Media

Around 2:45 on the morning of November 6, Donald Trump beckoned Dana White to the lectern to address the sea of MAGA-hatted supporters assembled to celebrate the former president’s election victory. In his brief but animated remarks at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship made sure to thank a cadre of figures who might just have been the key to Trump’s shocking triumph. “I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ With the Boys,” White said, “and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan!” You would be forgiven for not knowing who all these people are. No doubt many of the faithful assembled to cheer Trump were perplexed as well.

I write at the end of July, just on the threshold of the “silly season,” “the months of August and September, when newspapers supply the lack of real news by articles or discussions on trivial topics.” I think the season may have come a bit early this year. That, anyway, is how I am interpreting the sudden tsunami of gossip, prognostication, animadversion and speculation about certified female-of-color Kamala Harris. By the time you read this, some of the frenzy surrounding Harris may have abated. But for the time being the news is full-to-gagging with puppies and unicorn stories about how strong, dynamic and potentially transformative she is. Also, it may not be amiss to point out, she is not Donald Trump. Watching the makeover has been partly amusing, partly alarming.

Sometimes, a fairytale provides the best description of a real-world crisis. That’s true of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. The best description, sadly, is the tale of the naked emperor, who parades through his kingdom without clothes but is never called out until a child cries out the truth. Once the child speaks, the crowd joins in. For Joe Biden, the yelling child was the split screen that kept his face on camera throughout his late June debate with Donald Trump. Observers could finally see — and call out — what the Biden team and the mainstream press knew for months but refused to say. In fact, the Biden communications team is still refusing to acknowledge the obvious. How can they and still claim Joe is fit to serve as president for another four-plus years?

Days after a radio host admitted to using the Biden campaign’s pre-selected questions in her post-debate interview with the president, another "journalist" committed credibility hari-kari. Earl Ingram, the host of Wisconsin-based radio show Civic Media, confessed to editing an interview with Joe Biden... at the request of the president’s campaign, naturally.  Ingram conducted the interview with Biden on July 3, following his disastrous performance in the presidential debate on June 27, airing the interview a day later.   The Biden campaign reportedly called the radio station right after the interview was recorded asking for two edits to be made. Civic Media did not specify who exactly made the report.