On Monday night, the results of the Iowa caucuses shocked no one who’s been paying attention to the polls. It had been clear for a long time that Trump was going to win. The spectacle of the caucuses was not about who would emerge victor; it was about who would come in second and by how much. Many people dismissed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as having peaked months ago and claimed he was bleeding support.
Well, DeSantis came in second — a remarkable feat considering he was being attacked by Trump and Haley simultaneously.
But for some reason, the media isn’t talking about that so much; they are lamenting that Donald Trump won by such a substantial margin. Really? Did they not see that coming?
Of course they did. Their shock is all part of the show, and some performances are even more pathetic than others. One such is Rachel Maddow’s absolute meltdown after Trump’s victory, in which she went on an unhinged rant while on a panel with Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell.
“If we are worried about the rise of authoritarianism in this country, if we are worried about the rise of—potential rise of fascism in this country, if we are worried about our democracy falling to an authoritarian and potentially fascist form of government — the leader who is trying to do that is part of that equation, but people wanting that is a much bigger part of that equation. And the American electorate is made up of two major parties. One of those parties has been flirting with extremism on the ultra-right for a very long time."
Maddow's co-panelists nodded in agreement like robots as she continued: “They’ve brought them in in a way that they haven’t been central to Republican electoral politics ever before — and I know because I’ve been studying this — once you have radicalized one major party so that those are the preferences of the people who adhere to your party, the leader’s interchangeable. And yes, Trumpism is — sometimes what we call it, MAGA movement is probably a better way to do it — but there is an authoritarian movement inside Republican politics that isn’t being bamboozled by Trump; they are pushing Trump to get more and more extreme because the more extreme things he says, the more they adhere, and that is coming from a very large proportion of the American right that adheres to the Republican Party.” Maddow concluded, “That’s why this is a Republican Party problem more than it is the problem of one man.”
JUST IN: Far-left MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has a meltdown after “fascist” Donald Trump’s solid performance in the Iowa caucuses.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 16, 2024
lol.
“I don't mean to be again, too dark as you said on this, but if we are worried about the rise of authoritarianism in this country, we are… pic.twitter.com/F8HJEziWRz
This is yet another example of a leftist media outlet pushing the talking points of the Democratic Party, using words like “authoritarianism,” “fascism,” and “extremism” and applying them to Trump, without presenting a single counterpoint to dispute the allegations or to laugh hysterically at them. And Maddow is by no means the only leftist media personality who pushes this narrative. Watching the above video, it’s clear every single one of them agreed with everything she was saying, and don’t doubt plenty of others on other networks do, too.
They are pushing the idea that not only is Trump an authoritarian or a fascist, but that’s what the Republican Party wants. Here’s what they are refusing to acknowledge: What conservatives see right now is authoritarianism and fascism from the Biden administration. It was the Biden administration that attempted to impose vaccine mandates on the public, that sued states trying to secure their elections, that targeted pro-life protesters, and that refused to prosecute attackers of pro-life centers. It was the Biden administration that wanted to pass a complete overhaul of our elections to protect their own power, and to completely destroy the filibuster in the Senate to make the Republican minority powerless. It was the Biden administration that sought to treat concerned parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists, and that targeted nonviolent January 6 protesters and denied them due process. And, of course, it is the Biden administration that is persecuting Donald Trump on multiple dubious charges in the hopes of putting him in jail before the election. And let's not forget the efforts from the left to literally boot Trump and other Republicans off the ballot.
Related: Why Was a Winner Projected in Iowa With <1% Votes Counted?
The liberal media has been making dire predictions about Donald Trump since his first presidential campaign, yet it was the Biden administration that actually fulfilled those prophecies of authoritarianism and attacks on our democracy. The liberal media refuses to admit where the real problem is. Meanwhile, Republican voters have rallied behind Trump because he's the authoritarian left's number one target.
