The guy would be named Boris.
Donald Trump’s inaugural committee is having no problems finding celebrities to attend his inauguration because that’s not who the committee is looking for, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn said Tuesday.
“Not at all,” Epshteyn, the inaugural committee communications director, told CNN. “You know, this is not Woodstock. It’s not Summer Jam. It’s not a concert. It’s not about celebrities. As Donald Trump tweeted himself, it’s about the people. That’s what we’re concentrated on.”
I suggest that we adopt “This Is Not Woodstock” as the unofficial name of Trump’s inauguration and associated balls. It works on every level that we need it to work on, and you can probably make a killing if you print up a bunch of hats, pins, and t-shirts and sell them in D.C. during the festivities.
The mouth-breathers will embrace it for its explicit rejection of patchouli and Birkenstocks and all the values associated with modernism. The rest of us will get the joke that this will be the unhippest, uncoolest, least worthy celebratory gathering in national history.
The joke will still be on us, unfortunately, but at least we’ll get a laugh out of it.
It no more matters that celebrities aren’t lining up to win the Charles Lindbergh prize than it did that virtually no newspapers were willing to endorse Trump for the presidency.
Analytical reasoning and artistry are signifiers of talent, and talent is suspect in Trumpland. Talent rises to the top. It moves up and out of town, rarely to return. This is an anti-elitist movement, and that goes for meritocratic elites as much as those born into wealth and comfort.
Our truly meritocratic systems, sports, entertainment, academic excellence, are also where pluralism and tolerance and anti-racism excel. It’s our elites who enjoy their positions through circumstance rather than merit who lead the nationalistic and racist and anti-pluralistic movements. They are guarding their privileges.
What’s the opposite of the Trump inauguration?
This.
Unfortunately, the bums seem to have lost.
I thought the slogan was “No, you’re the racist!”
This mouth-breather asks if you know how you are exemplifying everlasting that Midwest voters rejected?
That’s modernism? You can keep it!
Can you translate this into English, please?
spell checker changed mis-typed “everything” into “everlasting”.
bullshit.
midwesterners like rock stars and celebrities just as much as anybody else.
I know this because I am friends with a lot of people from the midwest.
If you associate being a mouth-breather with being from the midwest, that’s on you.
You pointy-headed coastal elites just need to understand the true Heart of America beats in the breast of the yeoman farmers of the Heartland (it’s in the name!), who have no time for your effete “culture” and “education”.
Clearly therefore the Khmer Rouge was history’s most successful government.
Set aside your sneering condescension and recognize the superiority of Real America ™
Say what you want about the Khmer, at least they weren’t taking advantage of the H-1B rules and flooding us with cheap labor!
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It’s disingenuous and harmful to lump people of different regions into negative categories, and you don’t gain anything by doing so. Just like all denizens of West Virginia didn’t bash Obama for losing coal jobs or all workers in Ohio didn’t vote for trump because of lost jobs.
I am offended when people judge me when I say I’m from Ohio. Just because the majorities currently are Republican nutjobs doesn’t mean we all are, nor does it mean we aren’t active in donations and campaigns. Sometimes there are just more bad guys than good guys.
My friend from college moved from Cincinnati to Chicago when she got married and her new inlaws asked if theybhad shopping malls in SW Ohio. jeez!
Well, it is rather shocking.
I spent some time in Lincoln, Nebraska this year and I was constantly amazed. Hey look…a Jack in the Box! OMG….a BestBuy! Look, look, they have an airport! Good Grief…they let you turn right on a red at intersection signals!
I still have not gotten over it.
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Not sure if this is directed at me, but I had intention of insulting Ohio in this piece.
No, I was agreeing with statements about the Midwest.
I had NO intention, it should read.
Ha ha! So, was that a subconscious jab? 😉
Well, I still wear patchouli, for whatever that says about me.
Worth keeping in mind that Mr. Epshteyn’s previous gig was organizer of a large conference titled “Invest in Moscow.”
Reactionary movements tend not to win the affections of a nation’s artists and intelligentsia, and the American “conservative” movement has been no exception. “Conservatism” has been mocked and disdained by the artistically talented for quite some time now, yet that hasn’t blocked its relentless march to victory. But it would seem Der Trumper’s embrace of white nationalism has made the slice of performing artists that will take his money vanishingly small. Didn’t Dubya at least have some Country talent?
“It’s about the people”, Mr Boris Epshteyn advises, which is a pretty vague promise. Does this portend a winding parade of Kostumed KKKers, grinning Open Carry Boyz, white NFL lineman, miners perched atop gaily decorated mountaintop removal equipment, followed by a couple hundred monster pickups rollin’ coal? The Russian Army male chorus singing God Bless America? Given the wonderfully diverse Trumper coalition (both domestic and foreign), there’s clearly oodles of talent to choose from! Heil Trumper!
Unfortunately, the political views of the nation’s singers and celebs carry no more weight with the hoi polloi than the nation’s newspapers editors, as the horrendous Cris Cristie’s abject love of Springsteen aptly demonstrates…
The inaugural speech scares me. The possibility of many standing and yelling “You Lie” is real. This may be nothing like Woodstock…I don’t see the love, peace or happiness.
I think it’s even money that Ted Nugent will show up at the Inaugural Ball packing heat.
Picked this version for Carlos rockin’ out and singin’ along next to Michelle and Barack in their box (Kennedy Center Honors), Sheila E.’s superb percussion, Steve Winwood’s vocals (best rock/pop singer ever? Discuss amongst yourselves), and overall excellence.
Too bad youtubes so often are recorded at levels that limit turning it up to the volume it deserves.
Alas, not done at Woodstock to my knowledge.
you can’t dance.