I’m not sure there’s any other way to put it. A few minutes ago, Conway told Chris Wallace, on Fox News Sunday, that she—presumably on behalf of Donald Trump—rejects democracy. Wallace brought up the White House’s policy of seeking to prevent potential witnesses from testifying in the House impeachment inquiry, and then asked whether that would continue now that the “full House” has authorized the process.
“Fact check,” Conway replied. It wasn’t the full House, but only the Democrats, she said. Let that sink in a minute. Last time I checked my copy of the Constitution, when a majority of our elected representatives votes in favor of a matter, that means that body has passed it—even if no one from Kellyanne Conway’s party is on board. I wonder if she’d also say that the “full American people” didn’t elect Donald Trump, given that only 46% of voters cast a ballot for him, and given that he lost the popular vote by 3 million. I’m waiting for her to connect those dots. Not really, of course.
The point is this: remember that nothing, ever, that goes against the interests of Donald Trump will be pronounced legitimate by anyone who works for Donald Trump—at least if they want their employment to continue. There is no principle of democracy or constitutionality they won’t throw overboard in service to their overlord. Any journalists interacting with a Trump employee who don’t recognize that will be unable to do their job effectively. And that describes too many in our media today.
Ian Reifowitz is the author of The Tribalization of Politics: How Rush Limbaugh’s Race-Baiting Rhetoric on the Obama Presidency Paved the Way for Trump (Foreword by Markos Moulitsas)
