Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center's Mark Finkelstein complained in a Jan. 18 post:
Is Don gonna make Ron an offer he can't refuse? Or maybe just cut to the chase and have him whacked?
That's what Joe Scarborough seemed to suggest on today's Morning Joe. Reacting to Trump having said that if Ron DeSantis runs against him, "we'll handle that the way I handle things," Scarborough said: "Sounds like a mob threat."
Mika Brzezinski, ever Joe's faithful echo, agreed: "former President Trump, with what sounded like a threat."
Really? Let's consider the history of how Trump "handles things" when dealing with political opponents.
To date, there have been no reports of any opponent disappearing after Don invited him on a fishing outing. Nor have any turned up in a concrete bridge foundation.
Instead of ordering hits, Trump's MO has consisted of . . . calling his opponents funny or insulting names.
"Low-energy Jeb." "Lyin' Ted Cruz.' "Lil' Marco Rubio." And now, "Ron DeSanctimonious."
Not exactly how the Godfather or Tony Soprano used to "handle things."
Finkelstein then went on to concede that, yes, there may be something to this as others have also pointed out Trump's penchant for mob-style language but dismissed the complaint as coming from the "liberal media":
The liberal media has a habit of calling Trump a "mob boss, as here, here, and here. Scarborough now accusing Trump of making a "mob threat" takes things to an ugly new level.
But hey! This is the liberal media. No prob with implying that an announced Republican presidential candidate might be threatening to murder an opponent!
All of which, of course, does not disprove the fact that Trump does, in fact, speak in mob-style language even if he doesn't fully follow through -- and, really, he's merely invoking tropes than being a real mob boss anyway; real, successfl mob bosses don't speak like that in public. It's all about image, and Finkelstein is apparently enough of a Trump-fluffer that he must defend the guy from other people making accurate observations. (which the MRC has complained about before).
(Oh, hey, look, here's a picture of Trump posing with a mobster. found just a few days after Finkelstein's post.)
Finkelstein went added: "Note: Mika and Joe also mentioned Trump's recent criticism of evangelicals, after he previously blamed the GOP's underperformance in the midterms on pro-lifers overdoing the abortion issue." But not only did he not criticize Mika and Joe for highlighting it, he didn't try to rebut Trump. In fact, this -- which Finkelstein followed with a unusually straight recounting of what Trump said -- is the only reference to Trump's criticism of evangelicals at NewsBusters, which tells you that Finkelstein and the rest of the MRC are actually scared to cross Trump. Perhaps out of fear that he may for once actually follow through on his mob talk?
