In the New Republic’s latest issue, they’ve decided to delve into the realm of science fiction, creating a Trumpian dystopia. On a mission to further vilify Trump, they featured a piece by ex-CNN host Brian Stelter brimming with dire predictions and unfounded reassumptions about a hypothetical second Trump term.
Stelter’s piece, “Revenge and Freedom From Fact: On the media in a fascist America,” is a laughable, the pot calling the kettle black moment. His presentation of an “American fascist” scenario under Trump’s leadership lacks substantial facts but thrives on imagination. It’s riddled with wild, far-fetched, and pretend scenarios, mostly fueled by his personal biased temperament.
Pick through Stelter’s fictional scenario, and you find facts repackaged into a illogical narrative. He paints a picture of brave reporters being villainized and censored by Trump, parallel to imagining that Twitter trolls are the main advisors to the White House.
Ironically, he ventures into the hypotheticals of “real” news representation by Fox and Newsmax, completely disregarding the realities of Trump’s first term. Truthfully, the Trump administration had its hands full managing crowd control at the White House, let alone plotting an elaborate scheme against journalists.
The roller-coaster of rhetoric doesn’t stop there; it becomes more bizarre at every twist and turn. It reels you in with an episode involving a local TV reporter assaulted by MAGA supporters, a situation clearly inspired by the Jussie Smollett incident. There’s even a dramatic scene where the wife of a CBS anchor is accidentally shot and seriously injured by police responding to a swatting incident at their home.
Stelter’s writing reaches for extremes, and intermittently includes severe crackdown on media and tech giants swaying towards the right, all under the guise of his imaginary Trumpian world. Yet, in an unnecessary jab, he adds a scenario where Target starts selling extra-large American flags while Disney theme parks hold “American pride days.”
Despite the saucy theatrics, Stelter’s prophecy, crumbled under close scrutiny, is a stark contrast of reality. His imagined Trump world is the kind of alarmist fiction that diverts attention from the far more interesting narrative of Trump’s actual term.
Comparatively, another term under Trump would in all likelihood continue as his first term concluded, with Congress playing a significant role. Instead of indulging in melodramatics, Stelter and his ilk in the “mainstream media” can brace themselves for continued impeachment attempts and investigations, among other schemes.
Notably, they could also afford to introspect on their confirmed freedom from fact fantasies about Russian collusion or Biden’s laptop conspiracies. Rather than dreaming up unreliable scenarios, it might be more accurate to speculate on Biden’s cognitive health if he were to embark on a second term.
