OPINION:
No one was watching CNN the other day. Two days later, a clip from Don Lemon’s show that no one initially watched surfaced showing an intersection of Trump haters laughing about “how stupid” he and his followers are. Television media was represented by Mr. Lemon himself; print media was represented by New York Times left-leaning contributor Wajahat Ali; and #NeverTrump was represented by Rick Wilson, the Republican Party ad man.
They cackled at a stupid jab about Donald Trump not being able to find Ukraine on a map, then followed by piling on that his supporters are “boomer rubes” with redneck accents that can’t read or do math — it was nothing short of disgusting.
If you’re a Trump supporter, you already knew what they thought; they’ve just never been this overt about it. When these three caricatures of leftists go to their dinner parties or happy hour with colleagues, this is their typical behavior. In a shallow world where numbers of unwatched CNN hits, unread New York Times articles and Twitter likes for stale political opinions prove your worth — these individuals are kings. You, on the other hand, are the butt of the joke — of course you are — because they’re better than you.
While you, as a Trump supporter are out working hard legitimately making America great, the talking heads represented here are busy trying to prove themselves to each other in their own incredibly tiny social bubbles. Many of you go to your job every day, work hard to make a difference and be the best you can be so that you can put food on your table for your even more important job, taking care of your family.
That’s what my parents did. My father was often in and out of work as a union pipefitter and my mom was a teaching assistant at my school in Baltimore. I remember to this day how hard they worked to provide for each other and me — and they would remind me regularly that they worked hard so that they could provide me with the opportunity to do better than them in life. I went on to get an undergraduate and law degree and now I, not unlike the three individuals on CNN, get to talk and write for a living.
There’s just a tiny difference though: When I grew up and got my degrees and jobs, I never once viewed myself as better than anyone else — and I never had anything to prove to anyone other than myself. When I was racking up degrees, I never discounted the opinions of my parents or those who I knew who didn’t go to college. And now, even as I write this, I take breaks to read through what my life-long friends, many of whom had far different paths in life than my own, have to say about politics on social media because I respect not only them, but also our differences.
A major shift happened in this country four years ago, and it wasn’t just Donald Trump getting elected; it was the rise of the silent majority. My parents are part of that group, and I’m willing to bet that if you’re a Trump supporter, you are as well. You may or may not have gone to college and you may or may not have to work a 9-to-5 in a thankless job, but you did know that your vote mattered, and you stood up and elected the current president. The left and consultant class didn’t know how to respond to this, so they began flailing and trying anything to get their base to combat you. They called you names like racist, sexist and homophobe, deplorable — then they … wait — that was actually all they did, that was their big strategy to stop you — and it didn’t work.
Don’t think they don’t realize that they’re still losing — on a personal level with the three people in the segment — CNN’s ratings are down; fewer people are subscribing to The New York Times; and a #NeverTrump candidate couldn’t even win an election for condo-president. And while these groups struggle to find footing on the side of the toilet bowl mid-flush, they’re desperately pretending to each other and their ever-shrinking bubble of allies that they somehow still have worth and are superior to you.
Messrs. Lemon, Ali, Wilson and their ilk make fun of you because they need to justify their own existence and pretend in failing scenarios that they still have value — and because of this, you live rent-free in their heads. They, on the other hand, only get your attention when some poor soul happens upon clips of their show that no one watches and shares it on social media days later.
You, Trump supporters, have won a battle of wits that you never even knew you were in.
• Tim Young is a political comedian and author of “I Hate Democrats/I Hate Republicans” (Post Hill Press).
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