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Glenn and Ben on the Train
Just in … two notorious talk radio hosts have jumped off the NeverTrump train because of the media, or so they say.
Glenn Beck has been railing against Trump for two years, including mashing his face in a bowl of orange air-snacks, and the motor-mouthed genius Ben Shapiro, who advocated a stay-home strategy for conservatives in the 2016 contest between the two horrific choices, have called it quits. Both men have been dissociating themselves from the immoral lout on a daily basis, but something happened. The media lied, distorted and just went too far this time.
Beck and Shapiro are angry at the media for making them choose sides with our magnificent-bastard President. Both have seen Trump break through their previous misconceptions and fears on policy, decorum and competence, and both have cited those things obliquely, but to save face (as it appears to me) they have chosen to blame media over-reach on their forced conversion. This way, they get to hold onto their outrage at Trump’s behavior, it’s just that they’ve found something to be even more outraged about. Welcome, comrades, to the new world of being a Trump supporter!
But for many of us, the outrage stage has long passed. We are jaded, our anger is cold. We expect them to lie. Now we calculate, we don’t try to persuade or reason with NBC, CNN et al, any more than Roosevelt should have tried to explain to the Japanese that attacking our naval base in the Pacific was bad form. We just want to defeat them.
The media has been doing this kind of thing ever since Trump declared, it just hasn’t been quite as blatant. They’ve gotten away with it so much they got cocky. Apparently in the minds of Beck and Shapiro, all the previous distortions, deliberate misinterpretations, hostile translations and transparent propaganda ploys were “just politics” — as Bush would say — and if only the classless boor would just speak clearly and avoid any ambiguous language, our movement could advance ideas and the pundits wouldn’t have to constantly clean up the mess.
However, Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck just got on the caboose of a very long train. The Trump train is so long that the cars closest to the locomotive are one station, or perhaps even two stations, ahead. Those of us in the front cars have been through these stations iteratively. (Competency Place, Stealth Democrat Overlook, Outrage Junction, Tweet Street, the Tunnel of Media Lies…)
It’s not the case that we supporters are believers or acolytes. We have, for the most part, had the same concerns and fears, we just get over them faster. Perhaps we’re less attached, more objective, and more aware of who the enemy is and how they operate. Maybe we are less moral and more forgiving of human frailty and sins. Maybe we are cynical and actually believe most of our politicians, thought-leaders and media stars are equally (or much more) despicable people who’ve as yet managed to avoid exposure. Certainly the revelations about Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, several NY District Attorneys, O.J. Simpson, Matt Lauer, Jimmy Swaggart, Denny Hastert, numerous priests, bishops, cardinals and so many more, haven’t primed us to suspect almost everyone or anyone. We shrug. A billionaire playboy had a one-night stand with a reckless gold digging floozy? Okay…and?
So, to Ben and Glenn and others who are beginning to see how absolutely outrageous the media is, great! Welcome aboard.
Important learning tool below from Scott Adams:
https://youtu.be/2aGV3lQvvqA
We are now stopped at Media Irrelevance and Exposé Square. Our illustrious engineer, Choo-Choo Charlie Trump, has been ambiguous quite deliberately in order to stoke media outrage and overreach. They focus on some mistake, something not accurate. That’s the delivery package for the content Trump wants everyone to see. This approach requires someone who is impervious to the near-term narrative they push, trusting the long-term effects. Trump didn’t care what they said about him and his motives. The package was delivered to the American people in the form of, did you hear what Donald Trump just said ?
Case in point, the media doesn’t report on MS-13 atrocities and how they are a network of illegals. Well, they do now. And how much does Trump (and conservatism or the Republican brand) really suffer? Did you consider that Trump is already every bad thing a person can possibly be? And he’s not alone. Have you ever heard the media call Republicans names like bigots, racists, xenophobes, crazies, blah, blah? Well, now Ben and Glenn actually support a guy who beds porn stars when his wife is with child. That must really sting. They’d rather go through life being portrayed as virtual Nazis than that! Until now. Welcome to the deplorables, guys.
In relationship terms, we Trumpists have already filed for divorce from the abusive husband (the media) We say, “What took you so long?”
“Well,” say Ben and Glenn, “he often slapped me around, but it was always with an open hand, never a punch, and really, a lot of times I did burn the dinner, and I had a tendency to put too much salt in the potatoes. But this time he punched me with a closed fist! And actually, the dinner I served was perfect! There was no salt in the potatoes at all, and still he complained! Now I have a real case for divorce”.
For Glenn, Ben, and Kanye:
Published in General
Not to mention JFK and the Camelot Playboy Mansion, Bill Clinton’s strip searches and rapes, and, to be bipartisan, the GOP’s teenage boy wrestling champ Denny Hastert.
