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February 13, 2017

Why are 15 billionaires using their media to bring down Donald Trump?

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Elmasry

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When Fox News Channel reporter Bill O'Reilly called Russian president Vladimir Putin a "killer," Donald Trump looked O'Reilly straight in the eye and responded, "What do you think, our country's so innocent? You think our country is innocent? Well, take a look at what we've done... a lot of people were killed... there are a lot of killers around, believe me."

Of course, the newly elected President’s answer didn’t sit well with the political establishment in Washington.

Exposing their buildup of the American Empire over the 15 years since 9/11 was just too much.

But even the unscripted talk that the world has become used to from Trump isn’t enough to explain why the American media seem to have converged in aggressively attacking him.

Why was O’Reilly trying so hard to torpedo Trump’s intention to build a better relationship with Russia which, like it or not, is a significant global super-power?

Trump is highly unlikely to be deterred from his stated plans to meet Putin, sooner rather than later. After all, he’s declared all along his determination to do so.

But the manner in which O’Reilly framed the question seemed to send a thinly veiled message that Trump meeting Putin is wrong because Putin in his judgment is a “killer.”

The resulting sound-bite was more about perceptions than literal truth – it did its job of reaching countless Americans, Russians, and the rest of the world in efforts to sabotage any future meeting between the two leaders.

That opens the question about who, exactly, in Washington is so afraid of a better rapport, or at least détente, between the two countries. Is it the Israeli lobby? The arms industry?

Perhaps; but to my mind O’Reilly and his bosses at Fox News are the real aggressors. The question itself was unprecedented. And the answer was uncharacteristically sharp, clear and truthful.

For more than a decade-and-a-half since the tragedies of 9/11, mainstream journalists for the most part have pretended ignorance (or been in collective denial) about the killing and displacement of millions – collateral damage resulting from America’s obsession with empire-building, funded by American tax dollars. Why?

And why now the aggressive media campaign against Donald Trump who is trying to put a stop to it?

Why campaign against a policy that will save American taxpayers vast sums of money and millions of human lives at home and abroad?

I do not recall anywhere near the same intensity of negative coverage for George W. Bush for his murderous campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Nor has there been a proportional media outcry and exposure of former President Obama’s indirect support of ISIS through American arms sold to complicit third-parties, such the Arab Gulf states, and Turkey, which also provides terrorist training?

A lot of questions indeed. Who is answering them? Shouldn’t the quest for truth be job #1 for the media in a democracy?

Unfortunately for democracy, 15 billionaires have long exerted deep political influence simply by owning the majority of mainstream American media outlets, including all or part of the influential Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

They have set themselves up as unelected gatekeepers for our news and views.

They used their control of the media to ridicule Trump before he was nominated by the Republicans, during his campaign, and after his election.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has repeatedly accused the Washington press core of “a double standard” in its news coverage versus that given to Barack Obama.

Televised daily briefings demonstrate that one doesn’t need a PhD in media studies to realize that many journalists are not seeking clarification of policy issues or governmental information, but are solely preoccupied with critiquing the President. Why? What has changed?

Take the infamous travel ban, which was first headlined as a ban “against Muslims” and then as a “travel ban against citizens of majority-Muslim countries.”

Did the American media suddenly become a friend of Muslims??? Give me a break!

They are simply using the issue to fuel their campaign against an elected President, a self-identified “outsider” who owes nothing to the billionaire cartel that owns them.

Given this toxic media environment, it’s no surprise that Donald Trump prefers to communicate directly with the American public using Twitter.

Among these powerful billionaire media moguls are the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Michael Bloomberg, who made their fortunes in the news business. Others, like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, branched out into buying publications after building their fortune in other industries.

You can find out about the other members of America’s elite and influential billionaires club at this link to an investigative report for Forbes by Kate Vinton: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-own-americas-news-media-companies/#33e9348330b4

Exactly why they are all colluding to bring down Donald Trump is still unclear … at least for now.

But one thing is clear: Trump is the only one who promised to end the American empire building which has lasted 15 years since 9/11.

We have to wait and see.

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