Wag the Dog was a 1997 film depicting a presidential candidate seeking to cover up a sex scandal by starting a fictitious war to distract the corporate media and the American public.
Now we have the corporate media and
the American public obsessed with a presidential sex scandal that diverts our
attention from war in Ukraine and other
more pressing issues. We are dogging the
wag at the benefit of Donald Trump.
The American media is obsessed with
Donald Trump because he makes them money.
In 2016 he received $5 billion in free media time. This earned
media contributed to his victory over
Hilary Clinton who raised far more money than
Trump. Throughout his presidency
the corporate media, including CNN, MSNBC, and FOX, earned billions off of Trump. He started the morning off with one or two
Tweets, driving the daily coverage for the press which slavishly reported on
everything he did or said. The more outrageous the better.
It did not matter if he lied or not.
Or whether he made sexist or racist comments.
Trump and the media were in a symbiotic relationship. He needed them as a politainer (politician +
entertainer) to get the attention he needed, and they needed him for copy,
clicks, and profits. They could not stop
covering him, no matter what. This is,
as I have argued. American
politics in the age of Trump.
Never mind that the Trump tax
cuts made wealthier people like him richer and hurt his base. Never mind that he sought to gut much of the
regulatory state. Never mind that he
packed the Supreme and lower federal courts.
Covering these matters were sideshows for the media, and Trump know how
to make them a sideshow by driving the media agenda.
Nothing has changed in Trump’s
post-presidency. Every comment, every
stop, everything that Trump does gets covered.
And now we have a replay of a sex scandal.
Trump allegedly paid off a porn star
seven years ago to silence her during
his first presidential run. Now its back
in the news as Trump has become the first (ex-)president to be indicted for a crime. Starting over
two weeks ago when Trump announced he was about to be arrested the media
is apoplectic over this. Pundits,
politicos, and political analysts are having a field day attesting to the
merits of the charges—even though we have no idea what they actually are yet. It’s as bad as ESPN pre-game speculation.
The 2024 presidential election cycle
script is already written for Trump. The
media will cover this indictment and perhaps others too, but the juiciness of
this one involving sex and payoffs will no doubt dominate. Trump gets the media moment he wants,
reinforcing his grip on the Republican base and generating millions of
political donations he will use for his legal defense. He gets the coverage he wants, the media gets
the viewers they want.
This
is dog the wag.
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