Political Irony

I just want to pass on a Newsweek article that might not get the attention it deserves.

Wednesday at one of his rallies, Trump directly passed on an email from a Russian disinformation campaign designed to manipulate the US election. It is an email that is supposedly from Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal (Trump’s favorite whipping boy), and it says that Clinton goofed up on Benghazi. In other words it is a GOP wet dream, and something that Trump would be unable to resist. Finally (conservatives cackle) evidence proving that Clinton is totally responsible for Benghazi!

Except, that email wasn’t written by Blumenthal at all. How do we know? Because the words were taken from an article (in Newsweek) written by Kurt Eichenwald, who recognized his own writing when Trump read it out loud. Not only that, but the article by Eichenwald was not blaming Clinton, it was actually slamming the Republicans for trying to blame Clinton. The Russians had created a false email and leaked it.

Donald Trump quoted the email at a rally in Pennsylvania, announcing it was an email from Blumenthal (it wasn’t), whom he called “sleazy Sidney”. “This just came out a little while ago. I have to tell you this.” And he read the words taken from the Eichenwald article and delivered his money shot: “He’s now admitting they could have done something about Benghazi.” Trump then dramatically dropped the document on the floor, while the crowd chanted “Lock her up!”

So, either Trump is participating in a Russian disinformation campaign against our election, or he is so stupid he is being manipulated by that Russian disinformation campaign. Unfortunately for us, the speed with which Trump came out with this points to the former. Sad.