The Snapping of David Kupelian's Mind

WorldNetDaily's managing editor had to completely abandon his sense of morality to endorse Donald Trump for president, and he's now trying to scare his fellow right-wing evangelicals into doing the same.

By Terry Krepel
Posted 9/7/2016

David Kupelian

The way Kupelian has chosen to deal with his anxiety and moral confusion is to abandon any sense of morality he claimed to have by endorsing Donald Trump for president.

Kupelian's Trumpophila first surfaced in an unusual public split between himself and WND's other leader, editor Joseph Farah, on the 2016 Republican presidential primary. On April 4, Kupelian wrote a column suggesting that Ted Cruz is not acting "moral" for lobbying Donald Trump's delegates to vote for Cruz after the first ballot at the Republican National Convention (a scenario that ultimately never came to pass). Kupelian concedes that it's legal to do, since Republican delegates are not bound to their particular candidate after the first ballot, but he plays the morality card anyway: "I am troubled by this. The Cruz campaign is going from state to state, after each primary election has been decided by voters, in efforts to turn Trump delegates into Cruz delegates: Do you believe this is right?"

Farah -- who was already on record as such a Cruz supporter that he abandoned birtherism so he won't be forced to go birther on the guy -- responded with a column saying that, yes, Cruz was acting morally and that it's "just politics."

After Trump clinched the Republican nomination in early May, Kupelian went all in for Trump. Kupelian kicked off his May 8 column, headlined "Is Trump America's knight in shining armor?" in his usual way -- spewing Obama-hate and lamenting that America is not the lily-white enclave he grew up in:

Right now, in 2016, tens of millions of American citizens feel exactly like the citizens of these terrorized ancient kingdoms in the classic stories. They see their once great nation ravaged by terrible forces. Their leaders seem to have gone mad – intentionally leaving the nation’s borders unguarded, allowing hordes of invaders to swarm into their country, plunder their wealth and commit heinous crimes. Their supreme ruler is widely seen as hating his own country, continually betraying longtime allies while aiding her mortal enemies. The nation’s youth are corralled into ivy-covered brainwashing centers and indoctrinated into bizarre beliefs and destructive behaviors. The land’s once-robust economy has been decimated, with onerous taxes and regulations strangling businesses, and the nation’s major industries – along with the millions of jobs they provide – leaving their homeland for foreign shores. On top of all this, a genocidal, worldwide mind-control cult has declared war on their troubled nation, murdering and maiming people at will, yet their leader won’t even utter the enemy’s name, let alone fight it. Millions suspect he sides with the enemy.

Americans, beholding their nation’s increasing woes, wistfully recall the happier land of their youth, one blessed above all other nations, where despite its flaws, unparalleled liberty, prosperity and opportunity were in abundance.

[...]

Reality check: Speaking as a 35-year journalism veteran, I can confirm that the “mainstream media” are, to use Trump’s strong language, indeed “disgusting.” Americans couldn’t possibly have twice elected such a catastrophically bad president as Barack Obama were it not for the disgraceful cheerleading and gross journalistic malpractice of the entire elite media.

Says the guy whose "news" organization he helps lead has its own lengthy history of journalistic malpractice.

Anyway, Kupelian's main point is to justify endorsing Donald Trump despite the fact that his personal history is as sordid, if not more, as he likes to believe Hillary Clinton's is. He admits Trump's faults -- then hand-waves them away because, in his fevered, hate-filled imagination, Hillary is infinitely worse:

Trump has obvious faults, as his detractors continually highlight. There are his sometimes vulgar and crude language and gratuitous attacks on critics (including his Twitter attack on Cruz’s wife). There are his former liberal positions on abortion and other issues, as well as his past campaign contributions to Hillary Clinton and other Democrats as a businessman. There are his three marriages and supposed past infidelities, and the various business controversies involving bankruptcies, eminent domain and Trump University. Trump is egotistical, rarely admits to mistakes or apologizes (at least not publicly), is not well informed on some issues, and has made at least a few outrageous statements – such as that George W. Bush launched the Iraq War knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction there (a statement Trump later walked back into a reasonable formulation). His always-on-offense modus operandi – “If someone punches me, I punch back twice as hard” – actually works admirably well in many cases, but not all cases, and sometimes causes significant problems.

