“Defending the Indefensible”

How can one explain those members of oppressed minority groups who make a profession out of publicly, as George Orwell quipped, “defending the indefensible” and supporting the Republican Party and Donald Trump, against the interests of their own people? On the morning of August 28, I watched Exhibit A of this phenomenon, so-called “political commentator” Shermichael Singleton, a young Black man, on a CNN program anchored/hosted by Jim Acosta. In only about five minutes Shermichael proved he was no Sherlock, as he flunked history, failed math and proved himself wildly incapable (and/or unwilling) to answer a direct question.

During the “news” program, Singleton and others discussed Trump’s assertion aired August 27 on Dr. Phil’s show that: “If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK? …In other words, if we had… a really honest vote counter — I do great with Hispanics, great, I mean at a level no Republican has ever done. But if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California.”

In 2020, 11,110,250 Californians cast their ballots for the Biden ticket for 63.5% of the vote, while Trump/Pence received 6,006,429 ballots or 34.3% or roughly only a third of the vote. See here. California awarded all 55 of its electoral votes to the Democratic Party candidates, Biden/Harris.

In response to Trump’s wildly dubious claim completely divorced from reality about the Golden State, which has voted for the Democratic ticket for president in every general election since 1992, the question arose as to who was the last Republican candidate to win the state of California in a presidential race. Singleton, who has been a paid Republican strategist and served in a GOP administration, had no idea. Another one of the journalists stated it was “Ronald Reagan,” which prompted Singleton to say that this was about “30” years ago. In other words, not only did Singleton flub the historical question, but he couldn’t subtract correctly either, as a majority of Californians voted for Reagan in 1980 and 1984, which is more like about “40” – not “30” – years ago.

(BTW, although the Golden State did indeed twice vote in favor of its former governor in a general election, the last Republican who a majority of Californians cast their ballots for in a race for the White House was actually not Reagan, but rather George H.W. Bush in 1988. So, all of the CNNers missed the mark)

Singleton went on to compound his display of sheer ignorance with his non-reply to a question about an alleged altercation between Trump’s team and Arlington National Cemetery administrators about photographing a wreath-laying ceremony there for servicemen killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in an area of this solemn setting where photography for partisan purposes is reportedly off-limits according to federal law. The brouhaha has sparked widespread controversy, with critics slamming Trump for exploiting a sacred ceremony at the hallowed ground and disrespectfully, cynically breaking the rules by using Arlington National Cemetery – the final resting place for 400,000 Americans who’d served in uniform, including President Kennedy, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – for campaign publicity.

When asked about the incident, Singleton’s lips moved and sounds spewed forth from his mouth – but he never for a single solitary second addressed the specific point at hand. Instead, in a move that could be called “verbal three-card Monte,” seeking to deflect and distract, the professional obfuscator changed the subject to remark upon how popular Trump purportedly was with members of the armed services. The way Shermichael danced around this question indicated that instead of CNN, he’d more at home on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (like that other Trump handmaiden, Sean Spicer). Of course, in his non-response response, the single-minded Singleton not only completely avoided answering the question he was actually asked, but never mentioned the military-related criticism that has swirled around Trump since he dodged the draft (but did not protest the Vietnam War).

Nor did Singleton ever mention the scorn heaped upon “General Bone Spurs” by high-ranking officers who had served in Trump’s administration, including his: Former Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly, former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. About 12 hours after Singleton’s glaring change the subject non-reply, he appeared on Laura Coates’ CNN program, and when Trump’s eyebrow-raising Arlington photo op was raised again, his two co-panelists answered, while Shermichael remained tightlipped.

No wonder: On August 29, the U.S. Army issued this statement: “Participants in the August 26^th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 [generally reserved for the graves of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan] visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” and, according to NPR, “verbally abused” by Trump campaign staff

Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita derided the ANC staffer as “a despicable individual” who “is spreading these lies… dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country.” (The uncivil LaCivita also ignorantly referred to “hollowed” instead of “hallowed” ground.) Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung also slandered the Arlington employee, who, he claimed was “suffering from a mental health episode.”

A campaign ad including footage of Trump’s visit to the cemetery was posted on TikTok the day of the incident. In connection to the ANC fracas, at an August 28 campaign event in Eerie, Pennsylvania, Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance snarled that Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris – who had not even publicly commented on the dispute at that point – “she can go to hell.”

Singleton’s sycophancy is particularly curious, considering that he was actually fired from serving in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Ben Carson due to a previous op-ed in The Hill critical of thin-skinned Trump, who can always dish it out but never take it. He was literally led out of the HUD building by security once it was discovered he had had the temerity to write: “Trump has taken us to a new moral low, where it is acceptable for a presidential candidate to mimic and mock someone with disabilities. Yet our religious leaders stand by and say nothing while defending their reasons for maintaining their support.” Now, it’s Shermichael’s turn to take a new moral low, providing cover for a wretch he clearly knows is unethical and guilty of criminal transgressions.

Singleton is a simpleton who demonstrated in about five minutes that he doesn’t know history, can’t do basic simple math and is unable to answer direct questions, and doing so to defend the indefensible – even when it involves the Defense Department. So what makes Shermy run? Why does this young African American ply his trade as a mouthpiece and shill for the Republican Party and Trump, a virulent racist who: Practiced housing discrimination in NYC; called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five (and continued to vilify them after their exoneration); baselessly slandered Barack Obama by questioning where he was born (and hence his legitimacy as a U.S. president); called neo-Nazis at Charlottesville “very fine people;” dined with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Loco; only recently questioned Kamala Harris’ racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists convention; ad infinitum?

You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what makes Shermichael Singleton and his ilk tick (and TikTok). The answer to why they contribute to the Big Lie is extremely simple. Going back to the Garden of Gethsemane and beyond, history has always had its quislings seeking, among other things, their 30 pieces of silver. Shooting your mouth off on TV and being a Black Benedict Arnold or African American Elia Kazan betraying colleagues to the House Un-American Activities Committee, is a much easier gig than actually working for a living is. Being a glib collaborator offers higher pay and status that accords turncoats with fame – or, at least notoriety – more than pursuing an honest day’s work does.

The real question is why do purported “news” outlets such as the Cable “News” Network hire race traitors like Shermichael Singleton and put them on the air? The guy proved in roughly five minutes that he didn’t know history, couldn’t subtract or answer a simple question. How does he add anything of value to what that other Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, called the “marketplace of ideas”? Of course, race traitors like Singleton provide value to the far right by giving “Black cover” to their extremism, often saying stuff in public that members of the dominant majority can no longer do in polite company and on TV/radio/Internet.

“Political commentators” like Singleton mainly serve to further cloud America’s low level of social discourse and add to the plague of disinformation. In their quest to provide different points of view, news outlets need to be careful who they select to provide political commentary, just as NBC became after a rebellion sparked by MSNBC hosts about the network’s ill-fated, short-lived choice of former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who had lied about 2020’s election results, to be a political analyst was scuttled. As Sherlock would say: “It’s elementary!”

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