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Reporter’s Joe Exotic Question Was More Legitimate Than Asking Whether ‘KungFlu’ Is Racist

By: Kylee Griswold
3 min read
Joe Exotic Donald Trump pardon

Americans could use a little less pontificating about hypothetical racism and a little more “Tiger King.”

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Kylee Griswold
@kyleezempel
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A New York Post reporter finally asked President Donald Trump the most important question burning in everyone’s mind: Will the president pardon Joe Exotic?

During a White House briefing Wednesday, reporter Steven Nelson diverted from the endless string of coronavirus queries to ask Trump whether he plans to pardon the star of Netflix’s new hit docuseries “Tiger King,” who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for, among other counts, allegedly hiring a hitman to kill animal rights activist and rival Carole Baskin.

Joe Exotic “is asking you for a pardon, saying he was unfairly convicted. Your son yesterday jokingly said that, you know, he was going to advocate for it. So I was wondering if you’ve seen the show and if you have any thoughts on pardoning Joe Exotic?” Nelson asked.

“Which son? Must be Don. I had a feeling it was Don,” Trump said smirking, referring to Donald Trump Jr. “Is that what he said? I don’t know, I know nothing about it. He has 22 years for what? What did he do?”

Nelson explained Exotic’s alleged murder-for-hire crime, prompting Trump to flip the question on the reporter, asking tongue-in-cheek, “Do you think he didn’t do it? Are you on his side? Are you recommending a pardon?”

“Would you recommend a pardon?” Trump asked again, this time gesturing to CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“I’m not weighing in on ‘Tiger King,'” Acosta replied.

“I’ll take a look,” Trump concluded with a smile, to the delight of “Tiger King” fans.

The whole lighthearted affair was a welcome diversion from the relentless COVID-19 news cycle and doomsday mainstream media coverage. Of course, self-serious blue checkmarks took to Twitter in response, condemning the reporter for his pop culture and criminal justice question during the pandemic.

https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1248020523537305600

Despite elitist Twitter scorn, a question about a cultural phenomenon, which CNN described as “the talk of the pop culture world since the coronavirus outbreak forced people to stay inside,” is far more legitimate than many of the questions the mainstream media has fixated on throughout the pandemic, perhaps the most notable being reporters’ obsession with Trump referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus.”

https://twitter.com/alx/status/1240315956192333831

The death of thousands of Americans apparently disqualifies any questions about Joe Exotic, but it didn’t stop reporters such as Yamiche Alcindor from obsessing over the phrase “Kung Flu” at the expense of asking relevant questions.

The press has wasted precious time posing bogus questions, including such inquiries as, “Do you consider the term ‘Chinese food’ racist?” and “How many deaths are acceptable?” It has neglected its reporting role, instead using its energy to scoff at an addict-turned-Christian CEO, whom Trump highlighted for his commitment to mass produce much-needed face masks.

Instead of finding reliable data, the MSM has parroted spurious statistics from communist China. And instead of broadcasting the news, it has propped itself up, convinced the media itself is the most important news to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nelson’s question about Joe Exotic was more interesting and relevant than all these other media obsessions. Americans could use a little less pontificating about hypothetical racism and a little more “Tiger King.”

Kylee Griswold is the managing editor of The Federalist. She previously worked as the copy editor for the Washington Examiner magazine and as an editor and producer at National Geographic. She holds a B.S. in communication arts/speech and an A.S. in criminal justice and writes on topics including feminism and gender issues, religion, and the media. Follow her on Twitter @kyleezempel.

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