Frank Vernuccio | On January 8, 2021

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in November, 2016.

Democrats, and many in the media and Hollywood, have generally responded harshly to Republican Presidential candidates. One example, “Bush Derangement Syndrome,” became well known during the first decade of the 21^st Century. However, the reaction to the election of Donald Trump was in a league of its own that reached a level of hysteria not previously seen in a presidential election since Abraham Lincoln ran for the White House in the 1800s.

To some extent, the level of hatred was surprising. Yes, Trump was a Republican, but he certainly was not seen as a hyper-partisan Republican nor, at least initially, a doctrinaire conservative. He did not appeal to what has frequently been portrayed as a stereotypical GOP supporter. Indeed, many within his own party bitterly disdained him.

He did, however, take several positions that cut to the heart of business as usual in Washington. Above all else, he staunchly opposed China. Recent revelations concerning the impact of Chinese influence, particularly on Joe Biden and the California Democrat Party, require a deeper examination on how this affected Democratic and media reaction to the 45^th President.

A key California industry, and one that is also highly influential in that state’s politics, is, of course, the movie business. Hollywood moguls, never known for their moral standards, cater to China’s rulers for two main reasons. First, they do not wish to offend a big-bucks investor in their industry. Chinese companies have invested $4.5 billion in Hollywood assets. Second, the lure of selling tickets to China’s billion-plus citizens inhibits them from producing films, or taking positions, that offend Beijing.

Clearly, President Trump’s strengthening of the American backbone against China’s unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and military threats did not sit well with Beijing, and that nation’s rulers used their leverage on Hollywood to gain an ally in the fight against him.

A similar analysis could be made about another of California’s key industries, social media. Like Hollywood, it has a heavy presence in the state, and they too look to the vast population and financial opportunities of China with hungry eyes. Similar to Hollywood, they have been vociferous and diligent in their opposition to the Trump White House.

The barons of both the movie and social media industries used their public access and financial leverage to create a false sense of crisis, censor opposing viewpoints, and support politicians who vociferously attacked President Trump.

How successful was this exercise of media and entertainment domination? Consider this: No event has caused more civilian deaths and economic disaster in America than COVID-19. It is manifestly evident that China, whether through malevolence, incompetence, or both, is singularly responsible for this. Despite that, there has been extraordinarily little expression of anger against that nation seen on the internet, TV, or print news and entertainment venues. Remarkably, the social media, entertainment, and news industries have managed to deflect what should have righteous fury over the virus into infighting within the nation.

Similarly, exposures of links, through negligence or greed, between elected officials and Chinese agents has produced little in the way of mass expressions of outrage.  Instead, praise was heaped upon California politicians, including Rep. Eric Salwell, who it was recently discovered to have had a relationship with a Chinese agent, and spent the past four years seeking to impeach Trump on fabricated charges. That effort was led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, both products of the California Democrat Party.

The New York Times noted last January, “As the Senate trial of Mr. Trump barrels ahead in Washington, California is playing an outsized role. It has lawmakers who have been leading the investigation of Mr. Trump for months.”

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government.

Originally published on Townhall Finance.

Frank Vernuccio

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government (website usagovpolicy.com). He is the co-host of the syndicated radio program, Vernuccio/Novak Report, and is also a contributor to Fox News. His columns appear in many newspapers. After graduating Hofstra Law School, he was a legislative editor for a major publishing company, then served in both Republican and Democrat Administrations. Following the 9/11 attack, he was appointed to run the hard-hit Manhattan branch of the New York State Workers Compensation Board.