Guess Who's Really Obsessed with that Sydney Sweeney Ad?

The MAGA media want you to focus on her so you'll ignore Trump's failing economy and Jeffrey Epstein connections.

One of my oldest friends, a man who is smart and kind, told me this week that if the election were held today Donald Trump would win a third term because Democrats are just focused on Sydney Sweeney. After my blood pressure came back down, I explained that Democrats are not paying even remote attention to this made-up controversy.

Then I helped him improve his media diet, because it’s the MAGA media that’s trying to whip up controversy over the actress’ American Eagle jeans ad with headlines from FOX like, “The War on Hot Women: Why the Woke Mob Hates Sydney Sweeney.” Donald Trump also couldn’t help but join in on Sunday. "She's a registered Republican?” he said to a reporter. “Oh, now I love her ad."

But that wasn’t the end of it. Because another of my old friends said that all Democrats need to do is distance themselves from all those “woke” people who give the party such a bad name. Once again, the blood pressure.

This time, I explained that Republicans are rarely asked to distance themselves from their supporters who threaten judges that Donald Trump doesn’t like by sending pizzas in the name of a murdered child to their homes. No Republican is tarred by gunmen who shoot into crowds because they were radicalized by MAGA rhetoric. And when neo-Nazis and white supremacists rally or one of their supporters drives a car into a crowd of peaceful counter protesters, well, “there are very good people on both sides.”

And so I explained that “woke” used to be Republican fear-mongering to pretend we don’t share the country’s values when we do, and that now it is also used to distract- to hide their crimes.

If the GOP can find someone, anyone who noticed Sydney Sweeney and will denounce her ad, they will make that person famous. FOX will air clips of the outraged “woke” left for days. They will stalk Democrats and demand denunciations. And if, like this past week, they find no one to take their bait, they will jut pretend they did.

While FOX couldn’t get enough of Ms. Sweeney, hoping both to create a distracting controversy and to boost ratings by showcase her figure, Donald Trump was continuing to hide his role in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. He was cavalierly talking about nuclear war. He was firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the crime of publishing labor statistics. The economic news was terrible. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza continue to destroy lives. And Americans are paying more for goods and services.

Gone are the days when Democrats play on whatever turf the Republicans roll out. (Yes, I know there are still some triangulating politicians who can’t help themselves. But they do not represent the great mass of Democrats.) This time, Democrats did not get distracted by a fake controversy, or even by the lie that they did. Instead, they acted to disrupt the GOP’s Texas gerrymander to steal the upcoming House election. They refused to cave on Senate confirmations without unless Trump abandoned his illegally impounded of funds. They continued to follow the Epstein money.

Most Democrats are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with people whose ideas they do not fully share — people to the left and to the center, and now even to the right — those who remain committed to a Democracy where those differences are allowed. Republicans won’t even share a library with a guy who wants to read about Jackie Robinson.

The GOP can scream “woke,” all day long, but the word is too small to hide the damage they are doing to the country. And Democrats are too focused on saving the country to get distracted.

Edwin Eisendrath hosts "The Big Picture" on WCPT820 AM/ Heartland Signal. He's the former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, a long-time management consultant, a former Chicago Alderman, HUD Regional Administrator and teacher in Chicago's public schools. You can follow him on BlueSky at eisendrath.net and Substack at “It’s the Democracy, Stupid.” Read the original column here.

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