Trump needs us to cower
President Donald Trump, speaking at U.S. Central Command about media coverage of terrorism, claimed on Feb. 6, “It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported.”
Considering how important ratings are to TV news, it is nearly impossible to believe that any news medium would ignore, much less cover up, an act of terror in the United States or anywhere else.
I can think of only one reason that Trump purposely engages in such obvious fantasy. He thinks the American people are just not sufficiently frightened. In his mind, citizens need to be more afraid so he can justify his politics of fear. A cowering nation might very well agree to abandon constitutional rights and liberties and give the president unchecked power, just what he appears to want.
Arthur T. LaBar
Richmond
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Trump needs us to cower."