Back on August 23rd, he spoke of the callousness of the president (and of his daughter-in-law), and of his support for a conspiracy-theory-supporting Islamophobe for Congress, and his complete lack of empathy. You know - the characteristics of a person who would pretty much do anything to get elected.
And this week? Take a look at was what was on his mind.
Perhaps like so many Americans you've been trying to find a way to spend some time with your family, your children, safely engaged in some form of recreation. Education in a time of pandemic can be really tough and nothing is more clear about our government's failure to protect us then the fact that for so many American kids it's considered unsafe to go into a classroom.
The virus has not been contained. The widespread quick testing needed remains elusive. It's a huge failure by president Trump on down.
So then maybe you seek this respite and you subscribe to Disney+, Disney's streaming service, and you turn on their new live action film Mulan, fun, nice, family-friendly. But maybe you stay for the credits. And you see Disney thank the propaganda authorities of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Jinjiang.
That's right. Not only did Disney film this move, Mulan, in the epicenter of the part of China where the US State Department estimates the Chinese government has detained as many as 2 millionth ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in internment camps, places China claims are for re-education and job training, but the US government says they are subjecting Uighurs to torture and cruel and inhumane treatment.
But not only did they film Mulan there, Disney also thanks a local police department in their credits, a police department that was sanctioned by the U.S. government for its role in running these concentration camps.
Now, Disney's CFO says it's standard to, quote, acknowledge in the film's credits the national and local governments that allowed you to film there, unquote.
Really? How standard is it to film in an area where the local government has concentration camps and is being accused of genocide? I guess we should be happy no parts of Fantasia needed to be filmed in occupied Poland.
And, look, it's not just Disney. The star of the film went on Chinese social media and shared a Chinese state media image expressing support for the police in Hong Kong cracking down on pro-democracy protestors. Of course, that's just one person, a young actor. That's not the big problem. The big problem is Disney thanking people accused of committing genocide. Why? Money.
So, who cares about the concentration camps, right? It's an immoral position and one we've seen from the NBA, which was forced to cancel a training camp held in the same region of China. And, of course, sadly with president Trump who, John Bolton writes in his book, told Chinese President Xi Jinping that China should continue building these concentration camps for the mass detention of Uighur Muslims because President Trump thought that, quote, was exactly the right thing to do, unquote.
This summer two Uighur organizations lodged a complaint against the government of China at the International Criminal Court accusing the Chinese government of genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity.
This is the government to whom the NBA is bowing and president Trump is giving approval and Disney is openly thanking.
After a horrible genocide, the Holocaust, the world came together and pledged never again, never again. The NBA, president Trump, and the Walt Disney Company, they're making those words meaningless.
What's Tapper telling us?
That we're better than this. That there's more to being a Great America than making money, or making movies. And sometimes, it's not worth it to get exactly what we want if we compromise what we believe in. And that the ends don't justify the means.
Sadly, it seems these things have been forgotten recently. And, I think, it would do us well to remember them going forward.
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