Trump’s political resurrection sends three warnings to Hollywood, media, progressives
Tragically, the media have learned nothing, leaving us with a dangerous situation in which most people simply don’t believe what journalists are saying.
President Trump’s political resurrection is undoubtedly one of the most head-scratching and captivating moments in American political history.
Mr. Trump’s reascension, by all accounts, seemed like an implausible pipe dream for years ago, and yet this week he took the oath of office once again, becoming only the second U.S. president — the first was Grover Cleveland, who served as America’s 22nd and 24th commander in chief — to serve two nonconsecutive terms.
Beyond that, some specific factors make Mr. Trump’s rise from the ashes considerably more mind-boggling. He is the first former U.S. president indicted and criminally convicted before winning a new term.
It’s no secret that multitudes of legal issues and chaotic scenes raged around Mr. Trump over the past four years, yet he somehow not only overcame the optics, but he also dominated against former Vice President Kamala Harris at the polls, winning every swing state — something virtually no one could have predicted.
Progressives who are left bewildered, enraged and confounded by his win will no doubt vacillate in the coming days between furor, licking their wounds and concocting new schemes to try to thwart him.
But if they have any hopes of picking up the pieces of their self-created, tattered political mess, they would be wise to heed three of the lessons Mr. Trump’s reemergence should send to Hollywood, the media and the beleaguered liberal establishment.
First, the traditional media have lost any semblance of collective trust, with discernible past influence now shriveled into obscurity. The public has long been skeptical of the mainstream press, with claims of bias plaguing coverage over the decades.
But the hostile relationship between Mr. Trump and the mainstream media hit a fever pitch in recent years, with an obsessive and messy quest to dismantle Mr. Trump eroding many journalists’ credibility.
Really, this should come as no surprise, considering 36% of Americans told Gallup last year they have “no trust at all in the media,” 33% have very little trust and just 31% have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence that the press will be accurate and fair.
The media, who have no one to blame but themselves, simply cannot stop their nonsense, too often pushing to the side their responsibility to be fair-minded and objective to accommodate their insatiable lust for lambasting Mr. Trump.
Within hours of his inauguration, the press was obsessing over Elon Musk’s hand gesture, mass-postulating it was a Nazi salute despite Mr. Musk’s claim it was anything but.
Tragically, the media have learned nothing, leaving us with a dangerous situation in which most people simply don’t believe what journalists are saying. In a nation where the media must serve as trusted gatekeepers, this is a perilous place to be.
The second lesson is that Hollywood’s days of dictating the cultural flavor of the day are indubitably over — at least for now. For too long, Americans have allowed movies, TV and music to shift and shape perceptions about social issues and even political whims.
But 2024 broke that cycle, with the near-constant elevation of madness, concealment of lies and perpetuation of blatant mistruths wearing on the populace.
Ms. Harris’ team enjoyed unfettered support from some of the biggest celebrities in the world. From Taylor Swift to Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé — and nearly every recognizable actor imaginable — they enjoyed copious amounts of attention, adoration and free public relations.
Yet, this election cycle, the public simply didn’t care what out-of-touch celebrities had to say, delivering Mr. Trump the first popular vote for a Republican president in 20 years with more than 2 million more citizens choosing him over Ms. Harris.
Plainly stated: Mainstream Hollywood is out of step with the public and no longer holds the reins of informational power.
But the third lesson that should hit the hearts of every American is the fact that Mr. Trump’s win exposes a stunning openness to truth — a thirst and realization that, on everything from gender to the mental acuity of former President Biden, the people have been ceaselessly fed lies and misinformation.
This isn’t to say that Mr. Trump is the bastion of truth. Rather, it reveals that the lies of those holding informational power in the media, Hollywood and the progressive megaplex are now out in the open — and the public isn’t having any of it.
For a long time, people remained quiet about their opposition to biological males in women’s locker rooms, about their questions about the pandemic — even about their political perspectives — for fear of retribution and cancellation.
Mr. Trump, for all of his faults, represents a reawakening of the ability to express oneself in the bowels of an era dominated by social media platforms, politicians and forces bent on silencing.
It’s not clear where we’re headed next or whether Mr. Trump will fully exemplify the promises and claims he’s made thus far. But, for the time being, we find ourselves in an era that demands self-reflection from the media and Hollywood and a candid understanding of how we allowed our First Amendment to become so battered.
Furthermore, those on the political left should spend less time concocting stories about Mr. Musk and others and, instead, ponder why their messaging — and disturbing handling of the bedrock freedoms in the First Amendment — landed them with such embarrassing defeat.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Mr. Hallowell is the author of four books.