A new Washington Post article titled “A frustrated Trump questions his administration’s Venezuela strategy” has got people all across the political spectrum barking at shadows, and it doesn’t seem like any of them have actually read it.
The opening paragraphs of the anonymously sourced article say there’s tension between the president and National Security Advisor John Bolton about the administration’s humiliating April 30th failed coup attempt in Venezuela, and if you only read those, it looks like a very significant news story.
“The president’s dissatisfaction has crystallized around national security adviser John Bolton and what Trump has groused is an interventionist stance at odds with his view that the United States should stay out of foreign quagmires,” the report reads. “Trump has said in recent days that Bolton wants to get him ‘into a war’ — a comment he has made in jest in the past but that now belies his more serious concerns, one senior administration official said.”
Trump supporters and other hopeful right-wing anti-interventionists have seized on these paragraphs in the hope that Trump is scaling back his escalations in Venezuela and moving toward firing his bloodthirsty National Security Advisor. Liberals, and some self-proclaimed “progressives”, are seizing on this same article as proof that Trump is bought and owned by Vladimir Putin. They are both wrong. More on that in a minute.
Trump just changed policy on Venezuela and is reportedly frustrated with Bolton that he is being too militaristic (that's news to Trump?). While I agree with the new policy, it comes right after a call with Putin. Direct evidence that he is literally taking orders from Putin.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 9, 2019
In a new video titled “Told Ya! Trump Changes Venezuela Policy After Putin Call!“, Cenk Uygur, creator of the popular The Young Turks platform, told his 4.3 million YouTube subscribers that this Washington Post article proves Trump has “reversed” his administration’s stance on Venezuela, and that he has done so because of his controversial phone call with Putin a few days earlier. Uygur claims that the report vindicates his previous Russiagate conspiracy mongering because it proves that Trump takes orders from the Russian president.
“Now it’s not just saying positive things about Putin and Russia, and saying preposterous things about how they’re not involved [in Venezuela]; he has now actually changed the policy,” Uygur said. “Washington Post with a story that just came out a little while ago, saying yes, Trump now thinks that Bolton was too militaristic, and he was gonna get him into a quagmire, and he is not in favor of a military option anymore.”
“If you think that’s not related to the call he just had with Putin, who told him what to do, well come on, then there’s nothing I can tell you, because I can give you all the evidence in the world and you’re never ever gonna listen because you’re too biased,” Uygur continued.
“Evidence, facts, I know they’re inconvenient sometimes for folks, but that is the reality,” Uygur concluded his seven-minute video. “Goodnight, and good luck.”
Evidence and facts. You might think that someone so interested in evidence and facts might be bothered to read the report that he is citing as proof of his conspiracy theory that apparently will never, ever, ever, ever die even if you shoot it with a bazooka and drop it into a vat of molten steel like Terminator. If you think that, though, you haven’t been paying attention to Cenk Uygur’s career.
Back to that Washington Post article. Paragraph four reads as follows (emphasis mine):
“The administration’s policy is officially unchanged in the wake of a fizzled power play last week by U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó. But U.S. officials have since been more cautious in their predictions of Maduro’s swift exit, while reassessing what one official described as the likelihood of a diplomatic ‘long haul.’”
Paragraph twelve reads as follows:
“Despite Trump’s grumbling that Bolton had gotten him out on a limb on Venezuela, Bolton’s job is safe, two senior administration officials said, and Trump has told his national security adviser to keep focusing on Venezuela.“
Paragraph 39 reads as follows:
“Officials said the options under discussion while Maduro is still in power include sending additional military assets to the region, increasing aid to neighboring countries such as Colombia, and other steps to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced Venezuelans outside of Venezuela. More forward-leaning options include sending naval ships to waters off Venezuela as a show of force.”
So, according to this same report that Uygur is basing videos and tweet after tweet after tweet on, Trump is keeping Bolton, is keeping existing Venezuela policies, and is currently exploring military options to get Maduro out of power.
“Told ya!”
What happened to the portion of the left that no longer believes in evidence and facts? Trump gets a call from Putin and then does a complete reversal of his position Venezuela – to the benefit of Russia – and you don't think that's evidence? Your bias is blinding. https://t.co/csO8jbjpg8
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 9, 2019
Furthermore, Trump was openly expressing his reluctance to engage in direct military confrontation in Venezuela before his phone call with Putin. On a Fox News interview with Trish Regan in the wake of the coup attempt, Trump said he doesn’t even “like to mention” direct warfare, dodged around Regan’s attempts to get him to address the issue of war directly, and emphasised that there are many other options on the table.
