Here are a few excerpts from this article over at Vanity Fair:
The Apprentice contributed to that. People lapped up what the producers were putting out, and the danger became real as news directors, desperate to compete with ratings, started putting music under soft news stories. Facebook started pushing altogether fake news. Opinions on Twitter became truths over lies. People were prone to clickbait no matter how salacious or factually questionable it was, and the entire journalism world turned on its head.
At the very same time, some clever producers were putting forth a manufactured story about a billionaire whose empire was, in actuality, crumbling at the very same time he took the job, the salary, and ownership rights to do a reality show. The Apprentice was a scam put forth to the public in exchange for ratings. We were “entertaining,” and the story about Donald Trump and his stature fell into some bizarre public record as “truth.” This is nothing new, and the impact it’s having on the history of the world is best depicted in the Academy Award-winning film Network, a satire.
So essentially just about everything that people think they know about Trump's "success" was written for the caricature of himself that he played on TV.
The producer, Bill Pruitt, also ads this:
We are masterful storytellers and we did our job well. What’s shocking to me is how quickly and decisively the world bought it. Did we think this clown, this buffoon with the funny hair, would ever become a world leader? Not once. Ever. Would he and his bombastic nature dominate in prime-time TV? We hoped so. Now that the lines of fiction and reality have blurred to the horrifying extent that they have, those involved in the media must have their day of reckoning. People are buying our crap.
You have probably all read comments by that insignificant little troll POS who keeps remarking that liberals are "lost in the wilderness." But the ironic part of that statement is that liberals knew that electing Trump would abandon this country in that wilderness and so we fought hard to prevent it.
And we are not by any stretch of the imagination alone in that wilderness, the conservatives, racists, Islamophobes, and Xenophobes are right there with us, they are just too fucking slow on the uptake to realize it.
In fact the ONLY people who are not soon going to be stumbling around in the darkness looking for a way out are the big business folks who are about to have the best, most financially lucrative, four years of their careers.
And Donald Trump is signaling that truth with every new cabinet member he puts in place.
I mean does anybody REALLY think that the new Secretary of State Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is going to put the needs of this country ahead of the only company he has ever worked for?
Or that Rick Perry is NOT going to fuck up the Department of Energy?
Or that the WWE's Linda McMahon knows dick about small business?
Or that Betsy DeVos does not believe she is on a mission from God to destroy the public education system?
Let's face it Trumpsters, you got tricked into watching a nationally broadcast reality show and convincing yourselves it was real.
And now you get to witness what happens when scripted reality crashes head first into actual reality.
Unfortunately the more intelligent of us, the ones who saw this coming from miles away, the ones you derisively label as "libtards," have to experience that reality right along with you.
CNN:
ReplyDeleteIt's official: Clinton swamps Trump in popular vote
(CNN) More Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than any other losing presidential candidate in US history.
The Democrat outpaced President-elect Donald Trump by almost 2.9 million votes, with 65,844,954 (48.2%) to his 62,979,879 (46.1%), according to revised and certified final election results from all 50 states and the District of Columbia....
A week after the election, retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and vocal Clinton backer, introduced a bill to abolish the Electoral College.
"This is the only office in the land where you can get more votes and still lose the presidency," Boxer said in a statement. "The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately."....
And they need to own what they did. How voraciously did the producer fight to prevent the tape (we all now know exists, thanks Tim Arnold) that showed Trump screaming "cunt" and "nigger" at staff and contestants.
ReplyDeleteWould that have turned the tide?
What about all that free air time and how the media built Trump up to seem legitimate? Then there's all of the false equivalency.
It wasn't just Russia and the FBI. The media is just as culpable and the producers of The Apprentice most of all.
It was a perfect storm of betrayal of the American people.
They should all be held accountable.
Everyone who abhors what has been perpetrated on the American people should shun The Apprentice and contact every sponsor that they will no longer buy their products.
The American people should be held accountable for being so stupid ast to buy this bullshit - including, and especially, the far left. They were almost more vile than the far right.
Delete8:16
DeleteGibberish.
And who defunded and dumbed down America. 50 yrs of raping America. Jobs shipped out and Public Schools crumble for this day and time. Who would want this for America?
DeleteInteresting prognosis from Trump's doctor:
ReplyDeleteTrump's Doctor: 'If Something Happens to Him, Then It Happens to Him'
Dr. Harold Bornstein, who once claimed that his longtime patient Donald Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected president,” has raised eyebrows with what appears to be a new outlook on the president-elect’s health.
“If something happens to him, then it happens to him,” Bornstein told the health and medicine publication Stat, produced by Boston Globe Media. “It’s like all the rest of us, no? That’s why we have a vice president and a speaker of the House and a whole line of people. They can just keep dying.”
Is he predicting something will happen during the parade?
