The Humiliation of Joe and Mika, and The Failure of Corporate Journalism.

The co-hosts of Morning Joe decide to bend the knee to Trump and obey in advance thereby affirming the eroding credibility of corporate media which will continue to sanewash Trump's authoritarianism.

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God bless The Simpsons.

The longest-running sitcom has had an uncanny, excellent batting average in predicting the self-destructive and absurd political machinations of the United States of America. We know about the episode predicting Donald Trump as President, but there’s a particular meme that I keep returning to which beautifully captures the sycophancy and “both sides” cowardice of corporate media’s sanewashing of Trump’s authoritarianism,

In the episode “Homes Goes to Space,” an ant farm explodes in the space shuttle and a quick camera closeup of a small flying ant makes it appear that giant ants have overtaken the crew. Upon seeing the horrifying live feed, Kent Brockman, the local anchor, immediately bends a knee and offers to round up human slaves in service to his “new insect overlords.”

Another Simpsons meme that is now ubiquitous is Homer Simpson disappearing into the bushes. It’s a great metaphor for all the “Never Trump” personalities who are now doing a 180 now that Trump is President again. “He’s a fascist” has been replaced with “Well, the American public voted for him, and he has a mandate!” If this meme is ever used against you, know that it’s never positive. People are calling you out for being fickle, spineless, and weak, with a thin, wet noodle as a spine, willing to sway to wherever the wind blows.

This takes me to Morning Joe on NBC with co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Earlier today, they told their audience they went to Mar-a-Lago to talk to Trump over the weekend to “restart communications.” After 7 years of not having face-to-face interactions, Mika and Joe voluntarily decided to bend the knee and kiss the MAGA ring for the sake of access, ratings, and personal safety. Not surprisingly, MAGA did not welcome them back with open arms. The cult exists to “own the libs” and exact retribution and vengeance. Megyn Kelly, a fellow Reek who did a complete 180 turn for the man who ridiculed her in the past, mocked them and said, “Go fuck yourselves. Go fuck yourselves, you dishonest jokes of faux journalists.”

Pot. Kettle. White Centrist Corporate Journalists.

The internet responded by roasting the morning hosts and vowing to stop watching their show. Nobody should be surprised. Joe and Mika were originally great friends with Trump and even used to advise him during his initial run in 2016. “You guys have been supporters,” Trump told them after he won the New Hampshire primary. “And I really appreciate it. And not necessarily supporters, but at least believers.” That relationship quickly soured after the couple started criticizing Trump during his disastrous presidency. Winning an election is enough for a man like Joe to forget that Trump mocked his wife Mika. When they were frenemies, Trump told the public she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift.” Trump similarly humiliated another Reek, Ted Cruz, who bent his knee and kissed the shoe even after Trump mocked his father and his wife.

Look at what they make you give? And look how easily these people give it up. And for what? Ratings that are dwindling, power that is fleeting, access that is purely transactional, and love for a right-wing cult that continues to smear them as “the enemy of the people.”

But, step back for a second and look at the bigger picture. These folks are all part of the same incestuous network of power that allowed a vulgarian criminal like Trump to fail up to the Oval Office. It’s the same privileged Acela corridor between NYC and DC. Joe and Mika are buddies with Trump, who is also buddies with producer Mark Burnett and former CNN president Jeff Zucker who helped mainstream Trump to modern audiences with the reality TV show The Apprentice. Zucker initially advised and supported Trump during his initial Presidency and called him, “the boss.” When asked in 2015 if he had any regrets for creating the demagogue, Zucker said, “I have no regrets about the part that I played in his career.”

Well, let’s see if these folks change their tune. One thing we’ve learned from fascists in the past is that they eventually turn on anyone and everyone who might challenge their power or bruise their ego. The MAGA base has been radicalized to the point of violence against any media that is remotely critical of their beloved Lizard King. Steve Bannon and Kash Patel, a potential candidate for the head of the FBI, have already promised vengeance against the media and government. However, folks like Joe and Mika are convinced that somehow they will be spared the wrath of a vindictive vulgarian.

Good luck.

To the rest of us, I quote George Carlin: “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.”

We’ll continue to resist, speak the truth, not bend the knee and call out all the corruption of the Trump administration and the continued failures of a corporate media that made a Faustian bargain in which they abdicate their journalistic responsibility and dignity for the sake of placating the fickle ego of the world’s most petty and powerful man.