Category Archives: Media

Celebrity Apprentice 2024

Just when you thought there was no room for another classic television series reboot, Americans were “treated” to a revival of the Celebrity Apprentice.  Hosted by New York supreme court judge Juan Merchan, the format called for a series of Donald Trump associates to compete to see who best emulated the show’s namesake and original apprentice, who perfected his business and political skills at the altar of former Al Capone and Joe McCarthy attorney Roy Cohn.  Instead of Trump family members and Trump Organization executives, the judges consisted of a panel of 12 anonymous New Yorkers.

The following is a recap of the presentations made by each of the losing contestants.

  • American Media, Inc. president David Pecker.  Mr. Pecker wanted the judges to know how much he owed his own behavior to Trump’s tutelage, referring to him as “my mentor.”  Where else would he learn to create fake magazine covers than the man you adorned his office with manufactured Time “Man of the Year” awards?
  • Campaign and White House staffer Hope Hicks.  Ms. Hicks demonstrated how she had effectively mastered the “Trump Backtrack.”  Once Hicks realized she had bolstered the prosecution’s case by tying the Stormy Daniels payment to the 2016 election, she made a point to describe how Trump asked that newspapers that featured release of the Access Hollywood tape be banned from his Trump Tower residence, as if that would shield Melania from the on-coming firestorm.
  • Adult film star Stormy Daniels.  Trump’s lawyers, referencing Ms. Daniels’ “Make America Horny Again” strip club tour, books and anti-Trump merchandise, accused her of using the alleged affair to make money.  To which, she pulled the Trump “both sides do it” argument out of her hat.  When defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked Daniels about “an online store where you sell merchandise,” she replied, “Not unlike Mr. Trump.”
  • Defense witness and attorney Robert Costello. Mr. Costello chose one of Trump’s favorite distractions to make his case.  Throw everything against the wall and hope something sticks.  First, he demonstrated distain for the process.  Then he cherry-picked evidence, especially emails.  Under direct questioning, he felt no need to elaborate, claiming, “The emails speak for themselves.”  Finally, he likely committed perjury, testifying that his sole interest was to help Cohen navigate his legal problems. However, when other emails totally undermined his previous testimony, he adopted the Trump/Emily Litella defense, “Never mind.”

As we always knew, none of these also-rans had a chance against Trump Organization attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.  He had an insurmountable advantage, ten years with the Donald to hone his Trump-like bag of tricks which included.

  • Lying.
  • Tax evasion.
  • Bullying and threatening Trump adversaries.

However, the creme de la creme was revealed during cross-examination when Mr. Cohen admitted he had underpaid a contractor (Red Finch IT Consulting) and pocketed the difference because he felt entitled to it.  What could possibly be more Trumpian than that?  And but for the fact Cohen flipped on Trump, you can imagine the latter telling his protégé, “I’m proud of you boy.  Thanks for being the son I never had.”

POSTSCRIPT:  Minor League Justice

Watching cable news coverage of the trial took me back to my childhood.  I received my first transistor radio for my 10th birthday.  At bedtime, I would listen to baseball games featuring our hometown AAA Richmond Virginians, a Yankees farm team.  Due to budget constraints, the announcers did not attend away games.  Instead, they called the game based on teletype updates.  Crowd noise and the crack of a ball against a bat were added to the illusion the broadcast team was actually in attendance.

Coverage of the Trump trial was a throwback to those days.  Although the technology was more sophisticated, the underlying process remained the same.  Someone in the overflow room would transcribe the testimony, post it to the news anchors who then did their best to take the viewer “inside the courtroom.”

To complete this illusion, all MSNBC and CNN needed was background noise consisting of the defendant’s rustling papers, snoring and an occasional fart.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

S5E9 The Porn Star

If it did not already exist, my next book would be All I Really Needed to Know I Learned Watching Seinfeld: Or how the second button literally makes or breaks the shirt (Carlos Nicco/2014).  This was never more true than this week when I realized how Season 5/Episode 9: The Masseuse explains Donald Trump’s mindset during his 2006 encounter with Stormy Daniels.

The November 18, 1993 edition of the “show about nothing” stars a young and almost unrecognizable Jennifer Coolidge as Jodi, a professional masseuse.  Her and Seinfeld’s physical relationship is good with one exception.  Jerry is obsessed with her giving him a massage.  However, Jodi’s reluctance sends a clear message.  Just because she is a masseuse does not mean every man should expect she is a easy mark for a little back rubbing.  Sound familiar?

The following is a verbatim excerpt of “The Masseuse” script.  Jodi is supposedly meeting Jerry for a dinner date.  Only the names and location have been altered.

[setting: Tahoe Hotel Penthouse Suite]

(Donald is opening the door for Stormy. New age music is playing, and the lights are shaded)

STORMY: Hey.

