I realize that I’m harping on a single point, but:

If you’re want a simple demonstration of what I mean about making things true, look at that pile of folders.

They had no bearing on the discussion, the press were not allowed to see their contents. They were a prop specifically put in place so that Trump could reference, suggesting that their number and presence was significant. There was no actual material presented, but the files symbolically represented the idea that there was lots of material to be presented. The files were there, therefore they must mean something, and Trump and his staff have suggested what they mean via their words and gestures.

Compare this moment with the earlier campaign mess in which “Trump Steaks” were presented at a campaign event…that were not steaks from the defunct product line, and were easily identifiable as not at all a Trump product from one of his businesses. Trump himself stood by and claimed declared them his…why? Same principle in action: there’s no real defense of Trump Steaks—which literally don’t exist anymore—but you can sell the image.

Now, compare this to the ACORN tapes, or any subsequent case of faked video or audio used to advance a culture war position and/or impact policy: the instinct is the same. The creators of those hoaxes believe they’ve created evidence: they are mountebanks and true believers. The politicians that still cite these hoaxes as motive to act believe that there’s a “truth” to the hoax, and thus do not acknowledge the established-by-proof, calcified-by-lawsuit deception of the materials.

Theater to create truth, followed by rapid (and drastic) action, followed by quashing all discussion of the evidence. It’s going to become more blatant, more frequent, particularly now that we have an alignment of executive and legislative (and soon, judicial)…that also have deep coordination with major press resources.