Saturday, October 25, 2025

RAW STORY, please stop spreading Donald Chump's lies

What's up with RAW STORY?  Are new writers just stupid or are they deliberately lying?  Marcia's already called out one nut job who appeared to arguing for Chump and now we have Alexander Willis who writes a really bad article about Chump's social media posts late Friday night and early Saturday morning.

Lousy?  I think it needs to be pointed out that while he's posting to social media our government remains in shutdown -- the shutdown he caused.  I think it needs to be pointed out that late night posting isn't time working nor is it benefitting his health.  I think it especially needs to be pointed when he's lying.

And he's always lying.

Why did Alexander Willis repost Chump's lies and not call them out?  Willis treats the lies as fact.  What the hell is going on at RAW STORY?

There is no proof that, after January 6th, phone calls of members of Congress were listened in on.  I guess they could have used the NSA for archival recordings potentially.  There's no other way for you to after the fact tap a phone call.  After January 6th, as the government investigated the treasonous insurrection, they got the toll slips.  Toll slips only tell you who a number called and the duration of the call.  In the immediate hours after Marilyn Monroe's death, the Secret Service seized the toll slips from the phone company.  It told them who called the number and who called from the number.  It did not tell them the contents of any phone call.

Charles Grassley may not be lying.  He's so old, he may truly not understand.  He's 92 years old and really needs to retire.  

But whether he's lying or just confused, Grassley does not know what he's talking about.

Chump does know the difference between a tap on a phone call and toll slips -- he's known the difference long before he was president and it had to do with some of his father's illegal actives which is a whole other story.  But he does know the difference.

If Alexander Willis is unable to explain coherently that false charges repeated in the RAW STORY articles are false charges, then that's a writer who needs to find another outlet. 

I do get that there are times when there's so much to cover that a person doesn't have time to cover everything.  

Let's note MEIDASTOUCH real quick.



I'm working that video in just because it's important but the connection in my mind is the bad RAW STORY article that does nothing but repeat what Chump posted while others break their backs trying to explain when Chump's doing a con job.  For example,  Ben on MEDIASTOUCH NEWS does exhaustive coverage and there are times when even he can't fit everything in because it's just too much.  So, yes, there are times when you're unable to cover everything.  But Ben covers as much as can be covered in one of those segments.  He can't do a TED TALK on each lie Chump tells because who has that kind of time?  But he does note it's a lie and usually gives multiple examples proving it is a lie.


Alexander Willis has chosen to cover Chump's social media posts from late Friday night/early Saturday morning where Chump attacks various government officials and insists that they tapped phones and listened in re: January 6th.

Lindsey Graham, of course, has been pushing this lie.  At his age, he's probably still calling sex lines.  So I get that toll slips could be embarrassing for him.  But other than that, who's got something to fear over toll slips?  Again, these are not transcripts of phone calls.  

And, again, RAW STORY needs to expand that story or pull it.  As it stands now, they've published an article that endorses the lie that Grassley and others are pimping -- others include Donald Chump.  

We should also point out that Chump's Justice Dept in his first term did worse to US House Rep Eric Swawell and then-US House Rep Adam Schiff.  They didn't just do toll slips, they also secretly sought their text messages.  

Is Chump going to post to social media about what his Justice Dept did?

No.

And it doesn't look like Alexander Willis is going to do any real reporting.

When I covered Attorney General Pam da Bimbo Bondi's theatrical performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, I didn't repeat Pam's comments that first time unless I knew they were true or I knew they were false and could refute them -- we covered the hearing in three consecutive snapshots -- I included her statements and refuted them in the first snapshot. At this late date, everyone watching the news -- not FOX "NEWS" -- know that the toll slip story is about toll slips and that this 'discovery' was made public long, long ago.  So there's no excuse for this RAW STORY article.

