Donald in Wonderland
by Tom Sullivan
Curiouser and curiouser, said pretty much everybody. Donald J. Trump, president-elect of the United States of America, may not have time between lies for more than one intelligence briefing a week, but he has time for this:
Donald Trump will still be an exec producer on "The New Celebrity Apprentice" and profit from the show. https://t.co/lWFRA3riN1 pic.twitter.com/Y2hLTt2WNK— Variety (@Variety) December 8, 2016
The larger issue for MGM, NBC, and the White House is the payment that Trump will receive for the series. It’s unclear what his per-episode fee is, but it is likely to be in the low five-figures, at minimum. NBC has ordered eight episodes of “The New Celebrity Apprentice.” Trump’s fees will be paid through MGM, the production entity on the show, not NBC. MGM declined to comment on the financial terms of Trump’s deal. A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NBC declined to comment.
The former reality-show star’s presidency hasn’t even premiered yet and it is officially a reality show. The cast includes a slew of colorful characters:
It’s got a retired general bordering on “demented” as a National Security Advisor who tweets conspiracy theories. Has the general been mixing Infowars with his grain alcohol and branch water again?
U decide – NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc…MUST READ! https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr— General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 3, 2016
It’s got a professional wrestling promoter — a top donor to the Donald J. Trump Foundation — heading his Small Business Administration. There was another foundation Trump accused of being a corrupt pay-for-play scheme, but that was last season:
Honored to be appointed by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as head of @SBAgov advocating for our small businesses & entrepreneurs!— Linda McMahon (@Linda_McMahon) December 7, 2016
It’s got Labor Secretary nominee, Andrew Puzder, who opposes a $15 minimum wage — brought to you by Carl’s Jr., home of the Bacon 3-Way Burger (no, this isn’t a still shot from Idiocracy):
It’s got Trump’s family, five children by three women, with Donald Jr. always ready with a colorful quip about women who can’t take a little sexual harassment in the workplace:
“If you can’t handle some of the basic stuff that’s become a problem in the workforce today, then you don’t belong in the workforce,” Donald Trump’s son told The Opie and Anthony Show in a 2013 interview that BuzzFeed just unearthed.
Or about a mass shooting at movie theater:
Trump Jr. immediately interjected: “Overall, I give the movie two thumbs up.”
“60 Minutes” screenshot.
And Trump’s America has got the kinds of “rustics” we’re accustomed to from Duck Dynasty. A Texas Agriculture Commissioner, for example, who has shared fake stories about a terrorist training camp in Texas, and that Obama posed with a Che Guevara shirt while in Cuba:
Texas official defends fake news on Facebook page. "It's like Fox News. I report, you decide if it's true or not" https://t.co/Yrv9yfG6qm— Corey Hutchins (@CoreyHutchins) December 8, 2016
“It’s like Fox News. I report, you decide if it’s true or not.”
Last night, Rachel Maddow examined a PPP poll that reveals just how much of an alternate reality Trump voters live in, concluding, “In terms of what happens next in our country, it seems important to know this incoming president basically created this fantasy life for his supporters.”
Doing your own thing, believing your own way, students inviting professors to teach what they felt was true: these were ideas characters in Trump’s America thought pinko and subversive back when bead-wearing, flower-power types rejected The Establishment. That’s how far down the rabbit hole Trump’s unreality show has already gone.
Have they stopped laughing at us yet, Mr. President-elect?