DeleteI would love it if Trump and the First Pornstar walk in the street during the parade and then drop dead in the middle of the street from a heart attack. Hell, I'd settle for just seeing him collapse from exhaustion or illness after all of the shit he threw at Hillary about her health status when she was midly sidelined with pneumonia.
Delete8:54
Deletetotally with you Jess ..
I suppose we can hope he drops dead before the inauguration.
Delete
ReplyDelete"People close to Trump said he has been eager to tap a telegenic woman as press secretary or in some other public-facing role in his White House"
Eager to tap? Interesting choice of words by people who knows him.
Slate:
Donald Trump Is Hiring People for His Administration Based Partly on Their Looks
Here’s a shocker: Donald Trump, owner of a beauty pageant and czar of schlocky reality TV, is apparently selecting people for top government positions, in part, based on their looks. And you thought nepotism was going to be the only potential violation of labor law in the Trump White House. Trump has, of course, remarked in the past how he liked the cut of Mitt Romney’s jib as America’s top diplomat and that one of the reasons he picked Mike Pence as his running mate is that “he looks very good.” Trump’s developing a bit of a reputation as a silver fox guy. For new data points on Trump’s easy-on-the-eye criteria for public service, the Washington Post, on Wednesday, embarked on a waist-deep tour into the Trump psyche.
“Presentation is very important because you’re representing America not only on the national stage, but also the international stage depending on the position,” Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller told the Post, as if we were all studying abroad here in America. Presentation? Yeah, you know, the look. Like, does this guy have that Secretary of Agriculture look? That HUD je ne sais quoi? It’s not even much of a secret code really. Presumably anyone who’s under consideration for a cabinet position owns a suit or pantsuit and gets their haircut with socially-appropriate frequency, but it’s apparently not enough...
Here are some other people speaking in thinly-veiled code about Trump’s policy priority being hiring the hottest West Wing in history. From the Post:
Trump’s closest aides have come to accept that he is likely to rule out candidates if they are not attractive or not do not match his image of the type of person who should hold a certain job. “That’s the language he speaks. He’s very aesthetic,” said one person familiar with the transition team’s internal deliberations… “You can come with somebody who is very much qualified for the job, but if they don’t look the part, they’re not going anywhere...”
Several of Trump’s associates said they thought that John R. Bolton’s brush-like mustache was one of the factors that handicapped the bombastic former United Nations ambassador in the sweepstakes for secretary of state. “Donald was not going to like that mustache,” said one associate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly. “I can’t think of anyone that’s really close to Donald that has a beard that he likes...”People close to Trump said he has been eager to tap a telegenic woman as press secretary or in some other public-facing role in his White House — both because he thinks it would attract viewers and would help inoculate him from the charges of sexism that trailed his presidential campaign....
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/12/21/trump_s_hiring_people_based_partly_on_their_looks.html
Picked on looks? Omg, then he will look even more disgusting. No one will want to see him. Aaah Obama and Trudeau.
DeleteWell I guess that outs Conway out of the running.
DeleteSo true.
ReplyDeleteBlah Blah Blah, Pruitt.
ReplyDeleteHe was all about the $$, yet kept silent until after he made his fortune and now we're stuck with the pig. Same goes for media.
"Network" was way ahead of its time in mirroring the line between fabricated truth and reality, and who controlled that message.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 5:31 P.M. - bang-on synopsis!
I do not understand houw "Apprentice" was believable. Anyone with a My Weekly Reader concept of critical thinking could see it was fake. The cameras following women wearing shoes they could barely walk in who were supposed to be making spreadsheets on what they discovered. Oh sure. Well spreadsheets may have been involved but only on the casting couch.
ReplyDeleteIt was a joke.
Deletethe presidency has become a joke.
ReplyDeleteIt really has around the earth. Countries are gonna test usa bigtime. Usa is that, a joke.
DeleteRead about Donald's bullshit plan to build a catering hall (on state property) with a three-level basement. The property was in a flood zone on the beach. A kid with a sand bucket could have told the Donald it was impossible. LI heaved a sigh of relief when he huffed off.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking as if the stock market will prevail and even make unprecedented gains due to Trump putting the 1% in control of everything so the least that we "little people" can do is invest these next 4 years. Find a good financial consultant and put all of your spare dollars into the market. The big boys that Trump is playing with would never let the market tank.
ReplyDeleteWith all the insider trading????? All the big boys will bail before you even have an inkling that it's about to crash.
DeleteHedge funds and government bailouts.
DeleteGod, trump cheeto face is loony.
ReplyDeleteThe Wrap (pretty long post plus other links):
ReplyDeleteTrump Inauguration Panic: Mark Burnett Throws ‘Hail Mary’ Staff Shake-Up (Exclusive)
Donald Trump is so displeased with his team’s inability to lock in A-list talent for his inauguration events next month that he’s ordered a “Hail Mary” shakeup of his recruiters to try to book performers, a person familiar with the situation told TheWrap...