[...]

Remember, if a Trump presidency poses reasonable questions and doubts as to what kind of president he’d actually be, a Hillary presidency poses none; she has a decades-long record as a breathtakingly dishonest, corrupt, dissembling, ambitious, soulless, left-wing political elitist who lies as easily as breathing and whose presidency would further debase the very soul of America, especially its youth. Moreover, as president, she would appoint several progressive-left, Constitution-despising Supreme Court justices, who would in turn determine America’s destiny for the next generation and inevitably result in the end of fundamental rights like that guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

Yet, to some “conservatives” in the “Never-Trump” movement, Donald is worse than all that.

I think it is reasonable to describe this better-Hillary-than-Trump attitude as insane, infantile and suicidal for the nation.

Donald Trump has serious flaws. But he also has remarkable talents and abilities that many miss, or misinterpret. After all, he didn’t become one of the planet’s most dazzlingly successful real-estate developers, entrepreneurs and best-selling authors by being a stupid, ignorant, racist buffoon, as his critics would have you believe.

One gets the feeling that Kupelian is talking himself into liking Trump as much as he is lecturing readers about it. After all, he must abandon his idea of an American leader as strongly moral -- as evidenced by his vicious hatred of all things Obama and Hillary -- to support Trump simply because he wants to be on the winning side for once.

Finally, he declares without evidence that he believes Trump has a "good" heart and takes yet another shot at Hillary:

Trump, like all other candidates, is a strange brew of good and bad qualities. Despite those defects, he has a powerful leader-fighter personality that many believe is exactly what a decimated and demoralized America needs right now. He speaks from the heart and millions strongly resonate with him.

The real question is: Is Trump’s heart good? (Most everything else can be helped out by the right advisers.)

I think it is.

Besides, Trump may just turn out to be the bold outsider – the flawed but fearless knight – who surprises everyone and slays the dragon.

And that would certainly be better than electing a new dragon in Hillary Clinton.

That's how a writer who fretted about the "morality" of an opposing presidential candidate just a month earlier gets behind a candidate never known for that quality. And that in a nutshell, coming from the guy who runs WND's "news" operation, established the overall tone of WND's "news" coverage for the rest of the presidential campaign -- playing down Trump's myriad faults while hurling buckets of venom at Hillary.

Kupelian then turned to Paul Bremmer, an employee of WND's marketing department whose apparent main job is to write "news" articles featuring WND authors and employees, to help sell his endorsement in a May 26 article:

Now that the 2016 presidential race appears to be a contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, some people have said Christians should stay home on Election Day to avoid voting for the lesser of two evils.

Award-winning journalist and WND Managing Editor David Kupelian is fed up with people telling him they refuse to vote for “the lesser of two evils.”

“We’re all evil, guys,” Kupelian said during a recent appearance on American Family Radio’s “Today’s Issues.” “Sin is evil. Every president who’s ever lived, including George Washington and Ronald Reagan, has had some evil, some sin in them. Knock it off with ‘the lesser of two evils.’ The lesser of two evils is the greater good.”

Finally! Kupelian tells the truth about himself! We've been saying that for years! Of course; Kupelian is simply rehashing his morally bankrupt rationalizations to vote for Trump in order to perpetuate his (and WND's) image of Hillary Clinton as, apparently, Cthulhu in the flesh.

But Kupelian has always been someone who believes the ends justify the means. He's not above ginning up a controversy to promote his own book, spreading lies about people he disagrees with, or dishonestly portraying any argument that disagrees with his far-right worldview.

