“I always wanted to get the Purple Heart,” Donald Trump said after a military veteran bestowed upon him his medal during a campaign stop. “This was much easier.”
Of course, these medals are not party favors.
“I fought in Iraq, was injured, and was awarded a Purple Heart,” Delaware congressional candidate Sean Barney tweeted. “No one should ever want a Purple Heart.”
This was just the most recent Trump scandal, on the heels of another, this time related to Trump’s statements about the gold star Khan family who spoke at the Democratic Convention. Notoriously, he criticized Mrs. Kahn for not speaking up, inferring her Islamic faith prohibited her from speaking. Compounding the chaos, he compared the Kahn’s loss to the sacrifices he made as a suit-wearing, briefcase carrying businessman.
Cherry on top? Then, he claimed the Kahn’s son would still be alive if he were President.
This caused even Sarah Palin’s son-in-law Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor recipient, to demand he apologize.
By the time you read this, there will undoubtedly be another Trump controversy that will have tongues wagging and keyboards humming, and he really ought to try to avoid all of these self-inflicted wounds. I’m not suggesting he stop attacking, or stop being Trump. (He didn’t get this far by simply playing it safe.) But Democrats are handing him such target-rich topics, he should win in a landslide. Instead of talking about Hillary Clinton, the Wikileaks scandal, the “rigged system” or the “establishment,” he keeps creating distracting sideshows. Even still, Trump’s “controversial statement of the day” won’t do much damage to the GOP nominee.
Though reporters love to speculate what it’ll take to get Trump voters to cool their passion for the candidate, they’re here to stay. Most supporters (yes, even the lukewarm ones) just shrug off Trump’s statements, ignore them, and move on. Why? Not because they’re hateful bigots or because they necessarily agree with Trump.
But because the double standard is so severe.
Hillary Clinton lied to the faces of the Benghazi victims’ families, shouted, “What difference does it make?” in Congressional hearings, and potentially is to blame for American deaths overseas. Director James Comey said she committed violations of national security and has not been honest with the American people. Reporters won’t deal honestly with the Clinton Foundation’s financial dealings or the fact that Hillary hasn’t make herself available to the press.
If the mainstream media actually did their job and covered Hillary’s corruption with the same enthusiasm that they cover Trump’s every syllable, voters might care more. As it is, everyone knows the game is rigged against conservatives. That means voters will cut Trump more slack than they otherwise would. This double standard is so severe, it inoculates American voters from turning their backs on Trump. As Trump rises, the media’s influence dwindles. He has single handedly neutralized their so-called reporting … especially since he’s the only person who’s somehow managed to take Hillary to task for her misdeeds.
I call that the “Double Standard Rebound Effect,” and the media needs to own it. They’re the ones who have emboldened Trump, being the street fighter that he is. When 16 talented Republican candidates stepped in front of Trump’s political wrecking ball, they were demolished like old buildings making way for one of Trump’s gleaming new towers. Back then, the media portrayed Trump as a fun novelty; now they call him Hitler.
That’s because the sad reality is sinking in for these “media elite.”
They’ve just gotten run over too.