OPINION:
If you watched the national networks this week, you might think the world had stopped for the political spectacle of former President Donald Trump being dragged into court by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The trumped-up charges against America’s 45th president brought cheers from the political left despite bipartisan acknowledgments that the case is thin legal gruel. It rightfully brought outrage from at least half the country.
Democrats’ weaponization of the justice system to attack political and ideological opponents is a very real story. Other potential legal issues will dog the former president in the weeks and months to come. But pro-freedom Americans risk playing directly into the hands of the left by getting too wrapped up in Mr. Trump’s legal tribulations.
We’ve seen this movie before. Democrats and their mouthpieces in the media will do everything they can to keep as much focus as possible on Mr. Trump to deflect from their agenda and further divide the Republican Party. When we are focused on Mr. Trump, we’re not countering the disastrous policies of the radical left. Here’s a small sample of what a lot of Americans missed because of the Trump Show.
Hundreds of undercover Los Angeles police officers’ lives were endangered when a leftist group called the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition publicly identified them. The cops are rightfully suing the city.
In another slap in the face to law enforcement, left-wing candidate Brandon Johnson, backed by the infamous Chicago Teachers Union, beat moderate Paul Vallas in the city’s mayoral runoff. Mr. Vallas was backed by the police union and business leaders who framed his campaign around public safety. Chicago will likely see mass police officer resignations, compounding the crime crisis that has resulted in more than 9,000 people being shot in the city in recent years.
The border crisis now has a dangerous new twist that is largely being ignored by the Trump-obsessed media. According to Customs and Border Protection, more than 4,300 illegals from China have been encountered crossing the southern border since the beginning of the year.
That’s more than double last year’s total. CPB estimates that for every illegal immigrant intercepted, there are as many if not more “gotaways” that slip through and disappear into the country. Sources have indicated that these individuals are unaccompanied by families and are of military fighting age.
That means about the same number of people that make up a division of the People’s Liberation Army could be squirreling away here in America, ready to take orders from their communist masters who seek global dominance.
The Chinese app TikTok, constructed to depress the intellect of our population, has already infected the U.S. with intentionally divisive content. We know the Chinese Communist Party has a growing espionage operation here. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that a communist country that operates a social credit and monitoring system for a billion people could fund, train and place thousands of military or intelligence operatives in our midst to exploit the weakness of our immigration enforcement.
Crickets on how they are being vetted from the Biden White House.
In Wisconsin, a leftist activist judge, Janet Protasiewicz, beat an experienced, conservative jurist to win a seat on the state Supreme Court in a massive victory for Democrats that will have an impact on abortion, school choice and a range of other issues.
Over the last week, militant transgender and anti-gun activists stormed state capitols in Tennessee and Kentucky, two largely red states. These groups temporarily disrupted legislative sessions as the White House continues to promote taxpayer funding for chemical and surgical transitions for children.
Trump indictment mania also tamped down some much-needed good news: a major defeat for Vladimir Putin as Finland became a member of NATO. That increased the organization’s border with Russia by 800 miles. This expansion will greatly assist in providing a significant deterrence to the Russian dictator’s efforts to strong-arm Europe.
Finally, if you haven’t noticed it yet at the pump, you will. Mr. Biden’s almost single-handed effort to destroy both our energy sector and our relationship with Saudi Arabia took another dangerous step forward as well. The kingdom agreed to oil supply cuts and made more public statements to distance itself from the U.S. It would appear that China has finally bought off the Saudis, and the U.S. will be at even more of a strategic disadvantage when it comes to energy.
It’s called the politics of distraction, and Democrats do it well. Republicans and conservatives can’t allow their outrage over another salvo against Mr. Trump to shift their focus from a left wing that remains clearly energized regardless of President Biden’s semiconsciousness and dismal approval ratings.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax TV, an author and a former Bush administration official.
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