“We’re doing everything we can do, short of, you know, the ultimate,” Trump said. “There are people that would like to do — have us do the ultimate, but we are — we have a lot of options open.”
Uygur has absolutely no basis for the latest excuse he’s using to continue fanning the flames of Russia hysteria among his millions of followers, but he’s doing it anyway. Today he’s telling American progressives that their president is being puppeted by Putin into taking a weak stance on Venezuela, when they should already have been fighting this administration’s civilian-killing Venezuela hawkishness tooth and claw. Before that he was telling his audience that it’s possible to focus on Russiagate while also advancing progressive agendas (spoiler alert: no it isn’t), before that he was telling them that Trump’s failure to further escalate nuclear tensions with Russia is proof that he’s Putin’s puppet, and before that he was smearing Michael Tracey, his own staff member at the time, on air for being skeptical of the now-debunked collusion narrative.
This would be the same Trump who has espoused a Nuclear Posture Review with a much more aggressive nuclear stance toward Russia, who is creating appallingly dangerous low-yield “usable” nuclear weapons for the battlefield, who is arming Ukraine, who is staging a coup in Venezuela, who has bombed Syria, who is sabotaging Russian fossil fuel interests in Germany, who has expanded NATO and secured it more funding, and taken many, many other actions which harm Russian interests in a continually escalating new cold war which threatens the life of every organism on this planet. This is what Uyger is telling his millions of followers to push further into opposition to Moscow.
I try not to spend energy attacking well-meaning progressives with whom I agree on many issues, even if they’re completely asleep at the wheel in many areas. But at this point it’s as plain as day that Cenk Uygur is just as much a toxic influencer as the liberal pundits of mainstream media who work to herd their audiences into supporting establishment interests which do not serve them. He pretends to oppose war and pays lip service to opposing interventionism in Venezuela and elsewhere, but he’s spouting hawkish propaganda narratives the entire time while doing so. The man is extremely ambitious and is clearly gunning for acceptance within mainstream liberalism, which is why he keeps finding new and innovative ways to out-Maddow Rachel Maddow. Keep him at arm’s length.
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53 responses to “Cenk Uygur Keeps Trying To Out-Maddow Maddow”
I haven’t followed Cenk, but I was certainly aware of him. The Cenk I heard from when I did wasn’t bad. This Cenk… Whew! He’s ruined. Now I know. Thanks Caitlin.
Excellent post – Cenk is a huge disappointment and laughably absurd….
Fire Bolton? Come on! Bolton knows where Trump’s children live.
On this Russia-Gate crap, Cenk is just embarrassing. He’s acting like a religious zealot. A Glenn Beck on the chalkboard. Very few facts spun into a gigantic chicken little nothingness. I subscribe to TYT–but if this shit goes much further…
Cenk Uygur is good at organizing the Dems’ base but his foreign policy perspective totally sucks. What’s the point of having a Justice Democrat movement if its foreign policy is no different from the Clinton gang, or even the Neo-Cons for that matter.
People can’t/don’t really retire from CIA, FBI, etc., although I do follow Binney, McGovern, etc. In my limited on-line experience, no one seems to point out the Voice Of America background of Al Frankenstein, Rachel Madcow, Sam pronounces-it-Seeder, etc. I would be grateful for any replies to this, my first comment on Cait’s amazing site.
I think I pay a lot closer attention to this kind of stuff than most, but I didn’t know either of those VOA connections. VOA is a tool of imperialism just as USAID and other pretenders are.
Operation Mockingbird is still in full flight.
Trust me it is. I do a lot of reading.
L.O.L. Seriously Caitlin, I was in a discussion years ago regarding what gets posted on YouTube. My comments back then were, “You cannot accept ANYTHING published on YouTube as Gospel at any time” “You may be made aware of things, but to VERIFY the VALIDITY of what’s published there, is entirely your own responsibility”
I still stand to that, to this day. If folks wish to take at face value, the crap that’s published on Youtube, that’s their downfall, no one else’s. Just between you and me, it doesn’t say much about the mentality of such individuals.
No, Trump is no puppet of Putin. But there was a phone call …
Maybe Putin said “touch one inch of Venezuela and we, China, and the rest of my gang will whup yo’ ass”.
