Caution: Wasilla philosophers at work
When Donald Trump spoke at the feel-good event of the century in Wasilla, he mentioned he was traveling with cabinet members Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick, but mistakenly claimed they had come with him to Canada, not Alaska.
Several more words passed from his mouth about the pair in Canada—and since he never admits an error—once he realized his blunder he briefly changed the subject to complain about Canada.
“And normally they don't travel. I think this would be one of the few times. They're so busy doing things, but they felt Canada is so important,” Trump said of the Interior Secretary and Commerce Secretary.
“I would say the biggest things they've done, really, pertain to your state and not letting —and by the way, Canada, I don't know if anybody—does anybody like Canada? They have ripped us off for years, but no longer. You notice, no longer. No longer, they're not ripping us off.”
Then Trump returned to praising Burgum and Lutnick, dropping the Canadian interlude.
“But they have -- they have been fighting for Alaska for a long time, and now they're seeing the fruits pay off. The deals that these two guys have made are the best deals, I think, ever made for any state at any time.”
Some in the crowd booed Canada, as if on command, giving the performer-in-chief what he most wanted—reinforcement of his fixation with belittling one of our nation’s more important allies.
Most thinking Alaskans love our neighbors to the east. We have far more in common with them than with any billionaire with a ballroom complex.
I couldn’t imagine why Alaskans would boo Canada, given our strong connections, shared interests in hockey, snow and the desire for coexistence. Clueless clods boo Canada.
It was when I saw the video below posted by “The Good Liars,” the political comedy duo of Jason Selvig and Davrm Stiefler, I began to have a better idea of what some of the boo-birds might have been thinking.
The Good Liars know how to give people with powerful opinions, including those without a clue, a chance to show what they think they know. The Wasilla crowd did not disappoint. Not everyone was a critical thinker.
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are learning again about Wasilla, thanks to the hardy potential voters who stood in line and blabbed about Sharia law, socialism, homosexuality, the End Times, Donald Trump’s reduction of the federal debt, Bigfoot, things that are Biden’s fault, witchcraft and why Outsiders should stay away.
The video has had nearly 700,000 views on YouTube and generated more than 5,000 comments, putting some of the top philosophers from the Republican center of Alaska on display for the world. Parts of the video have been widely shared elsewhere, perhaps to millions. You can’t buy this kind of publicity.