The Vox website is displayed on an iPad held by an Associated Press staffer in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Comcast, which became a TV powerhouse by signing up Generation Xers, is investing in online media outlets like BuzzFeed and Vox that attract millenial viewers. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Sometimes it’s best to just not say anything. Vox’s Aaron Rupar, purportedly a “journalist,” hasn’t learned that lesson.
Today, Donald Trump gave a speech in Iowa where he hit on some of the struggles that rural Americans are dealing with as they produce much of the food you and I enjoy daily. At one point, Trump starts to discuss improvements to broadband in their areas and how many farms in Iowa don’t have the proper connectivity for their tractors. This extends to 3G/4G wireless internet coverage as well, which is incredibly spotty in the midwest.
This had Rupar thinking he had a solid own of Trump on tap. You see, he said tractors can’t connect to the internet. What a moron, am I right?
Beyond parody — Fox Business cuts away from Trump's speech right after he laments, bizarrely, that tractors can't hook up to the internet pic.twitter.com/hbYoYm2UgO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 11, 2019
His first statement on tariffs is not really correct either. Yes, costs can theoretically be passed onto American consumers if the market will bear it, but it is still a tax on Chinese corporations and does hurt them. There’s a reason Mexico caved to Trump’s recent tariff threats over immigration and it’s not because they just wanted to do him a solid.
But it’s the second tweet that has the video and comment dealing with tractors and internet connectivity. You can watch the clip and see exactly what Trump said, but my description above is an accurate portrayal.
Rupar, being your typical North Eastern bubble dweller calls what Trump says bizarre and tries to play it off as another “omgz, how dumb is Trump” moment.
If you’ve been alive anywhere outside of New York or D.C. in the past ten years though, you know how ill-informed Rupar’s comment is.
these brochures advertising some of the modern, internet-based technology available on modern tractors took me approximately 45 seconds to find pic.twitter.com/BI44xeqWuu
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) June 12, 2019
In fact, I can remember well over a decade ago going to an uncle’s house and checking out some of the new equipment at his neighbor’s farm. At the time, GPS was being used to ensure precision plowing and planting. Today, internet connectivity in tractors at even smaller operations is becoming the norm to run all kinds of new features to keep things moving smoothly.
The lack of broadband and wireless connectivity in the areas where some of these farms are is a real problem and hurts efficiency.
Despite the clear stupidity of Rupar’s comment, the usual suspects still fell for it.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) June 11, 2019
What this shows is just how out of touch many of these press personalities are. They’ve probably never been within 500 feet of tractor, much less do they know about the technological improvements currently in them.
It’s cliched but worth repeating. This is why Trump won.
People are sick of being looked down on by people in a few major cities who have no idea how their avocado toast ends up at their $10 a drink cafe. All over the country, people do different jobs to provide a higher standard of living for all of us and clowns like Rupar think they are superior because they can write a few hundred words a day and snark on Twitter.
Vox is just a joke of an outlet. They are not only biased, but routinely display a level of ignorant arrogance that is only rivaled by some personalities on CNN. Maybe Rupar will think before he tweets next time or at least try google first, but I doubt it.
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