As news of the Trump indictment began wending its way through the web and whatever remains of the rest of the media, I noticed the “reaction” stories popping up. That’s what news outlets do—milk one thing from multiple angles until whatever is in the news cycle has practically embedded itself into the electrical impulses coursing through the viewer’s or reader’s body.
Kind of how CNN became the All Trump, All the Time. We got reactions from Trump and Trump’s family. We had a reaction from DeSantis. We had reactions from Democrats and their leaders, and Republicans and their leaders. Everyone’s commentators of choice had their reactions to the Trump indictment.
And then, of course, under each news story is a comments section, where all of the readers and viewers gave their reactions to the Trump indictment. I haven’t checked but I’m pretty sure those sections, if not still going strong this morning, are at least active.
MSNBC and CNN were chattering, and as talk radio programs across the nation begin to power up their engines for the morning and mid-day drives, we will hear even more commentary.
Not to be outdone, Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of the latest circus, had to give her reaction. And it was everything you would expect it to be.
Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond…also don't want to spill my champagne 😜 #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.
— Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 30, 2023
Yes, you read that right. Whether or not she was actually sipping champagne, I don’t know. It wouldn’t surprise me. But on top of that, she’s selling merchandise. According to the New York Post, the items, which are available through the porn star’s website, include autographed posters of Daniels in lingerie, calendars, and “#TeamStormy” t-shirts. And Daniels says that business has been brisk. Which also does not surprise me.
I’m not sure what the shelf life is for a porn star. I can’t imagine that it is a career that spans decades. But Daniels is extending her time in the spotlight. No, Trump should not have cheated on his wife with her. That goes without saying. But Daniels wouldn’t be drinking champagne and selling out of merchandise without him. He deserves a cut of the take at the very least and even a piece of her TLC reality show, which I am sure will be announced sometime next week.
One could opine that Daniels is engaging in the same kind of exhibitionism upon which she built a career. She is no victim. If we are to be brutally honest, she and Trump did not sleep with each other out of true love. No matter what you think of Trump’s presidency, he did not show up at her door quoting Lord Byron with a dozen roses and a Whitman’s sampler. And make no mistake. Daniels was not smiling coquettishly from behind a fan, dropping her handkerchief, or planning a romantic getaway to a B&B or a picnic for two in the countryside. These were two adults who knew what they were doing.
But if Daniels is trying to extend her 15 minutes of fame into an hour and a half, she is merely rising to the expectations America has set for itself. Americans love to wallow in porn. It may be porn in the traditional sense. It might be the “dysfunction porn” that can be accessed on reality TV, where people leer over the self-destruction of others. It may be hate porn, where accusations of racism, transphobia, or any other “ism” or “phobia” dominate every conversation.
It may also be political porn in which news anchors gleefully report that a former president has been indicted while remaining utterly clueless about how such an indictment is an indicator of a very dangerous moment in America. Never mind the effect on the republic. Trump has been indicted and the Left has its read meat. The latest indulgences and cravings have been satisfied. And thanks to the efforts of the Left and the complicity of the Right, Americans, particularly young people, have become obsessed with fulfilling those cravings. By accident or, more likely, by design, much of America is now made up of dull-witted consumers. So now is the perfect time for Daniels’ comeback.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States.
