'What You're Seeing... Is Not What's Happening.' People Are Comparing This Trump Quote to George Orwell
President Trump drew comparisons to George Orwell’s 1984 in an attack on the media during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Tuesday.
In his address to the convention in Kansas City, Trump defended his decision to slap tariffs on the U.S.’s trading partners. As Trump told the crowd that “it’s all working out,” he warned those in the audience against believing what they see in the news.
“What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” Trump said.
For some, the quote immediately recalled a line from Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
—George Orwell https://t.co/OhqKrU0PBE— David Priess (@DavidPriess) July 24, 2018
Those on Twitter quickly connected Trump’s words to what Orwell wrote.
“What you are seeing and what you are reading, is not happening.”
Donald Trump
George Orwell is laughing.— Christopher Titus (@TitusNation) July 24, 2018
Not the Onion and not Orwell's missing line from "1984". https://t.co/VphrWSg1EX
— Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) July 24, 2018
Orwell wrote about this. Also, this is the tactic used by dictators. But carry on. https://t.co/Dl3v6dxvZm
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) July 24, 2018
Donald Trump goes full George Orwell in his most recent speech to Veterans. “Just remember, what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” https://t.co/9PU4cejcPH
— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) July 24, 2018
It’s not the first time Trump’s speeches has reminded people of something out of an Orwell story. Last week, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake called Trump’s words at his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki an “Orwellian moment.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. government announced a $12 billion plan to help farmers affected negatively by Trump’s trade disputes with China. The plan will assist soybean producers located in the Midwest who have been hurt by duties imposed by China on their products in retaliation to Trump’s tariffs.