Yes, our nation is highly divided at the moment, and no, it does not seem like the mainstream media is too concerned about it.
You see, the infotainment industry relies on outrage and angst to survive. They need you to be emotionally invested in what they are saying in order for you to remain interested through the commercial breaks. The angrier you are, the more advertisements you’ll watch, and the more money they make.
Maybe that’s why a personality on MSNBC this week attempted to compare the MAGA Movement to Al-Qaeda.
MSNBC contributor and Boston Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that former President Donald Trump’s radicalization of Americans with propaganda is the “exact same” way groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS build their following.
Atkins Stohr said, “I don’t know what the Justice Department will do. As an attorney, I feel like there is so much basis for an investigation if not moving forward with chargers, but I do know that Merrick Garland is meticulous and careful and thoughtful, so these things will move more slowly than we want.”
But it gets uglier:
She added, “One thing that I’ve really come away with in terms of how Republicans writ large see what’s happening, particularly with yesterday’s hearing, is that what we saw was…evidence that the president called on not only right-wing groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, but also really galvanized everyday Americans with language that was false, with propaganda to encourage them to come to Washington, D.C., and fight for a lie. What that is, is radicalization. If this was done in the name of Al-Qaeda or of ISIS, we would have the Republican Party all over this, but what we saw is that exact same thing happening to American citizens that led up to an attempted coup at the Capitol.”
And while the comment surely angered enough viewers to keep the lights on at MSNBC for another day, the comparison could also be doing irreparable harm to our nation’s already fragile political balancing act.
