In myopically focusing on Russian meddling, the press is so obsessed with using that issue to bring down the Trump presidency that they are totally ignoring some of the most obvious and flagrant election meddlings we have seen so far.
Anyone who gets their information from beyond the very biased Big Seven (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, New York Times and Washington Post) will understand that China, North Korea and Iran – to name a few – are constantly spying and trying to influence the American people by undermining the current government.
There are a number of other nations, however, that are openly and flagrantly trying to influence the 2018 election in favor of the Democrats. Those nations hope that Trump’s wings can be clipped by a Democrat House and – hope beyond hope – a Democrat Senate.
Because these actions are against Trump and Republicans, they do get fully reported by the #NeverTrump media. This particularly meddling garners no criticism for the same folks who are hyperventilating only over Russian meddling.
While China is among those countries attempting to openly influence the outcome of our 2018 election, you may be surprised that the list also includes members of the European Union, Canada and Mexico – among others.
In response to Trump’s tariff’s as a hammer to get fair trade policies – and even the elimination of most if not all tariffs – these allied nations are imposing tariffs designed to negatively impact on voters in states where Trump is popular. The tariffs are designed to have Trump voters switch to the Democrats.
The foreign tariffs are targeting states that Trump and Republicans won in 2016, such as Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Rather than basing tariffs on standard economic considerations, such as volume, the relative value of the trade items or the need to protect critical industries, the aforementioned nations are politically targeting American voters. They are flagrantly meddling in our election – and may well have a greater impact than any of that Russian chaos creating social media garbage.
This is not some obscure and dubious conspiracy theory. It is a fact – and the Trump hating Democrats and their media allies are more than happy to publicize those efforts. Instead of pushing back against this meddling, they are supporting it, endorsing it and reveling in it.
We should be calling out every country that is using retaliatory tariffs to meddle in our election. But, will we? Probably not.
Larry Horist is a conservative activist with an extensive background in economics, public policy and politics. Clients of his consulting firm have included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman, as well as the White House. He has testified as an expert witness before legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and lectured at major colleges and universities. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries appear frequently on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He can be reached at lph@thomasandjoyce.com.