And it comes at a time -- this rescuing Chump by ignoring facts -- when he really needs rescuing according to the latest polls.  Jason Lange (REUTERS) notes, "More than half of Americans, including about three in 10 Republicans, believe President Donald Trump is using federal law enforcement to go after his enemies, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that also found growing concern about U.S. political divisions nine months into his second term in office."  And Laura Mitchell (CHARLOTTE OBSERVERS) notes, "TIPP Insights polling has indicated that President Donald Trump’s support in the Midwest has fallen, with 40% favoring him and 49% viewing him unfavorably."

He's a crook and his support is dying on the vine.  Shane Croucher (NEWSWEEK) reports:

There has been a sharp fall in the number of Hispanic adults who view President Donald Trump favorably, a new poll shows, and more also say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction under his leadership.

According to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 25 percent of Hispanic adults said they had a "somewhat" or "very" favorable view of Trump in October—down from 44 percent before he returned to the White House in January.

It is a warning sign of trouble ahead a year out from the 2026 midterm elections, where the Republican trifecta—control of the White House, Senate and House—is at stake, as is the smoothness of Trump's final two years in office as he tries to deliver on his ambitious and hard-line agenda, especially on the issue of illegal immigration.

Latinos aren't the only group where he's losing support, Martha McHardy (NEWSWEEK) notes:


President Donald Trump’s support among Generation Z voters has slipped sharply in recent months, even as his overall approval rating has remained steady, according to a new YouGov/Economist poll.

The survey, conducted between October 17 and 20, found that just 25 percent of Gen Z respondents approve of Trump’s performance, while 67 percent disapprove — a net approval of –42 points. That marks a notable decline from September (30–64, –34) and August (30–67, –37).

The trend suggests that younger voters—who briefly warmed to Trump during the 2024 election—are once again drifting away. According to AP VoteCast, voters aged 18 to 29 backed Kamala Harris over Trump by just 51 percent to 47 percent in 2024, a far smaller margin than Joe Biden’s 61–36 victory among the same age group in 2020. But the latest polling shows that Trump’s tenuous foothold among Gen Z may be slipping for good.


He's a con artist and the country's catching on -- even those who once supported him.  His tariffs have harmed the economy and Americans are suffering.  Eric Garcia (INDEPENDENT) notes:


Inflation ticked up 0.3 percent for the month and 3 percent over the past 12 months as President Donald Trump defended his tariffs against Canada.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released the Consumer Price Index report that tracks inflation. The report had been delayed due to the government shutdown that began this month. The shutdown has also delayed the monthly jobs report that shows how many jobs were added or lost during September.


He lies about it constantly.  As though Americans can be conned endlessly and won't notice the huge increase in prices?  Bella Arnold (BUZZFEED) notes:

After Trump became the president-elect, a TikToker called TheEggWatch was skeptical about his promise to make egg prices great again. So, TheEggWatch decided to do exactly what his name suggests — watch the eggs. More specifically, he wanted to see how a Trump presidency would affect their prices.
“I felt that was a thing that can be easily proven true or false with documentation. So, that’s what I did,” he told BuzzFeed.

Now, TheEggWatch doesn’t just follow how egg prices are changing in Trump’s America. He also tracks gas and general grocery prices.

[. . .]
The price of a bag of coffee at TheEggWatch's local store was previously $7.99. Now, it's $9.99 a bag.
On Jan. 19, 2025, TheEggWatch bought a pack of bacon for $7.49. Now, it's on sale for $8.99.
A pack of giant Hershey's with almonds was $3.99. Now, it's $5.29.
The store's tailless beef loin boneless New York strip steak was $13.99 per pound when Biden was last in office. Now, that same steak is $16.99 per pound.

Bananas went from $0.54 to $0.59, which is approximately a 9% increase.
Lean ground beef was $5.69 per pound in January. Now, it's $7.49 per pound
And, finally: Chicken breasts were $4.99 per pound on Jan. 19, 2025. Now, they're $5.49 per pound.

 That's reality.  Here's another reality, Chump lies about inflation non-stop.  As Steve Benen (MADDOW BLOG, MSNBC) points out:

At a White House event on Thursday afternoon, Donald Trump bragged, in response to an unrelated question, that he’d “already taken care of” inflation. For those who keep an eye on the president’s public positions, the lie was jarring but familiar.

