The People’s Republic of China has waded into the 2018 midterm elections, producing a propaganda video that focuses on the hardships of California farmers in the midst of a trade war between the two nations.
The animated video was published in the “opinion” section of the China Global Television Network (CGTN) website. CGTN is an “international media organization” owned by China Central Television, the state television network in China.
The video depicts an almond complaining: “President Donald Trump has started a trade war against China. In retaliation, China has enacted a 50-percent combined tax on me, my friend pistachio, and other classic California produce.”
While acknowledging that the Trump administration has provided $12 billion in aid to American farmers, it alleges that California farmers have been neglected: “Midwestern farmers are not happy with the relief, wanting trade instead. At least they have aid, unlike me.”
The video continues:
California’s 7,000 almond growers have actually been left out in the cold.
Though the traditionally blue state voted for the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, many of our state’s farmers supported Trump. Some of our top almond-producing regions in the state are actually represented by Republicans.
But unfortunately, with neither trade nor aid, our state’s farmers now stand to lose the most in this escalating trade war.
Tell me, do you want all those fruits, nuts, and veggies to pile up and rot simply because President Trump is killing trade at the expense of the many?
Democrats are targeting several Republican-held districts in California where Hillary Clinton won the presidential vote in 2016. Some of those districts are rural.
One is the 10th congressional district, represented by Republican Jeff Dunham, who is an almond farmer.
Democrats need to flip fewer than two dozen seats to take the majority and install House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as speaker.
Disinformation campaigns were considered among the key methods of Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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