Who Was ‘Mean Mr. Mustard”
And What is Fox Doing to Trump?
It was like burrowing through the obscure lyrics to find clues to the hidden meaning of a Beatles song, trying to decipher who was the jester in American Pie or trying to find meaning under the many layers of that most confusing of novels, Ulysses.
And in the same way, there are signs, subtle though they may be and early as they may be, that the unholy symbiotic marriage between trump and Fox may be coming to a denouement.
The potential ciphers concern another clown convention in Texas, featuring, of course, the once and former dictator in waiting, who claimed that if he returns to the White House that he would consider pardoning some of 615 rioting supporters who have been charged after storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The story was just so much more blathering as trump continues to appeal to the lowest in the basket but he is a former president, leading the N.Y. Times, Washington Post and CNN to give the story prominence. But the story was nowhere to be found on FOX’s top stories of the day. Instead, the traditional propaganda mouthpiece for trump, led with “Border Patrol spat during Mayorkas visit latest sign of sinking morale, growing tension with Biden admin” while Fox News Sunday, the linchpin of Fox news coverage, featured “(Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom) Cotton: Russia invasion would send ‘signal to bad guys around the world’.”
Fox also had a lengthy story, claiming an exclusive interview with former Vice President Mike Pence as he “discusses his successor, Kamala Harris, and his relationship with Trump.” That would be the same vice president who refused to cave after trump pressured him to reject congressional certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over trump and to determine that trump actually won the 2020 presidential race that trump was denied because of alleged widespread voter fraud that never really happened. Pence’s refusal to give in led to trump whining, “I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this” while it also triggered more ominous warnings as trump supported chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” at the Capitol riot last year.
Pence was at the Capitol, when the riot broke out, overseeing the joint session of Congress. Pence followed his constitutional duties and certified Biden the winner but it left trump’s loyalists in a rage. Pence is mentioned as a possible presidential candidate for 2024, something that must really frost the purveyor of the “Big Lie” that he really won a second term. And wouldn’t that be fun to see the man who never met a fly he didn’t like to square off against trump in a Republican presidential primary.
Even Don McLean kept the man with bad hair off the Fox front as McLean gave an “exclusive” interview on the history of his classic rock song, “American Pie.”
I can only imagine how trump reacted at being snubbed by Fox while seeing Pence getting the royal spotlight of an “exclusive” interview. That smug reprehensible look that trump has down perfectly is surely being replaced by a look of rage something like the spoiled child who throws a tantrum after he is told he cannot watch TV and must go to bed.
Was it simply a journalistic decision by Fox that differed with the editorial decision of the real media organizations? It is laughable to use the words “journalistic decision” in the same breath as Fox News. So no, this was not off the cuff, it was not an oversight, it was an intentional effort to show that the upper reaches at Fox may be seeing the writing on the wall that public support for trump may be slipping and that translates into viewer clicks and lots and lots of dough.
I believed that the trump story did not deserve such widespread play as given by the Times, Post and CNN, but I won’t say that I agreed with Fox, at least not until I have a clearer picture of the media monster’s motives.
We may never know why Paul was the only Beatle without shoes on the famous Abbey Road cover or who was the identity of “Mean Mr. Mustard.” And maybe we will never know the real meaning of Fox News’ apparent snub of their former and longtime main squeeze that has meant billions in added revenues.
And maybe this will all be only temporary and Fox will assume the position once again as the leading bootlicker for Gen. Bone Spurs. But it was gratifying to see at least one time that trump did not call the shots as Fox acted like the independent voice is should be and never has been.
For the record, on Jan. 6, a mob of 2,000 to 2,500 trump supporters attacked the Capitol Building. The Capitol Complex was locked down and lawmakers and staff were evacuated as rioters assaulted law enforcement officers, vandalized property, and occupied the building for several hours. Five people died either shortly before, during, or following the event. One was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes. Many people were injured, including 138 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months.
Trump suggested at Saturday’s rally in Conroe, Texas, that me might pardon the rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol if he is elected president in 2024. Some of the rioters had hoped for a Trump pardon before he left office 14 days later, but none were granted. On Saturday, trump told the lemmings that “If I run and I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly, and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.”