Reported: Trump Sycophants Buying OAN Network
I call bullshit
Gabe Sherman, a reporter for Vanity Fair who I regard highly, just got played by Team Trump. He writes that Trump is, in effect, buying OAN.
First, who is OAN? It’s One America News. And what is OAN? Well, for starters, they’re batshit crazy . Take this example of their star reporter, Chanel Rion, who was granted access to a White House press briefing by Team Trump — and keep in mind that with social distancing in effect in the briefing room only about 20 reporters are admitted. Rion is one of those 20, and this is what she asked the President:
“Major left-wing media, even in this room, have teamed up with Chinese communist party narratives, and they are claiming you are racist for making these claims about ‘Chinese virus’. Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic radicals, and Latin gangs and cartels and they work right here out of the White House with direct access to you and your team?”
Aside from the mind-blowing WTF aspect of this question, it was clearly intended to tee up Trump’s obsessive hatred of legitimate news organizations.
John Oliver’s take on OAN is priceless. . .
. . . but if you choose not to invest 18 minutes watching it (it’s worth the time!), here is the money shot:
“The whole selling point for OAN is that they are Fox News with even less shame and even fewer scruples.”
Or this from Molly Jong-Fast of the Daily Beast:
“OAN — with coverage so nakedly thirsty and ham-handed that it makes Sean Hannity seem like a BBC news presenter.”
Here is why Trump is not really buying OAN:
- Trump himself doesn’t have the money to buy OAN, and no one would lend him the money to do so. His spectacular history of business failure is now public knowledge. This time he can’t cook the books to get financing. So his only choice is to get wacko loyalist Tommy Hicks to do it for him.
- This is a Trump Bluff. Bluffing is one of his favorite bullying tactics (see North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Puerto Rico, tariffs, etc. etc. etc.) And over the years he’s bluffed that he’s gonna sue just about everyone. He recently threatened to sue his own campaign manager, Brad Pascale, after Pascale showed Trump some poll numbers that Trump didn’t like.
- Trump doesn’t like coming in second to anyone. In March, Trump floated the idea of a two hour Trump radio show. But he quickly dismissed that because he knew he’d come in second to Rush Limbaugh. Similarly, he’ll never buy OAN because he knows it will always come in second to Fox News.
This whole ‘buy OAN’ thing is nothing more than a shot across the bow at Fox News, from whom he demands 100% idolization and unwavering praise. Right now he’s only getting about 98% of that. Not acceptable.
And Mr. Gabriel, you are a fine reporter and I’ve devoured each of your books. But you’re the sucker here. You gave Trump a wide audience for this toothless bluff.
Shame on you.
