It appears the Chicago police suspect Jussie Smollett of possibly having a part in his own assault, where Smollett claims two men attacked him and used racial and homophobic slurs. Since the Jan 29 attack, police have made two arrests but released the two men  saying more investigation was needed in light of new evidence. According to CNN two inside law enforcement sources say they believe Smollett may have paid the two, one of which Smollett worked with on the show Empire.

Jessie Smollett denies the new development in the case and has expressed frustration over the matter. He also denies claims that he ever said the perpetrators were wearing MAGA hats.

Conservative media, Trump supporters on social media and bloggers have latched on to the story in its current state of development as further proof that the public perception that Trump supporters are mindless bigots and homophobes is being unfairly crafted by celebrities and left wing activists and is perpetuated by willing accomplices in the so-called fake news media.

The thought that Trumps supporters are being unfairly maligned by hoaxes is a fantasy.  All one need do to realize a crystal clear illustration of what a Trump supporter is would be to follow Trumps own Twitter feed. And yes, his supporters are guilty by association. There are literally dozens of documented accounts of Trump encouraging or condoning acts of violence against dissenters and members of the press, which of course makes a few fakers insignificant compared to the magnitude of the real thing.

A hoax far from exonerates the culture of hatred being encouraged by rhetoric from this president. People should indeed be aware of such fakes, they have no place in our discourse, however neither does using them as an exercise in misdirection. Both sides have supporters who behave badly on occasion, but I can think of only one person who brazenly encourages violent behavior. Trump CLEARLY encourages and condones violence. Nobody should be surprised when it happens. You won’t find a single other person to say “kick the crap out of them, I’ll pay for your defense attorney”.

The examples go on and on.

It can’t be pointed out enough that not the fake news media, nor the shadowy deep state, nor does Obama or members of academia, or the corrupt scientific community write daily on Trumps Twitter account. Nope, he’s a lying, illiterate, vile, pig all on his own, every day without exception, with nobody else, and no grand conspiracy to blame. It’s just him and his Twitter alone. He’s the fly in his own ointment. He’s his own troll.

If a Trump supporter can suspend his or her own integrity enough to be lead by a guy who tries to scare us into following him by claiming that an entire race of people are largely to blame for rape and murder to the extent that a border wall will produce a significant drop in those crimes, then fine.  But it’s not the media or anyone else making Trump sound like a racist when he tells such lies. And likewise it’s not the media or anyone else who makes Trumps followers look like racists for supporting him.