In its increasingly absurd attempts to discredit all things Trump, the mainstream media has latched onto an animal rights organization because it’s connected to someone with the last name Trump. In an article titled “Lara Trump’s controversial pet issue,” Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn looked for anything he could find against the wife of Donald Trump’s son, Eric. That’s right, not even Trump’s daughter-in-law is safe from media hit pieces.
So what did Politico find that’s so “controversial” about the organization Lara Trump helps? Did they kill more animals than they saved, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has? Are they a front for some insidious money-laundering scheme? Do they secretly abuse the animals they claim to help?
No, of course not. Politico could find nothing the organization does wrong, but one member of the Beagle Freedom Project’s leadership team spent nearly six years in jail for sending online threats to a company that conducts product tests on animals. This man’s name is Kevin Kjonaas, but he goes by Kevin Chase. He’s BFP’s head of operations, and wasn’t named in the article until paragraph six. Lara Trump was named in the headline and first paragraph.
In an interview with Politico, Chase said he never told Trump about his criminal past. Maybe she could be faulted for not looking into the past of every person who works for a particular charity, but who does that, honestly? A source close to Trump said she didn’t know Chase “very well and was not aware of his past.”
It’s another trumped-up story designed to make it look like no one with the last name of Trump is capable of doing anything right. This particular story is shameful and knocks a perfectly legitimate organization—albeit with far leftist leanings—in an unwavering attempt to hurt the First Family.
BFP seeks so end animal testing. One may not agree with that premise (other animal rights groups have said animal testing is heavily regulated already), but the organization does what any organization with an agenda does: Lobby. It lobbies lawmakers to stop testing products on animals. It won an award from Microsoft for a social media campaign, and reported $1.6 million in income in 2015.
That’s the other interesting part about this hit piece: Politico is attacking an organization with a far leftist view in order to hit a Trump. Think about that scorched earth mentality for a moment.
This also brings up a dilemma that many on the Left—and Right—have grappled with. Is someone who does something criminal never allowed a second chance? Do we want Chase cast out of society forever because of his previously awful tactics? Or is it that we just want to never hear from him again? Truly, the only reason anyone is hearing about him now is because the media has an agenda against the Trumps, and will damage anyone who associates with them. Chase did his time, and he should be allowed to live and work free from attacks.
This is not the first time the mainstream media has written an exaggerated hit piece on the Trumps. On Inauguration Day, The New York Times reported that Trump had “purged” all the “climate change references” from the official White House website, when in reality it was just a routine change between administrations. There have also been numerous attacks lodged against Ivanka Trump’s business, even though she appears to be attempting to bring her father more in line with leftist positions.
Lara Trump wants to be the first member of a presidential family who works on behalf of animals. Her work and the people who work with her should not be attacked just because of her last name.