Brilliant post, whether you agree or disagree (put me down for mostly agree). Don’t find thoughtful, funny extended metaphors like this anywhere but the Ricochet member feed. This one is right up there with Colonel Nicholson Republicans.
I prefer the machine gun reason of Shapiro to the crazy Iraqi anti-aircraft rationalizations of Beck. Shapiro has been one of the few “balls and strikes” critics who calls a fair game, gives Trump his wins as well as his losses, and isn’t rooting for him to blow out his UCL.
Shapiro’s also a rock solid conservative who slams Trump for his bipartisan dalliances rather than a NeverTrumper with exquisite sensibilities for Acela opinion protocols.
Thanks Quake!
I like Shapiro too, I just didn’t have room to make all the disclaimers I agree with almost everything he says, I obviously don’t agree with his strategy and I think he’s too judgemental in tone. But he is a genius and I like how he talks fast enough for my brain to stay engaged.
Beck is suspect and there’s speculation he’s just in desperation mode (not sure about that though) but he’s damaged his credibility where Shapiro hasn’t. Originally I was going to focus on how similar their rants were but couldn’t find the right clips. It’s almost as if Beck lifted Ben’s speech (and added some histrionics) verbatim. However that’s unimportant.
PS I made an edit after the post and added Hastert before I read your comment. Ha!
If memory serves, this is a favorite of @westernchauvinist:
Excellent post, you nailed it perfectly Franco. I welcome them aboard, they just needed a little more time than the rest of us to come around but I’m glad to have them aboard the train!
What I find odd about some of this stuff is that there’s no rule that one can’t get on and off the train. Support the Trump presidency and/or question its foes when warranted, then go back to calling ’em as you see ’em in other situations. But I’m convinced that this is a complete no-no for some of the more prominent Trump opponents in conservative media (some of whom appear here).
At best, when events or revelations occur that could be seen as “favorable” to Trump, one gets silence. Sometimes one even gets negative spin. It seems that one never hears “Well, yeah, can you believe what the FBI did?” or “That attack on the ‘animals’ comment was way over the top.” I’m happy to hear from Shapiro because I like him. Beck, meh. But IMO it’s still more notable that there are some who choose at every stop to stay on the platform and watch the train roll by.
Hilarious, Franco
There is redemption in MAGA …
I just listened to Jonah Goldberg’s Remnant podcast with Ben Shapiro and they talked a lot about the perception of Trump among young conservatives. The telling thing that Shapiro said was that young conservatives don’t like Trump because they don’t like how they are perceived among their peers if they express support of Trump and/or of his policies.
The PC machine really does have an effect on young conservatives trying to make their way in the world. The media bias, spin, and lies make this worse because not only do you have to defend your character against Trumps well-known and long established character flaws (the affairs, the porn star payoffs, the continuous lies in the form of exaggeration, some of his business dealings, etc.), one also has to defend his character against a slew of slanders and libels made against Trump by the media (racism, antisemitism, misogyny (he appointed a woman as his project manager in the mid 80’s and continually promoted women in his organization), etc.).
I have one objection to this post:
Not a great way to welcome people who just came aboard the Trump Train.
I’ve abandoned the seduction route to persuade others. First, being nice is overrated. Politics is tough. Both these guys are tough as well. Or maybe you’re onto something, maybe they are just seeking approval.
If it takes universal acceptance of all the varied passengers on the Trump train ( comment sections can be brutal) it’s unrealistic right there. If these folk’s loyalty to the cause( already suspect IMO … edit: in the case of Beck) depends on how kindly they are treated, then they’re not worth much. We did fine without them before.
Actually their rants seem to wish for the media to go back to just “slapping us around” so they can return to their former roles as ‘objective’ critics. It’s almost as though they are negotiating with the media rather than declaring their independence of thought.
If accurate, this highlights one of their weaknesses as political pundits – they seem unduly concerned with who they associate themselves with and can be swayed away from earlier positions with smiles and offers of candy and flowers.
I thought I was being quite gracious actually when it comes to Beck, who has slandered Trump supporters on many occasions. Shapiro has thrown some elbows but hasn’t been too offensive.
They are free to do what they like, I have no investment at this point.
Thanks for your comment though. It helped me refine ( or coarsen?) a couple of things.
Z,
I read Shapiro’s article on young conservatives and their feelings toward Trump and found it highly flawed and weak. It didn’t correspond with my experiences at all. Certainly Ben is going to continually encounter this type of young conservative because of his particular role and position in the movement.
Moreover, I’d contend that these young people are passing through these same train stations and seeing what Ben is seeing. This is the biggest takeaway. Once the media is fully exposed, conservatism wins easily.
I predicted that Trump will win 2020.
Yeah, baby!
Indeed.
Thanks, Franco. Great post.
