At the BET Hip-Hop Awards Tuesday night, rapper Eminem became the latest in a long line of celebrities to bash President Trump when he debuted a fiercely anti-Trump diatribe dressed up as a freestyle rap. For four bleeped-out, profanity-laced minutes, Eminem slammed the president as a racist, bigot and “a kamikaze that’ll probably cause a nuclear holocaust.”
He then proceeded to rip some of his fans, saying, “Any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his, I’m drawing in the sand a line. You’re either for or against, and if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split on who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for it for you with this: F— you.”
The cultural tyranny of the left has just reached a new low.
The entertainment industry is dominated by leftists who loathe Trump, so Eminem made a pretty safe bet that he’d be cheered for his volcanic attack and score tons of publicity for it. All of which happened, right on cue.
{mosads}The sports world chimed in too. After Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who launched the NFL protests last year by taking a knee during the national anthem, got a shout-out from Eminem in the rap, he tweeted his thanks. NBA superstar LeBron James also expressed his support, tweeting a particularly ferocious Trump-bashing lyric: “Racism is the only thing he’s Fantastic 4(fantastic for), cause that’s how he gets his rock off, he’s orange. Sheesh @Eminem!! #United.”
In their small and rarefied world of fame, power and wealth, not much matters to these stars beyond running with the clique in terms of politics and values. Witness Harvey Weinstein: by most accounts, “everyone knew” that he was a serial sexual predator and yet he continued to be protected by his fellow travelers in Hollywood and the press because he was a good liberal who donated and raised millions of dollars for the Democratic party and left-wing causes. Politics before principle is the rule for the celebrity crowd, which is part of the reason so many of our cultural arbiters are guilty of hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy.
Eminem is now being celebrated as an unapologetic truth-teller because he attacked the president. But in this highly polarized and nasty environment, it doesn’t take courage to blast Trump and it doesn’t make Eminem unique. It makes him yet another lemming, scoring easy approbation from his peers and the media.
I’m not questioning the sincerity of his opinion of the president; he’s been outspoken in his criticism of Trump for a while. He’s entitled to that view and to express it however he wants.
But the idea that Eminem is somehow the moral “conscience” of the country is ludicrous.
Over the course of his career, Eminem has proudly released raps with lyrics laced with misogyny and homophobia, referring to women as “sluts” who deserve to be treated violently and to men with anti-gay sneers. He was frequently blasted for such lyrics but never felt compelled to apologize for them. It was, after all, his “art.”
Nor did Eminem seem to have any qualms about appearing with Trump in 2004 at a mock MTV political “convention.” Jack Posobiec tweeted the long-forgotten footage of Trump lavishing Eminem with praise as he introduced the rapper as a “presidential candidate.” “Slim Shady is a winner!” Trump proclaimed. “He’s got brains, he’s got guts, and he’s got Donald Trump’s vote!” Appearing onstage, Eminem seemed delighted to accept Trump’s compliments.
Now that he’s the latest mega-star to turn his lyrical gun-turrets on the president, he’s a new hero to the “resistance.” Perhaps they’ll even adopt his rap as their anthem.
But what no one in the Trump opposition seems to understand is that every time a celebrity or political elite hits Trump, he emerges a bit stronger, particularly with his base of disaffected Republicans and Democrats who despise the elites’ corruption, arrogance and condescension and are counting on Trump to smash their grip.
On election eve last November, Hillary Clinton was feted at a concert featuring Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, and others. Donald Trump held a massive campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, standing with the regular folks who helped elect him president the next day.
So Eminem and other celebrities will continue to blast Trump, and the trained seals in the entertainment and media echo chamber will clap. And as they bask in the glow of elite approval, they still cannot see that with every song, every TV show, every “Saturday Night Live” skit, they are helping the object of their hatred get re-elected.
Monica Crowley is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research, a former opinion editor for The Washington Times, and frequent guest on Fox News. She holds a Ph.D in international relations from Columbia University.