It is, sadly, not surprising that the wicked parodies on Saturday Night Live have gotten under the skin of the Trump administration, which is as thin as the genuine 24 ct. gold plating on one of those “not affiliated with the U.S. Mint” commemorative coins. But never has it been more important to tell truth to power.
The current president appears to measure success in deal points, but a deal at the price of the soul of a nation founded on diversity and dedicated to that proposition comes at a high price.
President Trump gained the White House by suggesting the country was in ruins and that only he could save it, in part from a vague and frightening exterior threat. He continues to try and delegitimize the checks on his power and to marginalize and demonize any critics: Elections—rigged; Congress—obstructionists mired in the D.C. swamp; the courts—broken; the media—liars and enemies; the news—FAKE!; the intelligence community—Nazis?
How someone reacts to parody is important information to have. Do they get the joke, laugh at themselves even a little and perhaps learn from it? Or do they ball up their fists and flail away? We will leave the reader to draw their own conclusions about which the current president is…No, we won’t. He is the latter. This is not the time for coy, editorial distancing. Too much is at stake here. The president appears not to accept criticism, and thus will not learn from it. Very bad.
Besides, anyone who calls Meryl Streep overrated can’t be trusted with the nuclear codes. (THAT WAS A JOKE.)
Is it any wonder the Committee to Protect Journalists branded then-candidate Trump a clear and present danger to a free press at a degree “unknown in modern history?”
The media must continue to put a spotlight on that non-alternative fact.
