Trump is News — NOT Entertainment
Showing him as anything but a dangerous bigot is dangerous…
Donald Trump is a ridiculous human being. Nothing is off-limits for him and he doesn’t care what comes out of his mouth as long as it resonates with someone. Anyone. His actions can appropriately be labeled as “antics” and he’s had a competition-oriented reality TV program for more than a decade. His hair is apparently not fake — just so haywire that the universe stops making sense when you realize it’s real. He speaks with the intention of theatrics rather than effectiveness and he’s more orange than Snooki has ever been. So when a well-read, legitimate publication you’ve definitely heard of decided to move all new developments concerning The Most Luxurious, Golden Man In Politics™ from “news” to “entertainment,” everyone seemed to have had a good laugh.
And fair enough. I’m not going to pretend that on The Road to PresidentalMania, I’m going to somehow pass on mercilessly making fun of D-Trump. I’ll be mining this human-mole hybrid for everything he’s worth. Why? I’m a satirist — an underwhelming one from the internet, to be true. But I am one and it’s what I (try to) do. My personal belief is that Trump is terrible for earth, so I want to use humor — my craft — to put that out there.
I, however, am not a well-read, legitimate publication. I am but one solitary person (who, coincidentally, has actually been bullied by certain other well-read, legitimate publications). What I say about Donald Trump is an individual’s opinion and happens to be coming from not-the-most serious person to have ever walked the earth, so the way I hope to have my words have some kind of impact is focused through the prism of attempted comedy (note: this essay is not an attempt at comedy or satire and now the fact that you aren’t laughing is irrelevant — so there!).
While this lax set of expectations and requirements applies to me and any other turd calling themselves a comedian or satirist, I have to say I feel they are pretty specific to us “comedy” turds. Well-read, legitimate publications have a bit more “responsibility,” however. The publication in question’s reasoning for his categorical shift said they wished to put his words “where they belong” — next to a Kardashian’s rather than a politician’s. Now, ignoring the underlying misogyny in this use of “Kardashian,” — a resourceful person who had a heinous act committed against her (revenge porn), took ownership of her public perception, and built a business on top of it — as a means to discredit, I get it. It’s amusing to lump him in with reality TV because he comes from it.
This just entirely ignores the idea of context, though.
Donald Trump is entertaining, but is no longer an entertainer. At the moment, he’s the legitimate frontrunner for the Republican Presidential Nomination. He’s got bottomless pockets to get his message out there, and it isn’t a message of peace and love, man — it’s one that is constantly building him support with white supremacist groups. He’s at very least a competent businessperson (at least compared to the rest of the “entertainment” section) who can sound significantly more professional — and more importantly convincing — than The Situation, who is… Well, not a genius. Putting Trump next to him makes Trump look smart, though not regarding choice of tanning salon. Trump is quite the disaster there, but has amassed a real estate empire that’s made him more money than most of us can conceptually understand. There are exactly zero other reality TV stars that have done that and in that respect, Trump is not a big fish in a small pond, he’s a damn whale.
When you treat a person running a presidential campaign like a person running a presidential campaign, you tend to scrutinize them a bit further than you might with someone who chooses to be referred to as “Snooki” — or for that matter, “Peter Coffin,” loser comedian on the internet. Putting Donald Trump in this category rather than news isn’t destroying his credibility, it’s destroying his accountability. Categorizing him as a sideshow keeps watchdog eyes off him that would otherwise be paying attention, allowing him to continue to say ridiculous, damaging things without the intense scrutiny a politician (which he decidedly is; few presidential front runners are not) would face. He’s being allowed to pad his numbers, securing his lead in the polls further by the day, with the worst kinds of people simply because he’s not yet required to act like a real politician or even a person of even slight legitimacy.
If he gets the nomination and stops saying all this nonsense in the general election (not that I think he will), do you think the white supremacists (and people who use white supremacists to amplify their message) are suddenly going to abandon the first viable candidate who has legitimately catered directly to them in quite a while? No. He gets their vote and their voice — contributing to his platform while silently making bigoted promises in his name which he doesn’t ever have to acknowledge he is aware of.
This would not be possible if news organizations regarded the actual Republican Presidential front runner as news. Tossing him into the entertainment section doesn’t imprison Trump, it liberates him — elevates him, even. He’s the only person in that category with a legitimate shot at running for President in the general election. He stands alone there while legitimate candidates stand next to each other in the news category, their up against other people vying for the same goal. Trump’s re-categorization allows him to continue being Trump without having to answer for it — all while continuing to get his message out to the worst people.
Donald Trump won’t magically become news if he receives the nomination (due to his growing support — and don’t think white supremacists aren’t advocating for him). He is news now and should be held to the standards of every other candidate in the presidential race. Holding him to lower ones is supplying him with a growth vector, which is what this move seems to be (stupidly) designed to avoid.
Avoiding responsibility is something politicians should be made to figure out themselves, not given outright. Well-read, legitimate publications should know better than to give Donald Trump “easy mode” in the Presidential game.