That would work …
Except that it didn’t happen. Trump’s anti Russian ship has not changed course on inch. Read the fine article ffs.
Part of the solution, at least, would be to stop watching TYT and similar. Some commenters have suggested it’s all about money and it’s hard to disagree – we all have to ask what we’d be willing to say or write if offered ten million a year. But if their audience seriously drops off, perhaps their $ incentive will be reduced and they’ll get what they deserve. And I despair of people who say they only read/watch the MSM to see how stupid they are or to check out the latest lies they’re spinning. The click counters don’t differentiate between believers and critics – every click keeps these propaganda outfits in business. Ignore them – it’s one thing we powerless people can do to put an end to their war-mongering evil.
“…And I despair of people who say they only read/watch the MSM… every click keeps these propaganda outfits in business”
Exactly. This fact can never be stated enough times.
Cenk is too smug for me. Nutpicking is a strong suit of his. “Can you believe how gullible those *other people* are?”
The glibness, the smirking….
Cenk is a presstitute and a wanker. Dont watch, dont listen, dont bother. Jimmy Dore made the right decision and quietly fled out the front door.
And on a different front: Reliable sources in SE Asia announced this morning that – in a show of force – North Korea had launched three short-range missiles. White House security advisor John Bolton, declared that in terms of a possible military reply to such reckless, irresponsible and provocative behavior “nothing was off the table”. Turns out that the “launch” was actually three bottle rockets…Film at eleven!
Uygur gets “fact bombed” every time he hosts someone with full knowledge of the details. He quickly redirects the conversation when the guest contradicts/questions Uygur’s assertions.
Uygur has a good track record of escaping American propaganda. Apparently not this time, though.
Arguing that talking to Putin makes Trump a Russian agent is like saying that talking to someone who prefers Pepsi over Coke means you prefer Pepsi. Is this what Cenk is saying?
I think Trump’s phone call with Putin should be evaluated in terms of the case Putin made to Trump, which Trump accepted. The issue is the validity of the case, not so much the person making it. What were the Russian arguments? American politics is obsessed with personalities at the expense of substance.
Arms length?
More like a football pitch’s length.
When Uygher attacks Trump anti-war impulses (corrupt though they may be) from the right, it’s his bias that’s showing.
I quit TYT years ago—though I continued to regard Cenk with some respect and affection.
Not anymore.
Check out the global research article that traces the financial actors behind the coup attempts in Venezuela. That old vulture capitalist Paul Singer wants to push glyphosate onto Venezuela and `develop´her agricultural lands with RR GMO poison crops. The IMF did it to Argentina as a condition of their loans, so now loads of children are being born with defects, and cancer has gone epidemic in rural areas. They spray whole towns. But it will save the Monsanto/Bayer genocide project. Add that to the oil (Koch Bros refineries) the gold (necessary for space travel) and rare earths, Venezuela´s blessings have put her in the crosshairs.
The Unites States government has sunk to the level of an old time cheap TV soap opera!! The ” whole Russiagate Affair ” was started by very questionable methods!! Check this out:
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/442944-fbis-steele-story-falls-apart-false-intel-and-media-contacts-were-flagged
Every day a new twist arises in this sordid affair!!!
I avoid The Hill. I know it’s quoted often by lefties, but if you read more than the odd article quoted by lefties, you’ll be alarmed – if you’re progressive.
Thanks for exposing Cenk, yet again. The Young Turks is getting increasingly hard to watch, some of them, anyway.
Thanks for exposing Cenk yet again! The Young Turks is getting increasingly hard to watch. Some of them, anyway.
Rachel and Cenk work for the same oligarchic entities. They are on the same side. Both serve as controlled opposition, Rachel for run-of-the-mill kneejerk Democrats, Cenk for Dems and independents who lean slightly to the left of Rachel’s audience. They try to keep their audience mollified and under control so that we’ll stay in the center-right fold while maintaining our progressive identity. You know — sheepdogs.
Both are handsomely rewarded by the very wealthy for what they do, Rachel to the tune of $35,000 a day, while Cenk received a $20 million windfall not too long ago.
Rachel seems to be the better actor, although her lines they give her are pure unadulterated bullshit. Cenk can’t seem to disguise his insincere sliminess. Still it’s always nice to see him drop the pretense and shout Russiagate!
Russiagate appears to be sine qua non for corporate-controlled Dems.
Indeed. Russiagate isn’t entirely bad! I have a few other strong indicators of fakery. Pro Camelot propaganda would be a big one for me. Just language tells me a lot. ‘Climate change’ vs ‘climate crisis’ or ‘quasi fascist’ instead of simple ‘fascist’.
I don’t know if I followed that whole story completely–but the one thing that did come to mind is that we all should be thanking Putin if in fact he had some effect on Trump which prevented another war. The fact that the issue at hand–seems to be–did or did not Putin influence or direct Trump–rather than the issue of war with Venezuela–and quite possible the rest of the planet–seems incidental–which indicates to me that those that hold the power and control the media–are completely insane. But you–all know that already. So let me address something that you don’t know–which is tied to issue above as well as many other issues that might be construed as population control mechanisms.
The vaccination battle is raging– as many states are now pulling their exemptions and even forcing children to continue chemotherapy when the cancer symptoms are no longer present. Time to fight back–if not for yourselves than for you children. Sign this petition to repeal the 1986 Vaccination Act which states–that because vaccinations are “unavoidably unsafe” and yet we must immunize the herd [“herd immunity”] for the overall benefit of the herd [we are not herd animals]–our beneficent government has absolved the pharmaceutical companies of any liabilities for injury–while the US government has already paid-out over four billion dollars for less than 1% of the potential claims out there [extremely difficult for injured parties to succeed in this kangaroo court]: https://national-health-federation.rallycongress.net/ctas/repeal-1986-natl-vaccine-injury-comp
There’s an old saying from the Watergate days that ‘the coverup is worse than the crime’. With Nixon, it was the cover-up that got him busted. And it would be poetic justice of a sorts if a loudmouth like Trump over-reacted into Obstruction of Justice territory covering-up a crime he never really committed (ie, the ‘collusion with Russia’ charge)
Pigs will be Pigs. Please help…Sat D.C., u.$ a Venz. Embassy Protectors support. Food and Humanitarian Aid Gathering 1pm or sooner. Educate…If the pigs support his issue join.
Typo . If the (Swine) support this issue. Wage Peace and Justice. Kill Corporate Media. Sat NYC LA CHIC goe to MSM HQ and protest. They won’t report on it !!!! Have a nice day. PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP,s Sat 1pm EST. or where you are. TY
Free the Embassy Protectors, Assange, Manning and other truthtellers. No Blood for Oil
Cenk Uyger should watch the video interview of Gabor Maté by Aaron Maté. A little self diagnosis for Cenk is and has been required for a very long time. I agree with a previous commenter who encouraged Jimmy Dore to disassociate himself completely from TYT and Uyger. He’s much too kind when he speaks of their differences on the Jimmy Dore Show. His appreciation to TYT for past opportunities and loyalty Cenk out of friendship are admirable traits but Uyger has deligitimized himself by drinking the Kool Aid, plain and simple.
Re: The interview of Gabor Mate, a physician and expert in psychology and mental health. Mate lays out how difficult it is for people to relinquish strongly held beliefs, because of the deep emotional investment that they have in them. And, in the cases of Uygur and Maddow, there is the additional factor of viewer/listener ratings. Both of them are unabashed ratings whores. Maddow gets paid $10 million/year to spew her bile and gin up war. I’m quite certain that Cenk’s income is considerably less, but still, it is tied to ratings. Screw both of them.
27 minutes of compelling opinion in the Mate’ interview with his dad. Watched it this morning and suggest that everyone do the same.
Moon of Alabama documents what a joke it is to say that Trump is Putin’s puppet:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/01/putin-asks-and-trump-delivers-here-is-a-list-of-all-the-good-things-trump-did-for-russia.html
This whole HRC/Trump/Russiagate/Comey/Clapper/Brennan thing is like a civil war. This time though the sides seam to mingle and change and and strange alliances form.
And I’m sorry to see Cenk Uygur on the wrong side.
totally off topic : sitting here at tires plus getting new shoes on my pickemup, and connect my tablet to their free wifi, but will not let me connect to your website ! ! ! had some bs msgabout website was insecure, blah blah blah, but when i try to gothrough advanced option and say connect anyway, THEN comes up w more bs about hoe network administrator has blocked this site, blah blah blah… fuckers… let the droid know, but like he gives a shit.. fired up mobile hotspot to connect tablet through my cellyphone to send this msg…
fyi, big bother (sic) is ubiquitous…
There are two places on our troubled planet where world war III could start!!! One is a nuclear war between India and Pakistan!! The other, and the most likely place, is a war between Israel and Iran!! Yes Israel, with backing by the United States could easily wipe out Iran, but would China and Russia stand idly by and let that happen or would they provide arms to Iran to fight back??? Sooner or later the United States is going to start something that is going to get out of hand and put this world on a path toward extinction!!!
look who’s been funding TYT. plainly predictable.
Jeffery Katzenberg – Disney
In your last paragraph, I resist losing the word ‘liberal’ down the sink of cultural waste. Doesn’t it continue to describe openness and tolerance, emphasizing public rather than private welfare? I thought ‘neoliberal’ was the moniker of choice for turncoat pundits.
Even before he took twenty million from The Witch, his online TV show was compromised. I cannot fathom why Jimmy Dore hasn’t completely dissociated himself from the Young Turkish presstitute.
See Jimmy Dore Show, April 19, when he does just that.
Andrew Wilson, Hardee County FL USA
Thanks to Caitlin for voicing doubts about Cenk Uygur! I have watched this man for some time. My conclusion that what he really is, is a personal Empire-builder focused on “liberal” rhetoric has only gotten stronger over time. While other outlets continuously focus on bringing solid information to their audiences, Cenk Uygur focuses on how “right” his analysis is, how necessary monetary support for his burgeoning media empire is: “We’re the Biggest this-and-that…..” and while Justice Democrats has done useful work, Uygur’s role in that continues to push the focus toward his mediaverse as “the answer,” which, in the light of the need for diversity in sources, it can never be.
I have so much distrust in the media, most of which seems to be controlled by the shadow government, that I pay little or no attention to whatever is broadcast. With regard to Cenk Uygur, I suspect he is just another well controlled voice of non-reason.
It frustrates me no end that relatively few, in any of the media, actually ask the important questions that must be asked and answered. Are they all afraid they will get Assanged? Is everyone in the media either an integral part of the problem, or afraid of the problem?
What this all means, of course, is that the reasonable man in America must do his own research, his own thinking, and totally disregard the media. But, hey, maybe that’s where the best answers are found.
Assanged.. I have not seen this verb before. I like it!
‘. . . . his own thinking, and totally disregard the media. But, hey, maybe that’s where the best answers are found.’
Yup. I quit 15 years ago. I spent a while in recovery but I feel ok now. Occasionally I watch and listen, on youtube, to MSM and Uygur ‘agenda types’ from elsewhere but less and less as time moves on. Neither change their story much.
I dig Caitlin’s view usually and agree, as she does, with occasional forays by the likes of Tucker Carlson into sanity. The others, as you write, may be afraid of being Assanged or even KiriaKO’d !
But there is still Noam Chomsky, Jimmy Dore, Chris Hedges, Abby Martin, Tulsi Gabbard, Medea Benjamin, Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, The Real News, Truthdig, Ralph Nader, Matt Taibbi, Cornel West plus Moon of Al et al.
Maddow (Bolton is human) and the Turk want to attack Venezuela?
I have now seen it all.
A penis climbing onto a bandwaggon.
If you bought a used car, Uygur would apparently think it was because the salesman ordered you to do it.
Are these the kind of voices that are shaping the American consciousness?? Very scary thought. So much for “the internet will solve everything”. The net seems to have mainly put our baseless gossip mind on steroids. Is influencing the American public no more than a high school popularity contest? How many social media followers do you have Caitlin? Are we hopelessly outnumbered by the know nothings? Is there a solution?
Q: “Are these the kind of voices that are shaping the American consciousness?” — Mike K
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A: Yes – definitely
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Q: “Is influencing the American public no more than a high school popularity contest?” — Mike K
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A: You may rely on it
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Q: “How many social media followers do you have Caitlin?” — Mike K
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A: Concentrate and ask again
.
Q: “Are we hopelessly outnumbered by the know nothings?” — Mike K
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A: Most likely
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Q: “Is there a solution?” – Mike K
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A: Outlook not so good (requires know-nothings to buy in…)
This message brought to you by the Magic 8 Ball — all the answers to your deepest questions!
My question about how many social media followers Caitlin has, was not meant to be insulting, but simply factual. Actually I feel that it speaks to the high quality of her blog that she has not attracted the huge rabble that Uygur has.