DONALD: Hi.

STORMY: Hi. (kissing) I was running late and I didn’t have a chance to drop off my stuff before I came over.

DONALD: Ah, no problem. That’s fine.

STORMY: What’s with this music?

DONALD: That’s new age music. Sounds of the forest. I find it soothing. Hey, look at this! What do you know? A massage table! This is great! (he starts to install the table)

STORMY: What are you doing?

DONALD: Just checking it out. Look at how this thing is made. Can I tell you something? That’s a hell of a piece of equipment.

STORMY: Actually, I should get a new one.

DONALD: Nonsense. This one’s fine. (as he sits on the table)

STORMY: So, where do you wanna go? (as she puts her hand on his shoulder)

DONALD: Go? Why go anywhere? (as he places his hand over hers. She starts to massage his shoulders a little) Ahh, that feels good. Yeah. That’s, uh… That’s good. (he tries to go further. He grabs her hands over his shoulders and he lies down on the table on his chest) Yeah, that’s nice. That’s very nice.

STORMY: (she stops massaging) No. No, this isn’t good. I can’t do this.

DONALD: Why, what’s wrong? (he grabs her hands and force her to keep them on his shoulders)

STORMY: I can’t (she tries harder to pull her hands away)

DONALD: No. Yes you can. (he hangs on)

STORMY: No, I can’t!

DONALD: Come on! I know it’s something you wanna do! (she pulls harder and he falls right off the table)

(scene ends)

To add to the synchronistic relationship between this episode and the last two days’ testimony at the Trump election interference trial, one of the side stories in “The Masseuse” involves George Constanza’s relationship with Karen, who actually wants to sleep with him.  However, he too is obsessed with Jodi, not because she is a masseuse, because she finds him obnoxious.  Does that also ring a bell?

Karen is played by Lisa Edelstein, who some of you may remember appeared in Season 1 of West Wing.  She portrayed Laurie, a call girl and law student with whom White House aide Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) becomes obsessed.  There is no truth to the rumor Aaron Sorkin recently told friends Laurie was originally going to be an adult movie star or Playboy playmate, but the West Wing creator thought it too unbelievable.

Despite these coincidences, “The Masseuse” and “The Porn Star” differ in one most significant way.  When District Attorney Alvin Bragg pitched the latter to its potential audience, many assumed it too was a “show about nothing.”  But the witnesses and documents presented in the first three weeks of testimony suggest just the opposite.  

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

PeckerGate

As a lifelong cinephile, every chapter in Donald Trump’s political saga evokes an immediate, consistent response.  “I feel like I’ve seen this movie before.”  Former American Media, Inc. CEO David Pecker’s testimony in the Trump election interference trial is no different with one exception.  Pecker’s description of his agreement to support Trump’s 2016 campaign represents a déjà vu double feature.

Secrets and Lies

During coverage of the New York trial, multiple pundits harkened back to the days when they accompanied their mothers to the grocery store.  Each recalled seeing The National Enquirer while waiting to check out.  Their memories included examples of the outrageous front page headlines about women giving birth to alien babies and freaks of nature.  No one took it seriously. How then could a tabloid with so little journalistic integrity possible flip the outcome of the 2016 election?

As we know, even a broken clock is right twice a day.  And all it took was one or two verified stories to cloak the Enquirer in the credibility it had seldom enjoyed.  Case in point, the October 10, 2007 front page report that announced 2008 Democratic candidate for president John Edwards fathered a love-child with a campaign worker.   The narrative was initially viewed as just more Enquirer sensationalism.  However, once Edwards remained in the news as a potential Barack Obama vice-presidential running mate, mainstream media outlets picked up the story.

On August 8, 2008, Edwards admitted having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who had been hired to produce behind-the-scenes videos following Edwards on his quest for the presidential nomination.  On August 18, New York Times reporter David Carr gave the Enquirer, somewhat begrudgingly, its due credit.

There are some stories, especially ones that occur in the bedroom, where mainstream media outlets sometimes can’t venture—or at least they can’t find it in themselves to lead the charge. But it would be hard to argue that the body politic is not enriched by the recent revelations that Mr. Edwards is not who we thought he was, even balanced against the many stories the Enquirer gets wrong.

Then National Enquirer publisher (drum roll) David Pecker must have realized this was a turning point in his tabloid’s history.  With its new-found credibility in the political arena, the Enquirer could no longer be ignored by more reputable media outlets.  As we learned yesterday in a New York courtroom, this enabled actual fake news produced under the agreement between Pecker, Trump and Michael Cohen in June 2015 to rapidly move from the tabloid rack at the checkout line to the nightly news and cable outlets.

