A-B-C
Trump just sued his way to financial support.
While lamenting the latest news cycle, I noticed something mind-blowing this week. I’m not sure how to respond.
Actually, I do.
This week, we learned that Disney Corporation, which owns everything that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t, including ABC News, settled a lawsuit against President-Elect and D-Level Actor Donald Trump for $15 Million. They threw in another million to cover Trump’s legal fees for good measure.
Why did Disney do this?
Because Trump sued them in court for defamation.
Defamation means making a statement that could harm someone’s reputation.
How on God’s green earth could anyone rule that another person or entity ruined Donald “KFC” Trump's reputation?
We got to this mess because George Snuffleupagus, the host of ABC’s Sunday News show, which nobody under 65 watches, interviewed Nancy Mace, a person so attention-seeking that she could only dream someone would defame her.
I mean, the Congresswoman from South Carolina did this:
Disney forked over $16 million to a guy who is probably not really worth that much. $15 million goes to Trump’s presidential library, which, when built, will undoubtedly have secret documents stuffed in the bathrooms.
Instead of Disney saying “no” and going to court to protect the words of their employees and, ultimately, freedom, they did the most Mickey Mouse thing ever and ruined any shred of respect they might have held on to before this happened.
Trump’s feelings were hurt because George asked Nancy, a survivor of sexual assault, why she would support someone for president who was convicted of rape.
Now under New York law, Trump wasn’t technically convicted of rape, and instead, a civil jury convicted him of sexually assaulting writer E Jean Carroll. George went further with Mace to say that Trump defamed his rape victim. The word rape is problematic for Trump, even though it's not for people who voted for him.
Trump was convicted of defaming Carroll before and after the trial. He claimed he didn’t know her, which is probably true because this guy used to walk in the ladies' dressing rooms of the beauty pageants he ran. I’m going to make a wild guess and suggest he probably doesn’t know half the people he had affairs with.
The Judge in the case clarified what Trump’s conviction meant – for all intents and purposes, he raped her. The New York law has since been changed, and Trump is appealing his defaming conviction against a woman he called mentally ill.
This is the country we live in.
I work in philanthropy, and I love history, particularly the presidency. If Anonymous lets me, one of my goals is to visit all the presidential libraries. I’ve been to Andrew Jackson’s and John F. Kennedy’s, so I have a long way to go.
We are years away from Trump’s library; I can only imagine what that house of horrors will be like. This is all brought to you by the Walt Disney Company.
$15 million isn’t much for a presidential library. President Obama spent nearly a billion to build his in Chicago. His foundation has an operating budget of $141 million and has assets of just under a billion. There’s no doubt that Trump will raise more than Obama did because his library will have a versatile selling point: it will serve as a place where Trump and his family can laundry their Saudi money.
I’m not sure why the negotiation went the way it did, and ABC News ended up with a tax deduction. Trump walked away from this with a huge win. His narrative that the media was out to get him gets louder, and he fought back “for the people” who continue to be brainwashed by this crybaby.
There’s this idea that settling helps Disney avoid Trump going after ABC's license. because all Trump ever talks about is how mistreated he is. Trump is not a fan of the First Amendment, which is the greatest amendment when it comes to Okay History ranking.
Do they honestly think Trump won’t do it anyway? Does anyone?
Is there going to be a new standard that if you say anything critical of Trump, he will instantly snap and begin the process of trying to shut you down? Why not take him to court and win, Disney? You have over $200 billion. That’s 200 Obama Presidential Libraries!
Many things have happened in the world that have been awful since I was born. The Challenger Explosion, The Drive, The Fumble, my tree getting run over by a landscaper’s lawn mower, 9/11, etc.
But right up there is the Citizen United verdict, which has to be the worst decision this side of Dred Scott.
Disney probably didn’t want to go all the way to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with Trump appointments and a terrible record on ethics.
I hope the gift agreement will allow ABC to sponsor the Bully exhibit, which will be permanent in the Trump Library. It’s only appropriate.
The President-Elect bullied a $200 billion entertainment company that owns a media brand into doing what he wants rather than standing up for itself and the Constitution.
I guess the only question I have is: who’s next?
What are your thoughts on this? You okay with it? Repulsed?
Anonymous and I are back to traveling. This time, we are taking Blue with us, something Blue enjoys so much (he does not). We are driving along the scenic views of I95 and down to Florida for Christmas. It will be 14 hours one way of highway bliss.
I’ll have something up on Monday. Then it’s Christmas, and I think I’ll have maybe one more essay before the end of the year.
I’ll write about this more, but I have some great things lined up for next year. I think they are great. I hope you think they are great. I think you are great.
Okay, have a great weekend. I’ll see you on the other side. Thanks for your support of Okay History!
Okay,
Chris
Talking point for when this comes up with Trump-supporting family and friends:
A civil jury found that Trump put something inside of E Jean Carroll’s vagina against her will. Finding him liable for rape would’ve required them to conclude the preponderance of evidence suggested it was his penis. Instead, the jury concluded it was probably his finger that was inside of her against her will, which in NY is technically sexual abuse.
Make them argue “it was only his finger.”
As I’ve said hundreds of times before, half the country has lost its mind.
Merry Christmas, Chris. Try not to think about this depressing shit for the next week so you can enjoy time with your wife and family.