Indeed, much of the rest of that interview involves Kupelian repeating attacks on many of his favorite targets: liberals, antidepressants, colleges.

Which makes it funny that the next day, the very angry Kupelian -- in a column originally "featured by the Washington Times in its “Wilberforce Weekend” special supplement sponsored by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview" -- is telling us to rise above anger:

In considering the Wilberforce Weekend themes of “promoting good, resisting evil and restoring brokenness,” one big thing comes to mind that’s essential to accomplishing all three: giving up anger.

There’s no need to itemize everything wrong with being mad, resentful, hostile, judgmental, impatient, irritated, fuming and brooding. It’s no coincidence the word “mad” can mean both angry and insane – since becoming very angry can amount to a sort of temporary insanity, wherein we think, speak and act very differently than when we’re calm and centered.

Our anger hurts our children, breaks up families, poisons relationships, undermines businesses and wrecks our health. Truly, a great deal of evil enters this world through the portal of angry minds.

Kupelian doesn't admit that "mad, resentful, hostile, judgmental, impatient, irritated, fuming and brooding" is the essence of coverage of Clinton and President Obama at WND, the website of which he's the managing editor.

Which is all rather rich coming from the managing editor of a website that not only is so known for the lies it publishes that it has no credibility -- his boss, Joseph Farah, is weirdly proud of the fact that WND publishes "misinformation," a.k.a. lies -- but is devoting its efforts to elect an even more vainglorious, malignant narcissist and rampant liar who disregards any higher standard of truth, Donald Trump.

But Kupelian is too deep in his Hillary-hating fantasy world to be concerned about the credibility of his own website, let alone logical consistency. Here's his lengthy description of the hellscape that will purportedly ensue if Hillary is elected president, declaring that "Hillary’s rule will encourage immorality, sexual anarchy and abandonment of Judeo-Christian values, but also outright criminality and mental illness."

Kupelian didn't explain how this vision would be different under the amoral businessman he prefers as president. But, again, Kupelian's screed has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with hate.

Apparently fearing he wasn't turning enough WND readers to his point of view, Kupelian -- who has sold his soul to back Trump -- resorted to straight-up fearmongering to rouse the evangelical vote in favor of an amoral, thrice-married Republican in his Aug. 21 column. Kupelian lowers the bar for Trump considerably: "Whatever the Republican candidates’ shortcomings, taking the trouble to vote for a president who isn’t a known sex predator, Marxist or career criminal seems pretty sensible for a 'born-again Christian,' doesn’t it?"

Kupelian concluded with a huge hissy-fit, declaring that anyone who doesn't vote for Trump is complicit in "our nation's suicide":

The responsibility for our nation’s suicide will not fall alone on all today’s university-indoctrinated youthful socialists, or the newly enfranchised immigrants and felons who overwhelmingly vote Democrat, or the various “minority groups” to which Hillary Clinton shamelessly panders in pursuit of their support.

No, the blame will fall squarely on all the righteous “Never-Trumpers,” on the “my-guy-didn’t-win-in-the primary-so-I’m-staying-home” Republican voters, on the “Yes-I-signed-the-pledge-but-I’m-breaking-it-cause-Trump-was-mean-to-my-wife/father/brother” GOP primary candidates, on the “I-serve-another-kingdom-not-of-this-world” and “I-care-only-about-the-gospel” Christians, on the “I-don’t-like-Trump-or-Hillary-so-I’m-voting-for-the-weird-pro-marijuana-Libertarian-guy” folks.

In other words, the blame will fall on good people whose pride, ego, resentment, emotions and self-righteousness tricked them into betraying their country, even their own children – all while believing they were standing strong on principle.

Says a guy who renounced his own moral principles to back Trump.

Remember, this commentary came with more than two months to go before the election. How insane will Kupelian's pro-Trump rhetoric become as it gets closer to November?

It appears the only mind that snapping here is Kupelian's.