The Politics Of Panic

American Thinker 

For decades, the media and other Democrats have continually used fear to push leftist policies and defeat Republicans.

In 2025, when Trump imposed tariffs, many predicted the stock market and economy would collapse, store shelves would empty, and inflation would soar. Here’s just one example from thousands: “Retail wipeout: Trump tariffs stoke fears of shortages and price hikes.”

The dire predictions were 100% wrong.

In fact, the stock market has risen rapidly, the economy continues to grow, store shelves are full, and core inflation has continued to decline from the levels seen during Biden’s presidency. Note, too, that the so-called experts never predicted Biden’s disastrous inflation or blamed his policies for it.

Under Trump, core inflation driven by COVID panic and Biden’s policies has declined: 2020, 1.6%; 2021, 5.5%; 2022, 5.7%; 2023, 3.9%; 2024, 3.2%; 2025, 2.6%; August 2025 to August 2026, 2.4%.

World Cup tourists were amazed at how many products Americans have on store shelves.

The experts also predicted widespread food shortages and high food inflation because Trump closed the border and began sending illegal immigrants out of the country. When I asked AI to summarize the predictions, I got this:

Numerous articles, research papers, and government filings detail how closed borders, strict immigration crackdowns, and a resulting decline in foreign workers risk causing supply-shock food shortages and sharp inflation.

All those predictions were 100% wrong. Food inflation is under control and much lower than it was during Biden’s four years. Here is what food inflation has done since the COVID panic struck: 2020, 3.9%; 2021, 6.3%; 2022, 9.9%; 2023, 5.8%; 2024, 2.3%; 2025, 3.1%; August 2025 to August 2026, 2.7%.

In 2022 and 2024, the media didn't run endless stories about Biden’s high inflation and unaffordability. Nope. They were campaigning for Democrats and their policies. They never blamed Biden’s open border, green-energy policies, or massive spending for inflation. They blamed Russia or almost anything other than Biden.

Suddenly, a month before the election, Fox News ran this lead: “Grocery staples are vanishing from shelves and shoppers say ‘this is devastating’”

When I saw the headline, I wondered which food staples were going to disappear. Milk? Eggs? Meat? Cereal? Fruits and vegetables? I guess many people will read only the headline and have the same concerns. They’ll assign blame for empty shelves to Trump, the war, immigration enforcement, or tariffs are causing empty shelves, and never bother with the details.

These are the actual products Fox called “staples,” whose disappearance the headline suggested was “devastating”:

Minute Maid frozen juice concentrates: When I was growing up, my parents used these products, but I haven’t thought about or used frozen orange juice concentrate in more than fifty years. Most young people probably don’t even know what it is.

Blue Bell Butter Crunch: I have never had this, but heaven forbid that people might have to choose from the fifty-plus other ice cream flavors available.

Cheese Pizza Cheetos Puffs: I feel sorry for children if this is a staple, but I bet people can find other puffs.

Lay’s Sweet Potato Poppables: Other Poppables will have to do.

Smartfood Movie Theater Butter Popcorn: I bet people can find a comparable substitute.

If the Fox News reporter had used some common sense, the obvious question would have been whether these companies were eliminating the products because they were not selling well, rather than because of some nationwide shortage. The shelves will remain full of other products. If anyone is devastated by this news, he has other major problems.

The midterm elections are coming up, and much of the media is spending a lot of time trying to scare the public into voting for Democrats.

Here are a few fear stories that have appeared in just the last couple of weeks:

AI

Here’s a top AI story: “Bill Gates says unchecked AI could ‘cause a billion deaths’ in call for regulation”

When food producers discover that a product may make a few people sick, they recall it. But when AI creators say their products may someday kill billions of people, they want liability protection.

They always blame computers for “escaping” human controls, but humans are the ones programming the computers. Now the companies want the government to protect them from lawsuits, just as internet companies received broad liability protection in the 1990s.

Driverless cars are essentially AI, and these technology companies say they are safer than human drivers. Why should we simply trust them? What happens if the computers get out of control?’

Maybe Trump should cancel Fox News, too, if it is going to publish garbage like this before an election.

Martial law

The Atlantic insists, “The Supporters Urging Trump to Declare Martial Law for the Midterms.”

This is being treated as another terrifying Trump story, despite the enormous gap between a few supporters advocating something and Trump actually doing it. We saw the same technique throughout the Russia-collusion saga: take speculation, suggestion, or accusation and repeat it until it feels like established fact.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration saves money by removing phantom people from Obamacare rolls, Democrats such as Pelosi, AOC, and Schumer repeat their endless claim that Republicans are taking health insurance away from poor people.

The media are much more dangerous to fair elections than anything Russia, China, or Trump has ever done. They bury negative stories about Democrats and positive stories about Trump and Republicans while spewing forth endless distortions and falsehoods.

Their daily reporting designed to elect Democrats dwarfs ordinary campaign spending.

Maybe they should be required to report their contributions to the FEC.