With the backdrop PLACEHOLDER44099029e3d86e44 on wokeism that was the recent United States PLACEHOLDER8f8d62aa0c08defb, voters overwhelmingly pushed back against moralizing woke ideology. For an ideology that ostensibly is post-judgment with its moral relativism and “anything-goes (but all that)” ethos, the electorate felt judged for their only crime of having reality-based standards, and therefore, they rendered a verdict in the court of popular opinion and the ballot box, judging wokeism to be, ironically, judgmental.
The Premature Normalization of Trump
The subversion process per Yuri Bezmenov of America’s democracy into narcissistic authoritarianism involves four successive stages: demoralization, destabilization, crisis, and finally, normalization.
Demoralization and destabilization have been well underway for years in America. Inaugurating Trump on January 20th, 2025, will be the inception of the crisis phase (if it’s not already underway with Trump’s administration picks), and then comes the settling in of normalization. When and how normalization sets in is dependent on individuals and institutions, though it is possible to prematurely normalize and go down without a fight.
The “Kiss the Ring” Scandal
Moralizing critics of broadcast journalists Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC’s program, Morning Joe, castigate the pair for their over-the-weekend jaunt to Mar-A-Lago to “bend the knee” and “kiss the ring” in an obeisant act of submission to Trump. This out-of-the-blue visit with Trump has ignited a firestorm of backlash, with accusations that they are “obeying in advance” and acting “cowardly.” Public figures are shaming Joe and Mika as buckling under and failing to hold Trump to account in a cynical ploy of access journalism.
In his defense, Scarborough said, “Don’t be mistaken. We’re not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We’re here to report on him and hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.”
Critical media presences include but are not limited to Steve Schmidt, David Pakman, Keith Olbermann, Megyn Kelly, Jeff Tiedrich, The Daily Show, The View, Jared Yates Sexton, and Andy Borowitz, to name but a few from both the right and the left. MSNBC host Katie Phang posted on X an apparent reference to Joe and Mika’s visiting Trump: “Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.”
**Gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.**
— Oscar Wilde
Bombastic Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer attorney who did time, including solitary confinement, as collateral damage of Trump’s, was surprisingly even-handed in his appraisal of Joe and Mika’s “Kiss the Ring” scandal, reminding Americans that Donald Trump will be president for all Americans and all journalists should keep open lines of communication.
Critics may rightly see the Morning Joe heads as the first significant dominos to fall into line with authoritarianism rather than providing a bulwark against it. The two have an extensive history of criticizing Trump as a fascist and a Hitler-esque figure. The trip was announced this past Monday, the 18th, as having taken place over the weekend of November 16th. After stabilizing from the tumult Tuesday, the program continued on track Wednesday, November 20th, reporting unease in Trump’s dangerous administration picks.
A more charitable take on this trip to meet with Trump to “restart communications” is that it was prudent both professionally and personally for Joe and Mika to resist being charged as an “enemy from within” and, with this charge, potential jail time. “According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski have been credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration,” reports [Brian Stelter for CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/19/media/morning-joe-trump-mar-a-lago-meeting-fears
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