by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
The thing about former Vice Magazine writer Tim Pool is his arguments for Trump are actually cogent enough to warrant a rebuttal. Pool is interesting to me because he seems like just the type of guy who would REALLY be into Joe Rogan. Anyway, he’s apparently all-in with MAGA at this point and, from his Twitter threat explaining why he’s voting for Trump rather fascist-friendly, if not fascist altogether. Let’s go through the thread a pick it apart.
Kyle Rittenhouse is a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 28, 2020
Violent extremists were destroying people's lives for months, 30 people were killed
Democrats rejected Federal assistance every time Trump offered it
Media lied about Trump deploying "secret police"
1/
He opens the thread explaining why Kyle Rittenhouse’s double murder explains why he’s voting for Trump. Now, for me, that statement in itself sets off some warning lights because it establishes he’s going to see what Rittenhouse did through the lens of partisan politics. He also makes a point of claiming the press “lied” about Trump doing something. I don’t know enough about what exactly he’s talking about, but while maybe they weren’t *literally* secret police, a lot of the violence that’s happening across the country is being sparked by the reaction of Trump’s goons more than the often otherwise peaceful protesters.
Finally some kid from a nearby town, about 20 minutes drive, decides to go up and protect businesses and offer medical support o people, even the rioters
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 28, 2020
He was threatened and shot at
2/
Ok, this is an extremely charitable explanation of what happened. Pool makes it seem as though some innocent waif decided to swoop in and save the day. He ignores that there are pictures of the 17 year old holding an AR-15. He’s bending over backwards to frame the situation in such a way that your average Joe Rogan audience member will nod their head in agreement. The following tweet is probably his strongest argument in the thread:
Democrats have proven completely unable to do anything about it and we can't even get a full throated condemnation from Biden or Kamala
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 28, 2020
Local Democrats have dont nothing and in some cases ordered cops to stand down
4/
I will give him this point. Biden should definitely be more proactive condemning the violence taking place. And, yet, to me, for this to be the single issue that he is so concerned about when 180,000 people have died because of Trump’s criminally incompetent handling of the COVI19 pandemic as well as a shit ton of other criminal activity on House Trump’s part is a little bit of a tell — he was never going to vote for Biden and Biden not doing what he felt was needed was simply confirmation of his existing decision.
Here is where we get to the core of his argument and the whole thing falls apart.
Joe Biden Is A Coward
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) August 28, 2020
Hiding in his basement
Fuck if I vote for that
7/
To call Biden “a coward” who “hides in his basement” is straight MAGA agitprop. And given how well the whole “law and order” thing is probably polling with House Trump’s campaign right now, it makes me think Pool is no longer a journalist in an real sense. He’s completely in the pocket of House Trump and, just like Joe Rogan, he uses a form of masculine earnestness to deflect any reasonable effort to talk to him.
I compare it to someone in 1933 saying Herr Hitler is going to make the streets of the Free City of Danzig safe again. He wants us to focus on this sole issue, totally ignoring the astonishing existential threat that House Trump presents to the Republic on a strategic level. He wants to do this because as long as we focus on this specific issue, we aren’t talking about the flaming pile of horseshit that is the Trump Administration.
As such, I can only conclude that Pool is a fascist. That the Right is embracing Kyle Rittenhouse as some sort of John Brown of MAGA tells you everything you need to know about the state of American democracy. The logic is there to support wide-spread political violence against anyone who gets in the way of MAGA or Qanon.
Now, what’s even worse is the center Right and the center Left have grown so detached from each other and what they can agree is “real” that it’s nearly impossible for there to be any discussion at all. The Right has cross the Rubicon and now are full throated fascists, even though they will never admit it because they know it would hurt them politically — for the time being.
As such, this fall is going to be very dark.
I continue to believe that House Trump is never, EVER leaving power for any reason, even if it means inciting a civil war. Given Pool’s reasoning for voting for Trump, I honestly can’t imagine any situation where he wouldn’t be right there with MAGA and Qanon, cheering on the political violence that apparently he — and much of the American Right — are now cool with.
Good luck, guys.
