In Washington D.C., far away from foreign fire, newspaper silence and a strained midterm campaign, the talk has been of Olivia Nuzzi; she was recently suspended by New York Magazine for leaking ‘private photos and text messages’ to Robert F Kennedy Jr. It has been seen as a little comic relief from the seriousness of the campaign and its tight races; as a demonstration of how the female journalist’s lapses in discretion have drawn more reprimand than those of the US president, whose possible criminal conduct on behalf of American fascism is being debated by the US Supreme Court as an issue of whether Trump, in his role as the executive officer of state, can assert an ‘absolute immunity’ for civil penalties on his dealings with the attempted overthrow of the US by his own supporters on 6 January 2021.
At the same time, Senator JD Vance and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson took considerable juvenile pleasure in Nuzzi’s fate: Carlson: Okay, so Katie Nuzzi – I think she’s lovely – Katie Nuzzi, campaigns and fundraising director, she had to leave The disposal of Katie Nuzzi is more important than, you know, any discussion we could have with you about sensitive national issues.Vance: Definitely. Vance: Yeah, definitely. As the above sequence suggests, the phenomenon of deflection presents itself elsewhere in political discourse. As he runs for re-election on his ‘America First’ record, Vance soldiers on with conspiracy theories about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris; attacks on US immigration and industrial outsourcing; and, most importantly, his presence in Trump’s circle of Carlsonsians. In his narrative, Vance’s personal political ambitions mingle with his ideological commitments, in a strategy of advancement that is simultaneously mimetic and egotistical.
Vance has also identified with a number of radical ideologies, as well as with a cast of conservative characters, suggesting that his political persona (like the chameleon) is adaptable. He has been mentored by the ‘Tiger Mom’ Yale Law professor Amy Chua, funded by the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, and dabbled in various right-wing ideologies. Whether interacting with Trumpworld, radicalising conservative ideologies, or memeing against his political enemies with Carlson, Vance is a product of his political desire to be whatever his audience demands him to be. This is an actor who has defined his political identity according to the ideological hopes and fears of those around him, all in an effort to employ ‘political strategy’ and ‘joke my way to the top’.
Source: The Guardian
