Comparing Trump’s baseline economic numbers at the end of his term with Biden’s numbers today has no impact on the divisions in America. Likewise, comparing Trump’s work to prepare for the coming pandemic with Biden’s response to the pandemic has no impact on the divisions. Comparing Biden’s date-certain plans to get American troops, citizens, and allies out of Afghanistan with Trump’s condition-based plans is all water under the bridge. So what if people died and were left behind under Biden’s plan?
September 6, 2019, candidate Biden told a supporter in New Castle, NH, “I guarantee you we’re going to end fossil fuels.” From January 2021 to July 2022, President Biden reduced our Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) from around 650 million barrels to about 450 million barrels. With the SPR at its lowest level since 1983, Biden has announced he will sell 26 million barrels beginning in April. The depletion of our SPR will have no impact on divisions in America.
Last week House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Fox News’ Tucker Carlson an exclusive first look at more than 40,000 hours of security camera footage from the Capitol Building January 6, 2021. Carlson and his staff aired parts of the footage showing “insurrectionists” peacefully milling through the Capitol and being guided by Capitol Police. The video stood in stark contrast to all of the footage released by the J6 Committee the past two years which never showed peaceful interactions between Capitol Police and rioters.
Notably, Carlson’s video appeared to debunk charges against Jacob Chansley, aka “QAnon Shaman” who followed Capitol police officers peacefully around the Capitol without any incidents.
On January 6, Democrats, media and other Trump detractors had already developed the narrative that January 6 was a “deadly insurrection,” though they have never shown video of anyone being killed during the riot except for Ashli Babbit, an Air Force veteran and Trump supporter who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer. Evidently, there is no video footage showing the death of any Capitol police officers.
In the weeks following the riot, the New York Times led other media outlets to claim that “insurrectionists” had hit Officer Brian Sicknick in the head with a fire extinguisher and that he had died later from his injuries. This claim is simply another false link in the narrative. Officer Sicknick was never hit in the head. The DC chief medical examiner found that Sicknick had died from a stroke and classified his death as natural adding, “all that transpired (January 6) played a role in his condition.” Sicknick’s death was tragic, and we should all mourn his loss.
None of these incidents will have any impact on the divisions in America. What forces continually divide Americans against each other? Why are everyday prices still rising precipitously? Why are American K-12 students falling behind their peers around the world? Why do polls show 27-percent of Americans believe we are going the right direction, but 64-percent believe we are on the wrong track?
For the past 25 years Americans have become increasingly political. Social issues and causes have vaulted from top tiered topics of conversations into federal laws. Many voices have been cancelled or even censored, and media outlets have devolved from fostering debate to quashing “the other side.” Now is the time for more debate.
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Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.
