Living Inside the Wrap-Up Smear
In 2017 Nancy Pelosi discussed a key political tactic used by the Democrats. She called it the “Wrap-Up Smear”. Her exact words were:
“So you demonize and then you, we call it the wrap up smear, if you want to talk politics, we call it the wrap up smear. You smear somebody with falsehoods and all the rest and then you merchandise it. And then you [the press] write it and they'll say, ‘See, it's reported in the press that this, this, this and this,’ so they have that validation that the press reported the smear and that it's called the wrap up smear. Now I’m going to merchandise the press's report on the smear that we made. And it's, it's a tactic…”
To break this down better it can be described as follows:
The Wrap-Up Smear
• Step 1: Demonize someone with falsehoods.
• Step 2: Merchandise the falsehoods.
• Step 3: The press reports the falsehoods.
• Step 4: Use the press reports as validation for the falsehoods.
Summary: This tactic creates a cycle where the initial smear is repeatedly validated and spread, making it seem more credible with each repetition.
Looking back, it’s clear to see where this tactic has been used. Over the last seven years, much of the narrative around Donald J. Trump has been proven to be based on lies propagated by the Democrats and amplified (“merchandised,” as Pelosi put it) by the media. These many falsehoods have been constructed around Trump’s comments, actions, and policies.
The “Fine People” Smear
This began with Trump’s Charlottesville comments in August 2017. The Wrap-Up Smear claims that Trump called white supremacists “fine people”, which is not true. Here’s what was actually said:
“ Reporter: The neo-Nazis started this thing. They showed up in Charlottesville.
Trump: Excuse me, they didn't put themselves down as neo-Nazis, and you had some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group — excuse me, excuse me, I saw the same pictures as you did — you had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name. George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status, are we gonna take down — excuse me — are we gonna take down statues of George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cause he was a major slaveowner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So, you know what? It's fine. You're changing history, you're changing culture, and you had people — and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people, but you also had troublemakers, and you see them come with the black outfits, and with the helmets, and the baseball bats, you got a lot of bad people in the other group too. “
Democratic candidates and officials continue to, as Nancy Pelosi would say, “merchandise” the false claim that President Donald Trump called neo-Nazis and white supremacists “fine people.” Despite the fact that anyone can easily verify that this is untrue, figures like Chuck Schumer, TV commentators, and even President Biden keep repeating the claim. The smear persists because the media chooses to keep it alive, never challenging the politicians who perpetuate it.
The “Suckers and Losers” Smear
President Biden frequently promotes the false claim that President Trump referred to fallen American World War I soldiers buried in France as “suckers and losers.” This accusation can be easily debunked with minimal effort for those willing to investigate. The story originated from an article in The Atlantic, a left-leaning publication, which relied on anonymous sources.
According to The Atlantic article:
“Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, ‘Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.’ In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as ‘suckers’ for getting killed…”
However, none of the individuals who were on that trip with President Trump—White House aide Zach Fuentes, Chief of Staff General John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo—have confirmed hearing him make these remarks. In fact, all of them have stated that they never heard President Trump say anything of the sort. The entire “suckers and losers” story is thus based on anonymous and secondhand reports, which no one present during the trip has corroborated, and which President Trump has vehemently denied.
This situation is another clear example of the “Wrap-Up Smear.” As Nancy Pelosi described, “You smear somebody with falsehoods and all the rest, and then you merchandise it. And then you [the press] write it.” Now, Democratic politicians frequently reference The Atlantic article, claiming President Trump made these “suckers and losers” comments—an ideal execution of the Wrap-Up Smear.
The “Injecting Bleach” Smear
The “injecting bleach” smear continues to be pushed by President Biden and his supporters, even four years after it was first spread. Recently, Jessica Tarlov on Fox News was promoting this false narrative. According to Politifact, here’s how the smear originated:
The Trump administration invited William Bryan, the undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, to brief President Trump on observations about the Coronavirus and potential agents that could kill the virus. During the briefing, it was mentioned that cleaning agents like bleach, as well as ultraviolet (UV) light, could kill the virus. Bryan made a statement that using UV rays could reduce the virus’s half-life from six hours to just two minutes.
In response, Trump asked some questions and made the following comments, as quoted by Politifact:
“A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting, right?
And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.”
Essentially, President Trump was brainstorming and speculating—he was thinking aloud about potential solutions. At no point did he suggest that anyone should inject bleach into their bodies. Yet, no claim is too outlandish for the Democrat media’s smear campaign. Trump was expressing interest in studying whether it’s possible to bring ultraviolet light “inside the body” and whether disinfectants could be used against the virus “by injection.”
The “Bloodbath” Smear
The “bloodbath” smear is a textbook example of the Wrap-Up Smear in action. On March 16, 2024, during a rally in Ohio, Donald Trump discussed the auto industry and the possibility of cheap Chinese cars being manufactured in Mexico and sold in the U.S. He warned that this could lead to a “bloodbath” in the market. Trump said:
“China now is building a couple of massive plants, where they’re going to build the cars in Mexico and… they think that they’re going to sell those cars into the United States with no tax at the border…. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole— that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it. But they’re not gonna sell those cars.”
Clearly, Trump was referring to a financial “bloodbath” in the market. However, the Biden campaign took this quote out of context and combined it with another statement Trump made about the election, which was:
“If this election, if this election isn’t won, I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country. Does that make sense? I don’t think you’re going to have another election in this country if we don’t win this election.”
The Biden team then distorted these two separate comments—made 20 minutes apart—into a false narrative, claiming that “Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost, there would be no more elections.”
This is a perfect example of what Nancy Pelosi described as the Wrap-Up Smear: “You smear somebody with falsehoods and all the rest, and then you merchandise it. And then you [the press] write it, and they’ll say, ‘See, it’s reported in the press that this, this, this, and this,’ so they have that validation that the press reported the smear, and that’s called the Wrap-Up Smear. Now I’m going to merchandise the press’s report on the smear that we made.”
I haven’t even touched on the biggest smear of all—the Russia Collusion Smear, a coordinated lie bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, her Democratic law firm, and supported by a corrupt FBI. That topic is so significant it deserves its own article.
While we’ve discussed some of the major lies propagated by the Democrats and amplified by the media, there are many, many more.
Here are a few more lies supported by the Democrat media:
• 51 Intelligence Agents claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation.
• 16 Economists predicted Trump would create an inflation problem.
• Claims that Biden is sharp and doesn’t have dementia.
• Dismissing the COVID-19 lab leak theory as a conspiracy when initially suggested by Trump and Republicans.
• The J6 Committee coverup and destruction of evidence.
• False claims that Ivermectin and HCQ don’t work and are dangerous.
• The smear against the Covington teen, calling him racist after an Indian man confronted him with a drum.
• The claim that the 2020 election was the “most secure in American history,” with no issues with mail-in ballots or voting machines—leading to 81 million votes for Biden.
• The assertion that the COVID vaccine protects against infection.
• The Jussie Smollett hoax: “This is MAGA Country.”
• False accusations that Border Patrol agents whipped migrants.
• Claims that Trump put kids in “Obama’s cages.”
• The unfounded allegation that Trump had nuclear secrets at Mar-a-Lago.
• The “Muslim Travel Ban” hoax.
• The characterization of Al-Baghdadi as an “austere religious scholar.”
• Misrepresentation that Trump’s tax cuts only benefit the wealthy.
• The baseless story that Trump overpowered the Secret Service to grab the wheel of “The Beast” from the back seat.
• The lie that masks prevent COVID.
• The narrative that BLM and Antifa were “mostly peaceful protesters.”
And more…
Now, you’ve glimpsed behind the curtain, revealing the manipulations of the media as they “merchandise” or, more bluntly, “sell” the smears and lies of the Democrats. My hope is that this has left you, the reader, with a deep sense of disdain and disgust for the media. Now you understand how politicians and their media allies are manipulating you.
Politicians may lie, but the media should not be complicit in spreading those lies to the public. If the media is willing to deceive you, I urge you to take action: unsubscribe, change the channel, turn it off, and refuse to consume their content.
It’s time to rise up, escape life inside the wrap-up smear, and reject the manipulation by the mainstream media.