Opinion columnist Gary Abernathy served the same “token enemy” role on PBS that Jessica Tarlov or Juan Williams serve on Fox News. The job is to rep the opposition viewpoint w/o making the main folks look bad. CNN’s Scott Jennings doesn’t “get” the second part of that job description.
Abernathy writes a Substack column about the filthy, disgusting, even threatening hate email he gets from PBS viewers. He attributes the vitriol to Trump hatred (TDS), and muses about its all-consuming nature.
I believe the strength of TDS is proportional to Trump’s talent as a public persona, both are very great. People who don’t like him or his MAGA program are made frantic because Trump is able to make nearly all the news about his actions.
Trump is hyperactive on so many fronts - from war to peace, from show biz to economics, from MMA to auto racing, from rebuilding the capital to anchor babies. His omnipresence supercharges the haters’ obsession.
I can imagine a Trump hater feeling “there is no sanctuary in which I won’t see Trump grinning back at me.” The only way to avoid him is to stop watching or caring about media altogether.
I guess there are some aspects of culture which he hasn’t penetrated - maybe pedigreed pets or flute playing, possibly pottery or calligraphy.
Approvingly or otherwise, bemused historians will likely refer to this as the Trump Era. His 'fingerprints' are almost everywhere you look. Hat tip to RealClearPolicy for the link.