37 Gender identity options? Eww.
Thanks for all the likes…
@RightAngles. Hmmmm.. a MAGA cap on Canadian National locomotive? Trump is nothing if not persuasive!
Haha! I don’t make the memes, I just report ’em.
It is possible to hate the left with the burning passion of a thousand suns and not be a Trump supporter. The two are not equivalent nor are they mutually exclusive.
I had a friend back in my 20s who was a pathological liar. He may have told more lies than he ever told truths. Although a lot of his lies were about himself — lies to make his life and experiences sound interesting, exciting, and sometimes just plain weird. But frequently his lies were about other mutual friends. Sometimes damaging lies, too. And because at first I trusted him — after all, he went to our church — I believed what he was saying. The trouble was, once I discovered that he was a pathological liar, I had to think back over a few years, and reconsider pretty much everything he said about himself — and most importantly about other friends — to figure out whether he was telling the truth.
Keeping this in mind . . .
The media tells lies about Donald Trump so effortlessly and shamelessly. Many of the things they reported we now know were lies. Or they were leaks that were eventually revealed to be lies. It’s hard to keep track of the number of leaks and lies and leaks that were lies told by the media over the last couple years.
This means it’s imperative to reconsider everything you were told about Donald Trump and ask yourself if it’s true. We’ve assumed much of what we heard was true because of the tabloid nature of the press and the gossipy nature of Washington. But because of the lies, we almost have to wipe the slate completely clean, start from zero, and ask ourselves if what we were told about Donald Trump is really true?
We must do this if we don’t want to be taken for fools.
That makes less sense to me. I tended to accept that as a conservative I was already going to be on the outs socially. So by supporting Trump either nothing would change or I would be accepting it and just not caring.
Getting off the Never-Trump train isn’t the same thing as getting on the Trump train. Still, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step . . .
Ok. You may hate the left but it looks to me like you aren’t serious enough about the threat they pose and/or how immanent that threat is.
I understood those who were afraid that DJT might be a closet Democrat, or someone who could be easily manipulated by them. However, I thought ( knew?) they were wrong because they never demonstrated sufficient knowledge of Trump and their interpretations smacked of cognitive dissonance. Still, even if they were right, I believed that Trump could not possibly do as much damage as HRC.
Anyone who would allow 4-8 years (and it would have been 8) of Hillary and the Clinton machine at the helm simply doesn’t understand the threat we face and is not capable of giving good advice, or worthy of an influential position in the conservative movement.
You and I are just voters, so it doesn’t matter as much what we think other than anecdotal data points that represent general positions. But your side is losing right now, and honestly, you should be happy to “lose”.
Being wrong on politics has consequences. Beck’s reputation may be beyond redemption at this point. Shapiro is damaged but can recover.
My position is still that conservatism is the only adequate counter to the left. I still fear that Trump — even for all the good he has done — will ultimately undermine conservatism. I do see a lot of gain with Trump/Trumpism, but I fear it is only short term gain purchased over the longer term. These fears could be 100% overwrought and may never come to pass. I pray that is the outcome. I’d absolutely rather I be wrong than you in this case.
I just listened to the Remnant podcast which apparently came out after Ben’s wrote whatever prompted you to put him fully aboard the Trump train (I say that because Jonah asked him about his change of heart.)
Ben seems to still think we should criticize Trump when he does stupid things and thinks refusing to criticize Trump when he does stupid things is really hurting the Republican Party and, indirectly, conservatives with younger Americans.
Yes he does, which is why he remains credible and engaging to this listener. That is to say, he may not be fully aboard to everyone’s liking. The media and social networks have annoyed me to no end, but this isn’t a Boolean scenario. Integrity and loathing of vulgarity still matters.
Aside from our ideas of what’s ‘stupid’ may vary, here’s how it looks to many of us.
Remember the “mission accomplished “ thing with Bush on the ship? We all knew it was referring to the ship’s mission and not the entire war. We could criticize the Bush PR team for failing to recognize how it could or would be twisted, or we could continually explain the obvious reference, which I did BTW, but really, people just want to believe what they want. Jonah and Ben spending time on what they think is an errant tweet by Trump is wasting a lot of brain power and just not helping when there are so many outrageous things going on. It looks like they desperately need to keep their distance from Trump. I don’t think that is effective AT ALL with the left, and it’s marginalizing them from current Trump supporters. Do they think we’ll listen to them in the future?
It’s similar to the racist accusation. Those on the right have been denying that charge for half a century to little or no effect. At some point you just don’t engage. Not bothering to defend against these spurious charges is much more effective.
The left doesn’t care about some affair he had ten years ago, they just want to yank these guys chains and sow discord. It’s sad to watch them get played, and again, it doesn’t help their credibility.
One hopes so.