Trump Fuels Conspiracy Theory On Vince Foster
Decades ago, the Welsh politician and statesman Aneurin Bevan gave us the pithy observation that, “Politics is a blood sport.” It follows that we should not be shocked by anything coming from a politician’s mouth. The sole goal is to win and when victory is all that matters, spilling blood becomes just another step on the way.
So it goes with Donald Trump, whose campaign for the presidency has defied, well, everything. But here he is, the Republican nominee for president, and if you saw that coming a year ago, well, what are you doing here?
Get thee hence to Vegas.
The Donald’s strategy appears to be wrapped around saying things so outlandishly inaccurate– a nice way of saying lies — that you think surely no one is buying this. Well, they are, so he doubled-down the other day by invoking the name of Vince Foster, a former Deputy White House Counsel in the Bill Clinton administration.
Foster’s death by suicide has been a favorite of the tin-foil-hat society since it happened on July 20, 1993. Foster and Clinton were chums in Arkansas, and Foster as the target of scathing (and mostly inaccurate) criticism from the conservative press during some of Clinton’s early scandals.
Depressed, feeling his career and reputation ruined, Foster traveled to Fort Marcy Park in Virginia, put a gun his head, and pulled the trigger. The Park Police and FBI investigated. There were subsequent hearings and follow-up investigations. They all concluded the same: death by suicide. Some of those reaching those conclusions, by the way, were Republicans who couldn’t stand Clinton.
But, well, why let the truth get in the way of a good conspiracy?
It has long been popular among the legion of Clinton haters that Foster didn’t kill himself but was, instead, snuffed because He Must Have Known Something about Clinton’s Obviously Crooked Administration.
I expect to hear that stuff on extreme wingnut radio, but from to hear it from a man who could president is bloody crazy. But that’s what Trump did, telling the Washington Post that there was something “very fishy” about Foster’s death and theories that he was murdered aren’t delusional fantasies. No, those are something he considered “very serious.”
I have my own theory why he went there.
Trump is not a stupid man, and I have to believe he knew exactly how many hornets would go on the attack against from the nest he stirred up during the meeting with the Post. That’s exactly what he wants, though, because his supporters are the loudest screamers in any room they’re in.
And they don’t care what he says.
Politifact reported that 76 percent of Trump’s statement vary from the truth in some way. That doesn’t matter to Trump’s followers. They love his swagger. They love his act. So I’m guessing it won’t be long before he shouts that Neil Armstrong faked the moon landing and we should stop honoring this “loser.”
All this would be much less worrisome if Trump wasn’t hoping to actually lead the nation. If the polls are right, though, many Americans would be satisfied to give him a four-year lease on the White House.
I’m not sure what that says about us, beyond the fact that voters are so frustrated with the same-ol, same-ol that they’re willing to give the keys to the most powerful nation on earth to a serial liar (no, I don’t mean Hillary).
The voters are at the gates of power and their flaming torches are burning bright. Their message to the establishment is clear: Logic be damned, off with their heads!
I don’t know what kind of sport you’d call this, but it sure is bloody.