All the President’s Men

In 1972, they were called “dirty tricks.”  Among the first was the infamous “Canuck Letter.”  At the time, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president.  The saga begins with a handwritten letter to William Loeb, editor of the Manchester Union, postmarked from Deerfield Beach, Florida and signed by a Paul Morrison.  It accused Muskie of denigrating Franco-Americans by laughing when a campaign aide referred to them by the slur “Canucks.”  Without fact checking the source, Loeb published the letter on the front page with an editorial in which he wrote, “We have always known that Sen. Muskie was a hypocrite, but we never expected to have it so clearly revealed.”

In an emotional response at a February 26, 1972 rally, Muskie states, “The letter is a lie,” and called Loeb “a mudslinging, vicious and gutless coward.”   In what was considered unacceptable in those days, Muskie was reported to have tears in his eyes, a perceived sign of weakness.  Despite efforts to dismiss his emotional outburst, Loeb continued the attack until primary election day, and even though Muskie was the victor, the damage was already done.  During the Florida primary, bumper stickers warned Democratic voters, “Vote for Muskie or he’ll cry.”

Although the author of the letter was never definitively identified, Donald Segretti a young staff member on the Committee to Re-elect the President, took responsibility and sent Muskie the following:

October 11, 1973

Dear Senator Muskie:

I wish to personally apologize to you, your family, and your staff for activities in the 1972 Presidential campaign. Such activities are wrong and have no place in the American political process.

I trust that my public statements to that effect and my guilty plea will prevent others from getting involved in such activities in the future.

Sincerely,
DONALD H. SEGRETTI

FAT CHANCE!

Postscript:  The Common Denominator

The reason this movie keeps getting played over and over again is the fact each has the same executive producer–Roger Stone.  He was the Nixon whisperer in 1968 and 1972, the Trump whisperer in 2016 and thanks to a Trump pardon will still be spreading mischief in this election cycle.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

NASCAR SOTU Update

Final Nielsen numbers show that Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address drew 32.3 million viewers, an 18% increase from last year. (Ted Johnson/DEADLINE.COM)

The numbers were reported based on data from 14 broadcast networks and cable channels.  What’s more, my wish came true.  Fox News drew more viewers than any other single outlet with 5.84 million.  As mentioned in the last blog, their commentators promoted the event as though it was going to be “Biden’s Last Stand.”  This was akin to promoting “Oppenheimer” as a comedy.  Unsuspecting viewers did not get what they came to see.

Want more good news.  While Fox News led for a single entity, MSNBC and CNN had a total viewership of 7.06 million (4.43 and 2.63 million respectively).  From a network perspective, Fox Broadcasting drew 1.78 million viewers while their three competitors–ABC, NBC and CBS–pulled in a combined total of 13.8 million.

Does it make a difference when more viewers get their news from sources other than Fox, Newsmax and OANN?  I’ll let Tommy Christopher of MEDIAITE.COM answer that one.

A CNN flash poll shows President Joe Biden (his emphasis) gained massively on a key question asked before and after his State of the Union address: will the president’s policies move the US in the right direction or the wrong direction?

While 64  percent had a positive view of the speech, there was a dramatic swing from before the speech.  On the “right/wrong direction” question, the difference between the pre-speech number on the question — 45 percent “right direction” — and the post-speech number of 62 percent — was a swing of 17 points.

Keep in mind, until Nikki Haley suspended her campaign on Wednesday, the election coverage was largely on the GOP horse race with all the contenders bashing Biden.  It is now mano-a-mano, and if Thursday night viewer metrics are any indication, the reigning champ opened his defense with a first round knock-down.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

The Broken Mirror

Two events in the last 48 hours make it clear, the motto for the MAGA-verse should be, “Don’t watch what we say, watch what we say!”  (No, that is not a typo.)

Event #1:  A remote segment during Friday night’s edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live consisting of interviews with three South Carolina Trump supporters.  Here are excerpts from “Debate and Switch.”  The interview starts by asking each if they would mind if she asks them about things that Joe Biden has said or done.

Interviewer:  What did you think when Joe Biden suggested that Covid could be cured by shining a bright light inside the body?
Trumpster #1:  It is very sad that Joe Biden is clearly a dementia patient.
Interviewer:  I’m so sorry.  I got my notes mixed up.  Can we start all over?
Trumpster #1: Okay.
Interviewer:  What did you think when Donald Trump suggested that Covid could be cured by shining a bright light inside the body?
Trumpster #1:  It depends on what that technology is.

