BOTH THE MEDIA AND OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS MUST PUBLICIZE TRUMP’S MENTAL DECLINE
QUICK READ: Trump is declining mentally. He sleeps through meetings, can’t remember Hakeem Jeffries’ name, and claims to have stopped non-existent conflicts between “Cambodia and Armenia” (4,000 miles apart), “Azerbaijan and Albania” (meaning Armenia), and “Pakistan and Iran” (meaning India). Where is the legacy media in all this? Does media consolidation in the hands of a few billionaires undermine a democracy whose government might vote to tax billionaires?
CONTENTS:
BACKGROUND
How much is the legacy media complicit in the decline of our democracy?
During the last several weeks, Trump’s mental decline has been obvious:
He was seen sleeping through meetings;
He couldn’t recall House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ name when discussing the shutdown, calling him as “a very nice gentleman who I didn’t really know;”
He claimed to have resolved nonexistent conflicts “between Cambodia and Armenia” (4,000 miles apart), Azerbaijan and Albania (he meant Armenia), and Pakistan and Iran (he meant India);
He even confused tests assessing confusion with IQ tests and bragged his MRI had “the best result [doctors had] ever seen.”
Nevertheless, legacy media either entirely ignored that Trump might be suffering from strokes or creeping dementia or created false equivalences with Democrats–maintaining every President, even Obama, got fatigued.
These distortions are the direct result of the ultra-rich’s ongoing media consolidation.
What billionaire media moguls fear most are governmental regulation of their business interests and increased taxes. Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people is the best way to protect these interests.
Doing so, however, keeps important information from the American people and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. It’s especially outrageous, given the media’s pile-on immediately after the 2023 Trump-Biden debate and its relentless subsequent coverage of Biden’s supposed mental infirmities.
Our MoCs must shine a light on these distortions, publicizing the media’s silence, Trump’s obvious mental decline, and the need to break up these media monopolies.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Maxine Dexter (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Janelle Bynum (OR-05)
DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Hiding Trump’s decline from the American people keeps important information from us and distorts the marketplace of ideas underpinning our democracy. Legacy media outlets must speak out about Trump’s obvious mental decline. Our Members of Congress must be a part of this conversation–stressing both the legacy media’s distortions and reasons for Trump’s recent mental lapses. They must also commit to using our anti-trust laws to break up these media monopolies and restore a true marketplace of ideas.
FURTHER READING
https://www.thedailybeast.com/confused-trump-79-admits-he-has-no-idea-why-he-needed-an-mri/
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-has-the-media-become-so-vulnerable
https://geripal.org/whats-wrong-with-question-does-donald-trump-have-dementia/
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/office-hours-why-isnt-the-media-reporting-dec
