The Rich, The Powerful, The Cowardly
We are witnessing media companies, journalists and
billionaires bowing down to Trump and his hostile takeover—seeking access,
favors and security. They are doing us a favor.
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On Tyranny author Timothy Snyder warned us. “Do not obey in advance,” he
wrote, explaining that those who do are teaching authoritarians what they can
get away with. But not everyone who should have gotten the message has heard
him. Here are just a few examples:
·
ABC News journalist George
Stephanopoulos said in May, “I am not going to be cowed out of doing my job
because of a threat by Donald Trump,” and Stephen Colbert’s late night audience
gave him a rousing ovation. Yet on Saturday, Stephanopoulos and his employer
ABC News settled Trump’s defamation lawsuit with an agreement to donate $15
million to a Trump presidential library (seriously), pay $1 million to cover
Trump’s attorneys’ fees and publish a statement regretting that he used the
word rape even though—as he noted in May—”a judge said that’s in fact what did
happen.”
·
The
Washington Post carries the tagline
“Democracy Dies in Darkness,” yet its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos deep-sixed
the publication of his paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris. That same
owner—who also owns Amazon—has since donated $1 million to the Trump
inauguration, plans to visit Mar-a-Lago, and calls Trump “calmer” and “more
confident, more settled” than he was in his first term.
·
Meta owner Mark
Zuckerberg banned Trump from Facebook and Instagram after the violent Jan. 6
insurrection. Yet now, after Trump threatened Zuckerberg with “life in prison”
for his ““plotting” against him and “steering” Facebook against his 2020
campaign, this tech billionaire has dined at Mar-a-Lago, given $1 million to
his inauguration fund, characterized Trump as “badass” and praised this moment
as “an important time for the future of American Innovation.”
·
Before the election,
MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski warned and worried about
Trump’s violent, fascist rhetoric and intensifying authoritarianism. Yet soon
after the election, they headed to Mar-a-Lago for an off-the-record
conversation with the vengeful victor—providing an early sign that their chief
concern is maintaining access and minimizing the danger of retribution.
I planned to
lament the way media
organizations, journalists and tech billionaires are groveling before the
convicted felon and depraved sociopath who employs the scare tactics of a
mobster to get what he wants. I intended to use words like kowtowing,
obsequious and lickspittle, or maybe bootlicker, toady and sycophant.
I have struggled,
honestly, to contain my anger over the way that some media organizations and
legacy media members are besmirching the journalistic profession and its duty
to tell the truth and stand up to power—especially when it’s hard and possibly
dangerous. I have doubted there are words strong enough to describe cowardly
billionaires whose riches are apparently insufficient to strengthen their
resolve and convince them to stand up against Trump’s bullying scare tactics.
All of these powerful individuals and entities endanger us all by their willful
refusal to take seriously Timothy Snyder’s necessary guidance to not obey the
fascists.
We already know that
Trump is larding up his cabinet and leadership team with dangerously unfit
lackeys who will make his every ugly whim their command. The media and the rich
and powerful who recognize this danger have a critical role to play in the opposition—to
help withstand the coming flood of hateful policies that will be particularly
felt by the most vulnerable among us. Billionaire Mark Cuban is one example of
a very rich man who hasn’t lost his moral compass in the desperation to
increase his fortune or out of fear of Trump vengeance. I hope he remains
fearless and committed to the survival of our democracy.
But here’s the thing: As
much as I am angry and worried and prone to lament over what may come to pass,
the examples of ring-kissing by people who should know better is valuable.
Rather than fear that the opposition is weakened by these Americans who are
bending down to Trump, they are saving us time by telling us that they are not
up to the fight and we cannot count on them.
And honestly, perhaps
perversely, this gives me more strength. Because if these people have large,
powerful media organizations with significant legal resources behind them or
they have massive fortunes that should be a bulwark against the darkening tide—and
still they choose to kowtow—then you, me and everyone else who lacks such
resources are freer than they will ever be. Their need to maintain their
foothold in Trump’s hostile, authoritarian takeover is a cage. They may think
their access or alliance strengthens their position, but recent history has
made painfully clear that there’s no freedom, no reliable certainty, for anyone
who chooses to be close to the sociopathic Trump.
I leave you with a quick
reminder that when Mike Pence
accepted Trump’s offer to serve as vice president, he ambitiously saw it as the
next run on the ladder after serving in Congress and as governor of Indiana.
For nearly four years, we couldn’t avoid his constant adoring gaze of his
beloved leader—his obsequious, oleaginous, toadying display of sycophancy
intended to secure his power and status forever.
And then, the one time
he chose to stand up for what was right by fulfilling his constitutional duty
and certifying the 2020 election—rather than rejecting the voters and
overturning the election as his boss demanded—Donald J. Trump incited the
hounds and stood by while the rabid mob chanted to hang Mike Pence. This is
what groveling before Trump can yield.
Count me among the proud
and grateful opposition. May our community grow stronger and stronger.
