Laundering lies: Glenn Youngkin shows how easily media is manipulated to sanewash Donald Trump

Appearing on CNN on Monday, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin found himself in an uncomfortable situation. Host Jake Tapper asked the governor whether he supported Donald Trump’s plan to use the military against people the former president labeled “radical left lunatics,” like California Rep. Adam Schiff. They doubt; he benefits.” The Times quotes one man who intends to vote for Trump who said, “’I think the media blows stuff out of proportion for sensationalism.’” Asked if Trump would purge the federal government and fill its ranks with election deniers, this man said “I don’t.” He explained that Trump said a lot of things “just be for publicity…just riling up the news.” Summarizing the tendency of those who have now gotten used to Trump’s brew of outrageous threats and outright lies, the Times says that “people think he says things for effect, that he’s blustering, because that’s part of what he does, his shtick. They don’t believe that it’s actually going to happen.’” As Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager, explained after the 2016 election, the news media “took everything Donald Trump said so literally. He means what he says.” This year lies like Youngkin’s, and his refusal to take Trump literally, may ease the way for millions of voters to cast their ballots for the former president.