Performers who are known to have rejected requests include Elton John, country singer Garth Brooks and opera star Andrea Bocelli. According to the insider, many of those approached have said they do not want to “normalize” Trump’s presidency.
A knowledgeable individual said Bocelli met with the president-elect and agreed to perform, but then bowed out under pressure from fans. The individual also said longtime Trump friend and Vegas hotelier Steve Wynn had promised to deliver Celine Dion, but could not do so....
“If anyone does do it, I hope that the check that they get is in the nine figures. Because it’s probably the last check they’re ever going to get,” Dixie Chicks manager Simon Renshaw told TheWrap on Friday....
http://www.thewrap.com/trump-inauguration-panic-mark-burnett-irving-azoff-garth-brooks-celine-dion/
The website above has references to multiple other links shown below.
Also Read:
9 Stars Definitely Not Performing at Trump's Inauguration (Updating Photos)
Also Read:
Celine Dion Says Non! to Performing at Trump Inauguration (Exclusive)
Also Read:
Insiders: Trump Team Dangled Ambassadorships to Lure A-List Inauguration Singers (Exclusive)
Also Read:
Mark Burnett Inauguration Pitch to Donald Trump Includes Chopper Ride From NYC
Also Read:
Eric McCormack Would Perform at Trump's Inauguration in Exchange for 'a Lobotomy'
Also Read:
Trump Team Scrambles for A-List Inaugural Performers: 'They Are Willing to Pay Anything' (Exclusive)
Hard to believe poopy pants Nugent isn't chomping at the bit to perform. "Jailbait" would be a very fitting tribute.
DeleteAnd has Trump asked his friend Kanye West yet? He had Kanye to the Trump Tower for an opportunity to pose with him recently.
DeleteBeaglemom
"Unfortunately the more intelligent of us, the ones who saw this coming from miles away, the ones you derisively label as "libtards," have to experience that reality right along with you."
ReplyDeleteI'm as exasperated as anyone that there are people stupid enough to put Trump into power.
But I call bullshit on your statement. You did not see this coming. Even when you were looking into the tunnel at the train coming at you. You laughed Trump off. You begged for him to be the Republican nominee. You predicted the end of the Republican Party. You got what you wished for and then were bewildered when it didn't turn out like you predicted. Meanwhile, some of us were warning you that Hillary was the wrong candidate.
You might be smart, but you don't have street smarts. You've been dealing with Palins too long.
My goodness, you forget that Hillary Clinton beat Trump by almost 2.9 million votes.
DeleteBeaglemom
Much as I hate to admit it, you are right. A lot of folks on the left thought the thing would be easy to beat because he was so "out there" and insane.
DeleteWe had no idea the perfect shit storm would be coming that would sweep his sorry, sexist, racist ass into the highest office in the land. We thought surely the rest of the nation would see hims as insane as we did.
We were WRONG, dead wrong in some cases. Half of the US is so fucking stupid they'd vote for a dead person with an R after their name, so long as the D candidate is the loser.
We were smug, complacent, and need to look deep into our own pride and see what is staring back.
@twofux You are a delusional flunky with a lot of hate in your heart. FOAD troll.
DeleteThe election was rigged. What part of it do you not understand? Hacking, fake news and fair and balance FOX no NEWS, corrupt media outlets, corrupt ceo's, corrupt city county state and federal election employees. LIARS LIARS LIARS for profit sold out American's.
ReplyDeleteTraffic of humans drugs and weapons followers LIARS AND RIGGED ELECTIONS. nasty dirty liars.
ReplyDeleteThe swamp stinks of treason.
ReplyDeleteLiars and cheaters do not win. And do not make America great.
ReplyDeleteI have never once watched a second of "The Apprentice" and I won't be watching "the apprentice" as he moves into the White House to scam the world.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Great time to spend less, eat less, cancel service, close accounts, walk more and have faith and hope.
ReplyDeleteSo all of a sudden these producers are *GASP* surprised that people are gullible.
ReplyDeleteEven though the smart people - Twain, Orwell, PT Barnum, George Carlin, Vonnegut, Will Rogers, et. al. - have repeated it for years and years.
One of the worst, most evil, most destructive, most anti-American things that Ronald Reagan ever did was to eliminate The Fairness Doctrine. You know: America's principled stance against propaganda.
Because propaganda WORKS.
Here is the heart of this deal. At the pace it is going 90% will not have income to pay taxes for this assfit to spend. Trump is already in debt, Republicans own the usa debt and the debt clock is spinning off the wall. No money honey. Cut them off. Shut down congress. Lock the doors and Lock the crooks up. Bye Bye evil doers.
ReplyDelete