President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at his Black Voices for Trump rally Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

President Trump’s open letter to Nancy Pelosi today seems to have provoked a flareup of TDS in NY Magazine stringer Jonathan Chait’s immune system.

In a piece of fair and balanced journalism entitled “Trump Writes Insane Letter to Pelosi Showing Why He’s Unfit For Office“, Chait bloviates:

Trump’s letter strengthens the case for impeachment in two important ways. First, he portrays impeachment as constitutionally *illegitimate*. By this, Trump doesn’t mean simply that his actions do not rise to an impeachable offense, or even that the accusations are completely meritless. He repeatedly denies that the House has any constitutional right to undertake impeachment at all.

Chait’s screed strengthens the case that he cannot read the King’s English in two important ways. First, Chait’s summary of Trump’s letter is the *opposite* of what it actually says. The president states *this* impeachment is b***s***–not impeachments in general, or the House’s enumerated power to impeach. Read the letter and see what I mean.

The scientific literature reports that TDS causes sufferers to hear “up” as “down.”

Second, Chait seems not to understand what the word *impeach* means (there are some good online dictionaries now, and Chait should avail himself). *Impeach* simply means “to make an accusation against.” That’s all.

Now think about it: is there ANYTHING of which one cannot accuse someone? I could, for example, impeach Chait for wearing his underwear on his head. It doesn’t mean that my impeachment is true; or that, if it is true, Chait’s wearing his underwear on his head is wrong in any way.

Chait seems to have conflated “justly and rightfully accuse” with  simply “accuse.” Chait and liberals as a group have fallen into a fallacy of logic called “begging the question.” It’s circular reasoning, the conclusion built into the premise. The cockeyed thinking goes:

The president is accused. Therefore it follows the accusation is just and true, because “accused” means “justly accused.” All smoke–including smoke we made ourselves–always means fire! Onward to certain victory in our own minds!

But enough of that. One shouldn’t ridicule some poor guy who suffers from TDS psychosis and who doesn’t know about online dictionaries.

The real nugget: President Trump has punked Chait & Co. with this letter bigly. By provoking progressive journalists to write blather like the above–and such arrogant and condescending blather at that–President Trump gets his message out despite a hostile media.

It’s brilliant. In one swoop, Chait (1) unwittingly disseminates what Trump says to the public more widely than Trump can himself and (2) demonstrates for all to see the illiteracy and incompetence of his profession today. One might say Chait *impeaches* the entire legacy news mob (I use *mob* in the Australian sense of “a herd of animals”).

If it were not for Chait, I never would have read the president’s letter, let alone analyzed it closely. Good job, bro.

And they wonder why fewer and fewer people take the legacy media seriously …