Or: the victimhood kabuki show is for the fans rubes.

By Emily Birnbaum @ TheHill.com, Dec. 7

President Trump is defending Google, Facebook and other big tech companies he's repeatedly railed against when it comes to France's digital tax, a position that underscores how Trump's policies on tech don't always match his fiery, antagonistic rhetoric.

Silicon Valley has applauded the Trump administration for condemning Europe’s efforts to tax the U.S. tech giants, but the situation has made for strange bedfellows as the president continues to galvanize his base by claiming companies like Facebook and Twitter are out to get him.

Some tech industry sources say it’s part of a long-standing dynamic: Trump lambasts the companies in public but his “America first” administration often defends them as valuable U.S. businesses. “There’s sometimes a delta between the rhetoric and the policy actions,” a tech industry source told The Hill. “But I’d say that’s probably true beyond just the tech industry. The relationship is probably better than people suspect." [....]