Donald Trump is the only Republican presidential candidate in modern history who not only ran against Democrats but also against the establishment of his own party.

Trump was also the recipient of vicious and baseless attacks from the media, showbiz, academia, intelligence agencies, big tech, big corporates, foreign leaders, etc.

While the absence of these attacks would have helped him. They did not affect his popularity or his electoral prospects significantly because Trump‘s candidacy was based on grassroots support, not media hype.

As the late great Rush Limbaugh observed, Trump created an almost unbreakable bond between him and his voters, hence, only Trump could break it. The media was just a bystander.

When he was elected in 2016, the Democrat media complex launched a focused anti-Trump campaign.

From the Russian collusion hoax to the two baseless impeachments, the media tried its best to evict him from the White House. They suppressed Trump's achievements of prosperity for Americans and peace around the world. They concocted stories of chaos in the White House. They amplified anti-Trump voices, including those of former Trump White House personnel.

When nothing worked, they resorted to rigging the contest.

In 2019, the Democrats shut down the economy using COVID-19 as a pretext. The media blamed Trump for every COVID-19 case and death. They knew that despondent citizens always vote against the incumbent. Big Tech suppressed news about Biden’s abuse of power and corruption.

Mark Zuckerberg donated $419 million to far-left outfits that infiltrated the administration and infrastructure of the 2020 election, rewriting ballots, targeting blue districts for get-out-the-vote efforts, and promoting universal mail-in voting.

The result is a record-breaking 64 million Americans who cast their ballots by mail. Also, private ballot drop boxes were used -- despite their being illegal in most countries, because they are vulnerable to fraudulent practices such as ballot-stuffing. 

But despite getting Biden ‘elected,’ fears in the minds of Democrats that Trump will be re-elected in 2024 haven’t allayed.

The purpose of the biased January 6 probe and its scripted televised hearing is to sway public approval and use legal means to prevent him from running in 2024.

But the media is also resorting to petty little ploys.

Since January, they have been attempting to prompt a feud between their two primary adversaries President Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

When Trump condemned politicians who were reluctant to talk about taking the vaccine booster, the media characterized this as a veiled attack on DeSantis.

The media used "sources" to claim that President Trump had called DeSantis "dull" with no realistic chance of beating him in a potential 2024 showdown.  

When DeSantis said he regretted not challenging the federal COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, since he didn't understand how extensive the measures would become, the media called it a dig at President Trump.

The New York Times and the Daily Beast then declared war between the president and the governor for the GOP nomination.

DeSantis had said last October that he isn’t running for president in 2024.

But facts and truth hardly matter to propagandists.

This Trump vs. DeSantis narrative is being pushed quite aggressively now.

During the White House correspondent's dinner, comedian Trevor Noah called DeSantis the T1000 as compared to Trump’s Terminator, a reference to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The implication is that DeSantis is a more advanced and dangerous version of Trump.

Piers Morgan, who is desperate for attention since his show flopped miserably, recently wrote a column titled “Memo to Republicans: It’s time to dump The Donald and run with The Ronald.”

Bill Maher claimed DeSantis would be a better choice than Trump and even claimed to have triggered Trump by his utterance.

Even Politico is claiming that DeSantis's national spotlight is growing brighter.

They are claiming DeSantis raised over $100 million from myriad wealthy Trump donors. They are even comparing the funds raised between Trump and DeSantis.

What is not being stated is that the funds are meant for DeSantis's Florida gubernatorial reelection bid, not for the 2024 presidential election.

The Washington Post attempted to pit DeSantis against Trump in a piece replete with wishful thinking, projections, fabrications, and "sources."

There are new polls such as a Denver poll that show DeSantis winning 71% of the vote to Trump's 67%. 

A University of New Hampshire Granite State poll that has DeSantis receiving 39 percent support from likely Republican primary voters in the state, compared to 37 percent for Trump, has received great media attention.

The New York Times carried news about these polls with glee. CNN called it a poll that should scare Donald Trump. Even Fox News covered the poll. New York magazine also carried a story about the poll claiming DeSantis could beat Trump.

So what’s the record of polls?

Back in 2016, pollsters claimed Trump had no chance of winning against Hillary. The poll also got it disastrously wrong in 2020.

The fact remains that the function of these polls is not to reflect but to influence public opinion. They have a narrative in mind for which they poll individuals. Only responses that are in sync with their narrative are considered.  

The hope is that since the media has lost all credibility, perhaps the polls will do the trick.

We'll see.

Image: Shealah Craighead/Trump White House Archives via Flickr, public domain.