Interviewer:  There are accusations Joe Biden cheated on his wife with a porn star after his son was born, and there’s actually a paper trail showing he paid the sex worker $130,000 to keep quiet about it.
Trumpster #2:   Who did that?  Joe Biden?
Interviewer:  Joe Biden.
Trumpster #2:  And he was making less than $100,000 a year at that time as a senator.  How does he do that?
Interviewer: You tell me.  Would you vote for someone who did that?
Trumpster #2:  Of course not.
Interviewer.  So Trump did do that.
Trumpster #2:  Trump had a fling with Stormy Daniels.
Interviewer:  And paid her $130,000.
Trumpster #2:  And paid her hush money.
Interviewer:  Yes, and you’re voting for him.
Trumpster #2:  I am.  My father had affairs too and I still respect him.

Interviewer:  How do you feel about Joe Biden using bone spurs to dodge the Vietnam draft?
Trumpster #3:  Joe Biden has a problem.  He isn’t an American.  He isn’t a patriot.
Interviewer:  I’m sorry, I asked you about Biden but I meant Trump.  Can I ask you the question again?
Trumpster #3:  Yes you may.
Interviewer:  How do you feel about Donald Trump using his bone spurs to dodge the Vietnam draft?
Trumpster #3:  My brother-in-law had flat feet. I’m sure you cannot go into a military zone like Vietnam with bad feet.  You just can’t do the job.  And it actually impacts the other soldiers.

To be fair, the Kimmel staffer could have spent days working on this project in order to find these three “gems.”  As we know, there are also a few nuts in every box of Cracker Jacks, even ones who would give permission for this footage to be aired on late night television.  Posthumous kudos to Andy Warhol.  It’s amazing what people will do for one minute, much less 15 minutes of fame.

Event #2:  The South Carolina GOP Primary.  Surely, most Palmetto State Trump supporters could not be this unaware.  If only there was a way to prove it.  As legendary sports reporter Warner Wolf would say, “Let’s go to the video tape.”  In this case it is National Election Pool (NEP) exit polls from yesterday’s South Carolina GOP primary.  When voters were asked about the condition of the national economy, 16 percent said it was “Good,” and 84 percent said it was “Not Good.”  They were then asked about their “family’s financial situation.”  The envelope please.

Getting Ahead/22 percent
Holding Steady/60 percent
Falling Behind/16 percent

Really?  Eight-two percent of South Carolina GOP voters are doing okay or better and yet 84 percent think the national economy is in the proverbial dumpster.  Not to mention every indicator of national economic health is performing at a record pace or trending in that direction.

This morning, not a single major newspaper or media outlet reported anything about this case of cognitive dissonance from the NEP polls.  I had to go back to last night’s MSNBC’s election night coverage to find where it appeared once on the crawl at the bottom of the screen.  None of the MSNBC commentators mentioned it during the broadcast.

This does not happen by accident.  No one wakes up one morning and says, “You know, the economy sucks but my family situation is pretty good.”  Those conclusions come from different sources.  You understand your personal financial condition through everyday experiences.  You know when you can and cannot pay the bills, even if inflation is above the target set by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Information about the national economy is provided by outsiders.  And your outside sources are a matter of choice.  I am sure if you asked the 84 percent who think the economy is “not good” where they get their news, a significant majority would be Fox News and Fox Business viewers.  I do not expect the Murdoch media empire to address this “I’m fine but…” anomaly.  Surely, someone in the “liberal press” noticed South Carolina voters were speaking out of both sides of their mouths.  Yet, they said nothing.

Is this going to convert die-hard MAGA voters?  Of course not.  But 2024 is not just about saving America from Donald Trump.  It is also a campaign to expose the irrationality underpinning the MAGA movement.  Certainly, there is someone out there who saw the Kimmel segment and thought, “I’m not that crazy, am I?”  More importantly, they should not have to depend on a late night talk show host or a Sunday morning blogger to point this out.

POSTSCRIPT

I rarely defend Donald Trump.  But unlike MAGA world which believes Fox News, NewsMax and OANN can do no wrong, journalistic integrity is important no matter the source.  Last night, Lawrence O’Donnell, who should know better, echoed a story going around that Trump called his wife “Mercedes” during Saturday’s speech at CPAC.  To be fair, Trump was lying about how supportive Melania has been despite the fact she has not been with him in court or on the campaign trail.  Of course, the lemmings in the audience applauded loudly.  Then Trump turned slightly to his left and said, “Mercedes, how about that?”  Even I know that the wife of CPAC president Matt Schlapp and Trump’s second White House Director of Communications is (drum roll) “Mercedes Schlapp.”  And chances were pretty good she was sitting in the front row during Trump’s speech.

I have no doubt there will be a Trump or MAGA PAC ad in which they talk about “how desperate the liberal press is.”  And O’Donnell and others handed him the ammunition to credibly do exactly that. 

Never has this Nate Silver quote been more relevant.  “Distinguishing the signal from the noise requires both scientific knowledge and self-knowledge.”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP