You have probably heard by now that over the weekend, President Trump tweeted that Obama had been wiretapping his campaign headquarters last year, right before the election in November.
This caused quite a stir in the media, as you can imagine because of the accusation that a sitting president would wiretap a presidential hopeful are very grave indeed. Not to mention, not everyone was sure why Trump felt confident making such a bold statement when there doesn’t seem to be any indication of it.
Remember Trump’s statement about Sweden? Well, in this case, it seems to be very similar. While the statements the president made seemed to be unfounded on their own, the fact is, the suggestion that Obama was wiretapping Trump Tower is not that outrageous.
We’ve known for years now that the NSA has been wiretapping American citizens; it was one of the biggest scandals of the Obama presidency. And, it turns out, the Obama administration did, in fact, make several requests, that were denied, for the warrant to monitor selected Trump campaign officials.
It seems, unfortunately, that the impulsive tweets of our sitting president and the tendency of the media to blow up a story to the point of overshadowing the actual merits of a suggestion like this are just indications of the time we live in, and yet another reminder to try to read between the lines when there is a huge, contentious story like this one.
Whoever is president, we know that we now live in a world where the NSA can gather data on millions of American citizens, and we also know we live in a world where social media and the 24-hour-news cycle can jump on the most sensationalized aspect of a story and leave behind truth on the way.
If you’re wondering if we’re headed for Civil War, the emotional, hyped-up reaction to this potential scandal is another indication of the level of tension and distress in our country, as well. I would just continue to encourage you as I always do to keep a sober mind, get your family prepared and equipped with a good safety plan, and don’t let your guard down.