9/18/17: Sean Spicer and his podium rolled onto the Emmys stage last night and I didn’t laugh once.
Colbert and his executive producer put their heads together and decided they’d invite a Trump loyalist to the Emmys stage, in front of one of the biggest groups of outspoken Trump resisters (several of which attached blue ACLU ribbons to their black tie outfits) for a bit where they’d cut to Melissa McCarthy and everyone would laugh and the ratings would go wild!
I’m disappointed in Stephen Colbert, whose viewership skyrocketed this season because he’s one of few late night hosts who doesn’t let the abnormalities of this administration slip by his time slot. Colbert, along with Samantha Bee and Seth Meyers, is what comedy has brought to the resistance. But last night he took a shot at erasing all of that.
9/8/17: Jimmy Kimmel Live! booked Sean Spicer for his first interview post-White House, and I’m confused at the least.
Jimmy Kimmel first invited Spicer when he tweeted a throwback pic of himself and the former WH press secretary Thursday night accompanied by an actual plea for the former White House Press Secretary to “come to [his] show next week.”
I’m a fan of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and I’m on the show’s YouTube page pretty often. But the thought of watching Sean Spicer smilingly walk onto that set (to cheers? boos? awkward and broken up applause? I really don’t know) makes me sick and confused.
Spicer was a train-wreck of a press secretary, not to mention a liar. On his first day, he tried to claim it “was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration” — a statement that was quickly proven false.
He also tweeted misleading Obamacare statistics, claimed that “democrats must own the collapsing [Affordable Care Act]” and dodged questions about the future of healthcare under Trump..
And then there were the contradictory statements over Trump’s Muslim ban. Spicer’s ridiculous claims prompted arguments with reporters that personally, I enjoyed watching with popcorn.
Sean Spicer was dangerous to democracy. That may sound dramatic, but you can’t deny that he further cemented this administration’s wild agenda to demonize the press, one that has gone further than I could have imagined.
Not so long ago Kimmel pleaded for republicans in congress to act on compassion and not punish those with pre-existing conditions, like his infant son Billy. But now he’s pleading for Sean Spicer to joke around and perhaps do a sketch or two on his show. So even if Kimmel didn’t see Spicer’s delusion as a reason to keep him far away from his show, I really would have thought that Spicer’s loyalty to the administration would have meant something. Clearly, it didn’t.
To be fair, Kimmel’s invitation to Spicer is just the latest in a long line of ridiculous media appearances from the Trump presidency. First, there was the incident on Jimmy Fallon where the host thought it would be fun to “mess up” Trump’s hair to audience cheers and laughter. (Fallon has since apologized but I’m still bitter). Then, of course, there was Trump’s appearance on Saturday Night Live where I was forced to watch the cast members I adore buddy up to him as if it were Jon Hamm on that monologue stage.
It’s time the media stops normalizing the Trump presidency. This is a man whose presidency is built on a foundation of narcissism, lies and racism. And we need to stop acting like Trump and his cronies are anything other than the threat to our country that they are.