With unnerving frequency, Trump ignores economic data to insist — reality be damned — that he’s successfully “defeated,” “cured” and “solved” inflation.

American consumers would likely be delighted if such boasts were true. They are not. One day after the Republican again claimed to have triumphed over inflation, NBC News reported:

The data complicates the short-term future of U.S. monetary policy: The Federal Reserve has indicated that it expects to lower interest rates in response to the weakening economy, especially as job growth weakens to lows unseen since the Great Recession, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s inflation target is 2%.

With the latest report showing the Consumer Price Index inching up to 3%, the economy appears to be moving in the wrong direction, creating an uncertain path for the central bank.

As for the politics, the latest national poll from The Associated Press found that only 36% of Americans support Trump’s handling of the economy. Other recent surveys have pointed in the same direction.


Reality is reaching the American people.  I have no idea why RAW STORY has an article that's repeating Chump's false claims while not only refusing to fact check him but also unable to call his lies "lies" or even "false claims."


Comments know what the writer doesn't.  For example: 


Ginger Peale 7 minutes ago
None of the people Trump’s claiming “rigged” the 2020 election could have possibly done so because NONE of them were in power during the 2020 election cycle because TRUMP Was the President Then!  Wake up America!  Trump is UNFIT to be President because he either doesn’t realize He was president before the 2020 election or he does realize that He was in office and he’s just lying to get people he doesn’t like changed with a crime.  Either way he’s too mentally unstable to remain in office.


Frank Murphy 17 hours ago
Oct 7, 2025, news reports indicate that phone activity was investigated, dates, times, locations, and people making and receiving calls. Contrary to Trump's claim there is no indication that any calls were taped.


We'll wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


Lawmakers press National Park Service, Trust for the National Mall, on role in possible corrupt access to, and favor-seeking from, Trump and his administration

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in pressing National Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron, and President and Trust for the National Mall Chief Executive Officer Catherine Townsend on how their organizations have seemingly become a vehicle for politicized fundraising, influence peddling, and donor access to President Trump, amid his effort to pay for and build his $300 million ballroom at the White House. The new letter comes shortly after Trump demolished the entire East Wing of the White House to make room for his billionaire-funded ballroom.

“We are concerned about the risk of quid-pro-quo arrangements in which large corporations get backroom favors from the White House and President Trump gets his multi-million-dollar ballroom — all while American families face rising prices during a government shutdown,” wrote the lawmakers. “The American public deserves answers about the circumstances surrounding the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, about President Trump’s attempts to build a gold-plated $300 million ballroom, and about whether the Trust is being used to facilitate corruption in the forms of corporate special interests’ insider access to the White House.”

The Trust was established as a nonpartisan, nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. But the scale of funds raised for President Trump’s ballroom, President Trump’s personal involvement in fundraising for the project, and the number of corporate donors with business before the Trump Administration raise questions about whether the organization is facilitating these donors’ corrupt access to and favor-seeking from President Trump and his Administration.

Giant corporate donors have lined up to fund Trump’s new ballroom, with all contributions reportedly being overseen by the Trust. Many of those corporations have active business interests before the Trump administration, raising serious ethics concerns. Just last month, YouTube settled a lawsuit brought by President Trump by agreeing to provide $22 million to the Trust for the ballroom project. Google is in the midst of active antitrust litigation against President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ), and could benefit if DOJ decides not to continue its legal fight with Google. Similar potential conflicts exist with other large corporations that Trump reportedly courted for donations at last week’s glitzy ballroom donor dinner.

“The circumstances surrounding President Trump’s ballroom raise questions about whether the Trust’s philanthropic structure is being abused to facilitate special interest access to the Trump Administration and influence-peddling by giant corporations,” wrote the lawmakers.

The senators pressed for answers to key questions about the exact agreements in place regarding the building of the ballroom, the source and amount of donations, whether the donations are charitable deductions, and more.

###



Marcia's "He sold his soul to the devil and Chump but it might not get him what he wanted" went up about 20 minutes ago but isn't showing up on the blog roll yet and the following sites updated: