Actual Election Interference: China Targeting Republican Districts with Anti-Tariff Propaganda
Russia, Russia, Russia! It’s the rallying cry of the usual suspects of the establishment media and anti-Trump camp. Nothing of any significance has been proven thus far, however, there may be actual foreign election interference of significance going on.
While all eyes, so to speak, are focused on Russia, China has been busy creating an animated propaganda video bashing President Donald Trump’s tariffs against the nation, published as ‘opinion’ on the website of the China Global Television Network, according to Breitbart.
So how does a video with a talking almond published on a Chinese TV website interfere with an American election? Because the video directly gives ammunition to Democrats. It also directly speaks to American voters in relation to the upcoming midterms.
“California’s 7,000 almond growers have actually been left out in the cold. Though the traditionally blue state voted for the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, many of our state’s farmers supported Trump,” the video said.
“Some of our top almond-producing regions in the state are actually represented by Republicans. But unfortunately, with neither trade nor aid, our state’s farmers now stand to lose the most in this escalating trade war.”
“Tell me, do you want all those fruits, nuts, and veggies to pile up and rot simply because President Trump is killing trade at the expense of the many?”
There are several districts in California that Democrats would love to flip to blue. One is the rural 10th Congressional District, currently served by U.S. Representative Jeff Dehman, who is also an almond rancher. According to Ballotpedia, Denham will be facing Democrat Josh Harder, who has been endorsed by former president Barrack Obama and has worked with the Gates Foundation.
CGTN has a YouTube channel and has published news videos targeting Trump’s tariffs on soybeans and almonds and the American farmers potentially hit by them. This almond video is not animated, but could easily be seen as decidedly “Trump tariffs against China are bad for YOU.”:
In the news video, it’s reported that before the tariffs took effect, the California Almond board expected growth in exports to China to increase by 6 percent every year. However, the board’s July 2018 position report reveals that exports overall have seen a 6.45 percent increase.
The animated video reportedly claims that only farmers in the mid-west have been helped. It does not differentiate that the help was for the soybean industry, found in those states, along with other crops also found in that region.
United States almonds are only grown in California, so naturally soybean aid would go to where they are grown. A state growing a different crop or set of crops would not qualify for that help.
To address any possible losses to the almond and other agricultural industries in California, the government will buy “surplus produce,” according to The Sacramento Bee. However, this program is suggested to be “partisan politics” by The Bee.
Several members of Congress, including Denham, have written a letter to Trump. In it, they ask him for more help for California farmers.
The Bee also noted that Trump has tweeted “China ‘is spending a fortune on ads and P.R. trying to convince and scare our politicians to fight me.’ He went on: ‘Tariffs will make our country much richer than it is today. Only fools would disagree.’”
So is China participating in some kind of election interference, or even “collusion” with Democrats to swing vulnerable areas in their favor? If so, why has there been no establishment media outcry or government investigation launched?
Some would say that as long as it fits the liberal left agenda, none of the aforementioned will do anything to address, correct or punish it. Based on mounting evidence, that may be a sadly realistic viewpoint.
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