Philosophy Now Forum

After being called out for spreading lies about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance doubled down over the weekend. Strikingly, he didn’t do this through weasel words or by pointing to some undiscovered set of evidence. Instead, he appeared to defend the idea that fabricating facts to support his worldview is appropriate. It was a startling confession that helps distill the corrosive nihilism of the MAGA worldview.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash, “because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast.”

Vance’s admission that he's okay "creating" the story gets to the heart of MAGA philosophy: Truth is subordinate to the pursuit of power.

That exchange between Bash and Vance had begun with the anchor repeatedly pointing out that there was no evidence behind Vance’s claims about illegal Haitian immigrants eating their neighbors’ pets or eating geese taken from public parks. Among other things, Bash mentioned that Vance boosted a video on X claiming to show immigrants cooking cats in Dayton, Ohio. That video is unsourced, uncorroborated by evidence, was reportedly recorded somewhere other than Springfield, and was published by Christopher Rufo, a right-wing activist who specializes in manufacturing narratives about left-wing extremism. Rufo had offered a $5,000 bounty for evidence of the pet-eating slander. (Additionally, Dayton’s police chief called the claim “outlandish” and stated there was no evidence to support it.)

When Bash pressed Vance to “affirmatively say” that the claim was a “rumor that has no basis with evidence,” Vance called it “the firsthand account” of his constituents. Of course, an alleged phone call from someone claiming to be a witness to an act is not evidence. But then Vance made that startling admission. “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” he said, before defending the imperative to “create stories” to get the media to pay attention.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 10:56 pm Just saw this on comrade Lichtenstein's quora page. In a weird way he's managed to earn one point of respect from me by saying this. It means he's strong enough (or once was) not to have to conceal the entirety of his scumbaggishness. It's when the scumbags try to hide that pisses me off.



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promethean75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 20, 2024 11:40 pm Can i see the debunking so i can be sure the debunking can't be debunked?

If it is true he didn't say that, I'm still impressed becuz it's excellent propoganda.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 12:01 am "Really, all propaganda does is make those using it look foolish"

What happens when a piece of propaganda is spread that results in making circumstances better for those who believed it, despite it not being true? Do the ends justify the means here?

Discuss.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 12:37 am Absolutely. But good luck catching me and tying me to the chair.