The Era of Virtue Signaling Is OVER and It Cannot Be Discarded Soon Enough

The Associated Press has been playing a game of FAFO with President Donald Trump and it sure seems like they don't like the 'FO' part of that game. After the organization announced that it would not adopt Trump's renaming of the Gulf of America, the President turned around and told them they were not welcome on Air Force One or in the Oval Office for any presidential ceremonies.

Frankly, Trump could have expelled them for this or any number of other reasons, such as the disgraceful way they reported the murder of the Bibas family by Hamas or the way they have tried to play Ministry of Truth with the English language for years.

Of course, the AP threw a hissy fit and filed a First Amendment lawsuit against three administration officials, but there is no First Amendment violation here. They still have access to and can ask questions in the White House Briefing Room, they can still cover the administration however they like, they just don't have a preferred position anymore.

Because they do not deserve one.

Last week, in one of the most pathetic displays of 'solidarity' I have ever seen, a freelance reporter in D.C. posted a picture on Twitter of how other members of the media chose to support the AP in their doomed fight against Trump.

Today, when Hollywood, the media, or social media 'influencers' use virtue signals to tell us how we are supposed to feel about an issue, it usually ends up as badly for them as the tweet above did for Leyden. They don't go viral anymore or, if they do, it is usually in the opposite direction from what the intention was.

And why wouldn't we mock them? Most of these displays -- like the recent cringe 'interpretive dance' outside the Kennedy Center or the 'People's March' before Trump's inauguration -- are eminently mockable.

The reason is very simple: authenticity.

Virtue signaling is never authentic and never has been. It has always been a cheap way for someone to get social credit points from the left without actually putting any skin in the game. Remember when Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and a bunch of celebrities tried to protest the kidnapping of hundreds of girls with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls?

That was an epic failure not because Americans sided with Boko Haram, but because it was totally inauthentic. None of the people who held up those signs ever committed any effort to try to free the hostages. They just pulled out a Sharpie, wrote on a piece of paper (or, more accurately, had their assistants do it for them), and just assumed the problem would be resolved by the almighty power of their virtue signal..

They then promptly forgot about it. Because they never cared. They just wanted credit for caring.

Contrast that with the recent hurricanes that hit the American Southeast toward the end of Joe Biden's term. Yes, many people posted on Twitter and other social media platforms about how these Americans were being ignored by the Biden administration (or actively avoided by FEMA if they were Trump voters), but Americans stepped up and gave of themselves in ways that mattered to the victims. People like Matt Van Swol were passionate about the cause, maintained their dedication to it, and talked about getting results. And they're still going strong.

The difference is authenticity. Yes, Americans can get easily distracted by today's 24-hour news cycle, but one thing we have (almost) always been able to spot -- especially on Twitter -- is who is real and who is a complete phony.

Just ask Kamala Harris.

If other journalists want to show support for the AP, show us that you mean it. Walk out of the Press Room. Refuse to return until the White House restores the preferred access.

But they won't do that. First of all, deep down, many of them probably know that the AP has not had its First Amendment rights violated even if they won't ever admit it openly. Secondly, they don't really care enough to take any meaningful action. They just want to print a sign that reads, 'We stand with the AP,' and hope the issue will resolve itself.

Sorry, narrative pushers and virtue signalers. We don't play that game anymore.

Even many of Trump's detractors, one of whom I spoke to this past weekend, don't deny the fact that he -- and everyone he has hired for his second stint as President -- is authentic. They all say what they mean, and they all do what they say. The whirlwind that has been the first month of the administration is proof of that.

And the President's early approval ratings, still higher than any numbers he reached during his entire first term, is proof that authenticity is what America wants.

This is a big problem for Democrats (and admittedly some elected establishment Republicans) who never had to put their money where their mouths are before.

But it is a great change in direction for America.

The time of phony virtue signaling is done and I, for one, can't throw it in the dumpster soon enough.