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The counter-meme?
Jun. 1st, 2016 08:46 amSo there I was in the car yesterday, listening to the radio, when the news turns to politics -- and inevitably, Donald Trump whining about how the press is *sooooo* unfair to him. I flipped over to my iPod, not even so much because of how annoying Trump is, as of how incredibly *bored* I am with the Trump "phenomenon".
And in that moment, an epiphany struck.
Every politician has their Killer Truth -- their personal kryptonite that turns their strength into a flaw. For example, Mitt Romney was destroyed by the 47% quote because it illustrated what everyone knew, deep down, was true: the great businessman was also enormously contemptuous of the general populace of the country.
What is Trump's Killer Truth? The fact that, while he is masquerading as a businessman, he's really mostly a reality-TV star. He barely even hides that fact: his inflated claims of his personal wealth are built upon an assertion of billions of dollars of "personal brand". He's not a businessman -- he's intellectual property. There's probably a registered-trademark symbol buried somewhere in that hair.
And the thing is, reality TV stars have a very short lifespan. They're memes writ large, and once you've seen them a few times, they stop looking interesting, and quickly progress through Loud to Annoying to Dull. And you flip to something else.
It's time to say that. We don't need people protesting at Trump rallies -- we need people in the front row conspicuously *snoozing* at him. His campaign is built entirely on free advertising, on the way that, every time he says something outrageous, the press fall all over themselves to cover it. It's time to send the firm message of "Bored Now": that covering Trump is at *least* as boring as covering other politicians, and a way to lose viewers and listeners.
John Oliver is fond of boiling things down to hashtags -- that's a bit flip, but helps summarize. So here are a couple for your delectation:
And in that moment, an epiphany struck.
Every politician has their Killer Truth -- their personal kryptonite that turns their strength into a flaw. For example, Mitt Romney was destroyed by the 47% quote because it illustrated what everyone knew, deep down, was true: the great businessman was also enormously contemptuous of the general populace of the country.
What is Trump's Killer Truth? The fact that, while he is masquerading as a businessman, he's really mostly a reality-TV star. He barely even hides that fact: his inflated claims of his personal wealth are built upon an assertion of billions of dollars of "personal brand". He's not a businessman -- he's intellectual property. There's probably a registered-trademark symbol buried somewhere in that hair.
And the thing is, reality TV stars have a very short lifespan. They're memes writ large, and once you've seen them a few times, they stop looking interesting, and quickly progress through Loud to Annoying to Dull. And you flip to something else.
It's time to say that. We don't need people protesting at Trump rallies -- we need people in the front row conspicuously *snoozing* at him. His campaign is built entirely on free advertising, on the way that, every time he says something outrageous, the press fall all over themselves to cover it. It's time to send the firm message of "Bored Now": that covering Trump is at *least* as boring as covering other politicians, and a way to lose viewers and listeners.
John Oliver is fond of boiling things down to hashtags -- that's a bit flip, but helps summarize. So here are a couple for your delectation:
#TrumpIsBoringand
#CancelTrumpHave fun...