The News Not Noise Letter: Vance’s Synthetic Truth
JD Vance takes a stand for delusion. Plus: gunman charged after potential Trump assassination attempt, hate groups arrive in Springfield, and Fox News's future in the balance.
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War On Reality: In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, vice presidential hopeful Sen. JD Vance uttered one of the most stunning sentences of this election cycle: “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.” He went on to say he means he’s “creating the American media focusing on it.” Vance was justifying sharing debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating residents’ cats. These comments show that Trump’s allies are moving beyond “alternative facts” to embracing deliberate fictions – including nativist, dangerous falsehoods – to scare voters and keep Trump in the headlines. They’re also symptomatic of a larger phenomenon: we are inundated with new digital brands masquerading as journalism outlets, which are actually paid to push an agenda or get someone elected. These have sprouted up on the right and the left, and contribute to the public’s general sense that facts can’t be trusted. The information space is becoming a war zone, and it’s harder than ever for consumers to know who or what to believe. (For all the criticism of legacy media – it does have standards and, if you look, you can figure out who’s paying them.) So we have a question for you:
Real World Impacts: Vance and Trump’s falsehoods are having direct and dire consequences. CNN reports that two Springfield elementary schools were evacuated today and two colleges moved to remote classes – because of bomb and shooting threats. Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine deployed state troopers to schools over these threats. DeWine and Springfield Mayor Rob Rue deny any evidence of Haitian immigrants eating animals. Gov DeWine defended Springfield’s immigrant community whom he says “came here to work.” He said the conspiracy is “unfortunate” and “ridiculous,” and denounced the “hate groups” including the KKK, spreading leaflets and marching Springfield.
Apparent Assassination Attempt? Authorities say they don’t yet know the motive of a 58-year-old man who was arrested after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump on Sunday. They say the suspect hid in the bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida with an AK-47–style rifle before he was spotted by a Secret Service agent who opened fire. GPS data shows his phone on the property for 12 hours before he was detected, and that he was within 500 feet of the former president – though he never had Trump in his sights and did not fire. Authorities are unsure whether he acted alone. He was indicted Monday morning on two federal gun charges.
What Happened? Trump made a last-minute decision to visit his golf course. The outing was not on his official schedule. When the Secret Service fired on the gunman, he fled the scene. Investigators found an AK-47–style rifle, a scope, and a GoPro on the scene. After a witness shared a picture of the suspect’s car, the Martin County sheriff’s office spotted and arrested the suspect.
Who is the Shooter? The shooter is from North Carolina and recently moved to Hawaii. He’s publicly shared that he voted for Trump in 2016 but became disillusioned and registered as an unaffiliated voter; then supported Tulsi Gabbard in 2020; expressed support for Nikki Haley; donated to some Democratic candidates; and voted in Democratic primaries in 2024. At some point he became intensely passionate about Ukraine, and tried to organize foreign fighters to oppose Russia on the ground. His son told news outlets that his dad is “not a violent person” and that the suspect is “a loving and caring father, and honest hardworking man.”
Blame Game: Trump and his allies blame Democratic rhetoric for the apparent assassination attempt, saying the left’s characterization of Trump as dangerous to democracy has incited political violence. (VP Harris and President Biden both denounced political violence and expressed relief that Trump was unharmed. Biden and Trump had what the White House called a “cordial conversation” after the incident.) Meanwhile there’s criticism of the Secret Service – for allowing a gunman to get so close to the president – and praise for catching him without incident.
Trivia: US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe is the lead prosecutor in this case. As fate would have it, he is a Haitian immigrant. Born in Port-au-Prince, he came to the US as a teenager and served in the US Marines.
Campaign Updates:
Harris’s Blue Wall Blitz: This week, Vice President Kamala Harris is campaigning in the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. She’ll sit for a “fireside chat” with the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia on Tuesday, then join Oprah for a livestream event in the Detroit metro area Wednesday before hosting a rally in Madison on Friday. There are now hints of a post-debate bounce for Harris.
Trump’s Packed Week: Meanwhile, former President Trump is introducing his sons’ new cryptocurrency exchange company Monday evening at Mar-a-Lago before rallying in Michigan on Tuesday; New York Wednesday; and North Carolina on Saturday.
Surprise Endorsement: Seventeen former Ronald Reagan staffers endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket today and said they believed if Reagan were alive, he would too.
No Deal on Funding: Speaker Mike Johnson appears to have made no progress yet on a spending deal to avert a government shutdown. The shutdown deadline is September 30.
TikTok Case: TikTok had its day in federal court. Lawyers for the company argued that the law targeting TikTok illegally singles them out and exceeds Congressional authority. The judges didn’t seem too friendly to this argument, one calling it “blinkered.” The US government says TikTok is a national security risk; we can’t detail their evidence because it’s classified. If the court finds for the US government, TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance will have to either sell TikTok or end US operations by January 19, 2024. Government lawyers asked the judges to rule before Dec 6, offering time for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court before the January deadline.
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Murdoch Battle: We wonder what Logan Roy would have to say about this: the battle for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire began today in Nevada. 93-year-old Murdoch wants to change a family trust to leave control of his assets to his oldest son Lachlan, who currently heads Fox News. Three of his other children are suing to retain equal voting shares in the company. The entire proceedings are closed to the public (ironic, given so much of the family’s wealth comes from tabloids exposing the private affairs of others). We do know this: Lachlan is politically conservative unlike some of Murdoch’s other heirs. Under Lachlan’s control, the Murdoch media empire would likely retain its current hard-right political bent. The outcome of this family case could impact our media environment for decades to come.
Abortion Ban Deaths: Georgia’s strict abortion ban has led to at least two “preventable” deaths, according to a new ProPublica report. (Warning: the report contains disturbing detail.) ProPublica shares the story of Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old medical assistant and mother of a 6-year-old son, who died from sepsis. Thurman became ill at home after a medication abortion and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The state’s maternal mortality review committee says there’s a “good chance” that Thurman’s death could have been prevented if doctors had performed a dilation & curettage procedure to complete her abortion sooner. In Georgia, performing this procedure can land a doctor in prison for up to 10 years.
Mahsa Amini Anniversary: Monday marks the second anniversary of the killing of Mahsa “Jina” Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman killed by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly. Amini’s killing sparked massive, monthslong demonstrations in Iran, and the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests killed at least 551 people and imprisoned thousands more. Women in Iran have even been beaten and imprisoned for subversive social media posts, but they continue resisting oppression, including by going outside without covering their hair despite strict bans.
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Question: regarding the death of Amber Thurman, can a state entity be held liable or responsible for her death by passing laws that create the environment wherein doctors are not able to perform their duty? Or to that point, can doctors bring a legal case that the state is violating the medical imperative to do harm and save a life? I mean it’s general practice that if a doctor fails to aid in saving a life they are therefore liable and could lose their license to practice.
When I was certified as a first responder, aside from Good Samaritan laws, I was required to assist when in the presence of a life threatening situation and failure to do so would land me in jail. How is this any different?
I k is it’s an easy slip to make BUT the former president is not the president as the newsletter says in discussing how close the golf club guy was to the FORMER president. He never deserved the title and certainly does not now