{"id":35608,"date":"2019-01-10T14:04:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-10T22:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/?p=35608"},"modified":"2019-07-02T16:54:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T00:54:17","slug":"1958-tv-show-had-conman-trump-selling-mystical-wall-to-hysterical-townspeople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/?p=35608","title":{"rendered":"1958 TV Show Had Conman \u2018Trump\u2019 Selling Mystical \u2018Wall\u2019 To Hysterical Townspeople"},"content":{"rendered":"

reposted from talking points memo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Screenshot\/CBS<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n
By Matt Shuham  <\/a><\/em><\/div>\n
January 10, 2019 12:40 pm<\/em><\/div>\n
.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

The writer and animator Alex Hirsch on Thursday flagged a quirk of television history with an odd connection to present-day politics: In 1958, CBS aired an episode of the series \u201cTrackdown\u201d called \u201cThe End of the World,\u201d in which a confidence man named Trump attempts to sell a western town a \u201cwall\u201d \u2014 in the form of supposedly mystical parasols \u2014 to protect them from the fake threat of a meteor shower<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
WATCH HERE <\/a><\/strong>(And watch until the end)<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Snopes did the fact-checking legwork<\/a>:<\/strong> In the episode, \u201cDr. Walter Trump, DU MC SSR\u201d \u2014 or \u201cDoctor of the Universe, Master of Cometry, Student of Stellar Reactions\u201d \u2014 whips a western town into a frenzy by tricking its residents into believing they\u2019ll be wiped out by a meteor shower before the day is done. <\/span><\/p>\n

As protection, he sells parasols with drawn-on mystical symbols, calling them a \u201cwall\u201d that can magically repel danger.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually \u2014 despite Trump\u2019s threat of a lawsuit \u2014<\/span> the show\u2019s protagonist, Texas <\/span>Ranger Hoby Gilman, reveals that Trump is a fraud who\u2019s in cahoots with the town\u2019s sheriff, and midnight passes without any meteor-related deaths. Trump ends up dead, shot by the sheriff in an attempt to cover up the scheme. <\/span><\/p>\n

The episode is full of relevant dialogue: \u201cI bet it fits,\u201d Gilman says at one point of the name \u201cTrump.\u201d Elsewhere, a judge warns the ranger: \u201cI live here, I know these people pretty well, and right now there\u2019s nothing in the world that can change their minds [about Trump] \u2014 and anybody who tries to could end up getting hurt. They\u2019re not going to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what if he starts a panic?\u201d Gilman responds. \u201cIt could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell sure, but you might as well try to spit out a forest fire,\u201d the judge says, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s funny how a big lie can make us all kids again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, after the narrator refers to Trump as \u201cthe high priest of fraud,\u201d the conman delivers some hauntingly prescient dialogue in a speech to the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the only one! Just me! I can build a wall around your homes that nothing will penetrate,\u201d Trump says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do?\u201d a someone asks. \u201cHow do we save ourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ask: How do you build that wall?\u201d Trump responds. \u201cYou ask, and I\u2019m here to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilman eventually interrupts: \u201cYou\u2019re a liar, Trump!\u201d Finally, as the scheme unfolds, fateful words from the ranger: \u201cYou\u2019re under arrest, Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snopes dug up a full version of the episode on YouTube.<\/p>\n

I (Kara) watched it and it. does. not. disappoint. Watch it HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

reposted from talking points memo Screenshot\/CBS By Matt Shuham   January 10, 2019 12:40 pm . The writer and animator Alex Hirsch on Thursday flagged a quirk of television history with an odd connection to present-day politics: In 1958, CBS aired an episode of the series \u201cTrackdown\u201d called \u201cThe End of the World,\u201d in which a confidence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1570,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-fucking-gop","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35608"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35957,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35608\/revisions\/35957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}