Paul Ryan Is Unwittingly Spreading Trump’s Propaganda
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty
The term “useful idiot” comes from the world of spies, and was popularized during the Cold War. The kinder version of the term is “unwitting agent,” and it refers to anyone who helps unwittingly advance propaganda. For example, I wrote a column detailing how I think Edward Snowden was an unwitting Russian agent (if I disliked him, I’d probably call him a useful idiot, but I admire what he stands for, even if I think he got played by a system far bigger than what he thought he was upending).
So in that sense, Paul Ryan opened his big phony mouth today and willingly declared himself to be a useful idiot.
Ryan says he spoke to Sec Kelly: ‘He is going to make sure on a going forward basis to make sure things are done correctly.’
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 31, 2017
Could travel ban help terrorists? ‘I think the rhetoric surrounding this could be used as a recruiting tool and i think that’s dangerous.’
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 31, 2017
To summarize: Paul Ryan doesn’t think the travel ban helps ISIS recruit—he thinks our opposition to the travel ban helps ISIS recruit. Which would make sense only if you shut yourself off to the entire world of known facts. Rukmini Callimachi is one of the best reporters keeping us up to date with the world of ISIS. She is constantly plugged in to their social channels and keeps us updated as to their chatter on a fairly regular basis. Here’s a screenshot that she posted to Twitter a few days ago: