’s idea for what is real news should unnerve any fair-minded American. Remember, his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, helms the biggest fake news and conspiracy theory mill of all, Breitbart News. Additionally, Jones reportedly has Trump’s ear.
But it says a lot about Trump that he is willing to lend his imprimatur to this garbage. Remember, folks, when you are president, retweets are endorsements. If he sees fit to endorse this, we should all shudder.
(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)