If the first episode of Season Two is any indicator, it could, like The Godfather, surpass the original.
Season One ended with Americans adjusting to a new normal, like frogs in a simmering pot. Season Two of this fast paced series takes an even darker turn, with the departure of comic relief Sean Spicer and the arrival of the suave but sinister A.C. (Can you do the fandango?) Scaramucci.
For those of you who missed it, here’s a quick recap of a new series which already makes House of Cards look like Sesame Street. The “grab 'em by the pussy” candidate is now President and spends most of his waking hours on Twitter slagging off either the FakeNews media in general or its presenters in particular:
Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika are not bad people, but their low rated show is dominated by their NBC bosses. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017
In between times, he’s attacking anyone remotely involved with an investigation into Russia meddling in the election campaign, a bubbling subplot which has been moving inexorably to centre stage.
Special counsel Mueller is very close friends w/ former FBI head James Comey. That should be grounds for Mueller to recuse himself. pic.twitter.com/f4tCcZ6o8j
— CNA (@CNAnalysis) July 23, 2017
My guess is that this will become the hot ticket storyline this season. Trump himself might have dropped a hint as to where it’s all heading.
While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us.FAKE NEWS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017
In a subtle hint as to character, the POTUS, who rails against "fake news", just happens to have hagiographic, fake Time magazine covers on display in at least four of his properties.
Real Fake news: The Time Magazine cover Trump literally fabricated to hang in his office and his clubs. pic.twitter.com/zPas6837s4
— Ken McCarthy (@KenMcCarthy) July 26, 2017
The President’s immediate family has now become his inner circle of advisers. That should make for some interesting subplots.
Throughout Season One, Trump, with loyal henchman Sean Spicer by his side, carried out a relentless, vicious campaign against most of the institutions of American democracy. Sean’s job was to bring its watchdog to heel and he gave it his best shot.
Who can forget Sean’s first appearance at a Brady Room presser, where, in a departure from tradition, he dictated the day’s lead story to a flummoxed press.
“President Trump’s inauguration crowd was visible from space,” he proclaimed. “It was the biggest gathering of Christians since the Sermon on the Mount”. He had the figures to prove it.
From Trump's inauguration crowd to Hitler's 'Holocaust centre,' it was a rocky road for Sean Spicer https://t.co/iFCfVsVAb8 pic.twitter.com/fKSaVg0Bfh
— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 22, 2017
On the basis of that episode alone, you might have thought that when the time did come for Sean to leave, there would be an Oval Office farewell, a presidential “Well done, O Good and Faithful Servant”, a gold watch and a lifetime free travel on Greyhound buses.
Not to be.
In an intriguing plot twist though, he’ll be around for another couple of episodes.
SEASON TWO
(WARNING: Spoiler alerts!)
So, Season 2 opens with the not-quite departure of Sean Spicer and the arrival of Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci. This will give you something of the flavour of his character:
“I am a total shit-stirrer. My middle name could be shit-stirrer, except then my initials on my shirt would be a.s.s. and I can’t have that."
[All together now-Why not?]
“I am a total shit-stirrer...My middle name could be Shit-stirrer..."
— EarlNash (@EarlNash) July 23, 2017
[Anthony Scaramucci, https://t.co/H5Paholg8H] pic.twitter.com/pX2tr81BVA
He’s been tasked with stemming the leaks from the Presidential dyke and the Mooch has got big thumbs. He knows what needs to be done and how to do it:
“I Want to F*cking Kill All the Leakers”: Scaramucci Explodes in Unhinged Late-Night Rant https://t.co/TcCLuR3WgG
— Amanda Tracy (@AmandaTracy) July 30, 2017
This might be a good place to start and they’re just the interns.
The White House Interns look like they all think mayonnaise is spicy pic.twitter.com/I4DTfIqN6W
— Barkley B. Cooltimes (@MickNcKee) July 26, 2017
He may be a self-confessed shit-stirrer, but you’d have to say he’s a straight-shooting self-confessed shit-stirrer. You’d remember the Mooch as a minor character early in Season One. The Trump adversary who used phrases like “hack politician" with “anti-American rhetoric” on track to become "president of the Queen’s County Bullies Association.”
He let Trump know that unlike a lot of Republicans he wasn’t afraid of him:
'You’re an inherited money dude from Queen’s County. Bring it!'
Scaramucci called Trump a 'hack' and told him to 'bring it' in 2015 ...https://t.co/gNPm4BDRDs pic.twitter.com/2QW5o7hND6
— Alex Malloyy (@ukukmal) July 21, 2017
That was then of course and this is now. Now Trump can do no wrong in Anthony’s eyes. His views have evolved he tells us, although really it was more of an epiphany, a Damascene conversion, way back in November.
.@Scaramucci: They consistently underestimate how quick @POTUS is on his feet, how long-term he is in terms of strategic thinking. #Hannity pic.twitter.com/BZoZtT75B9
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2017
.@Scaramucci: "I think @POTUS is very much in charge. He knows exactly directionally where he wants to go." #TheStory pic.twitter.com/hEAC09oNvm
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 31, 2017
5 Things Donald Trump Can Teach Us About Leadership https://t.co/U2vL0pdlj6 via @select_intl. Let's remember who @POTUS is.
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) May 31, 2017
Meanwhile, for the sake of full transparency, he’s deleted any tweets that were less than flattering of his new boss.
White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci deletes his old tweets in the name of "full transparency." https://t.co/BP1eB1IZQT pic.twitter.com/w2Htl0VcOm
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) July 25, 2017
Full transparency? Deleting? No, I don’t get it either.
Oh and the new Communications Director, a man who obviously doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear, also doesn’t know the meaning of the word leak. When a journo from Politico published a financial disclosure of his, the Mooch was onto it in a flash:
But as the reporter later helpfully pointed out, she asked the Export-Import Bank and it was given to her in public disclosure.
So Mr. I went Havard Law School @Scaramucci doesn't understand that his financial disclosure is public info & not classified felony leak pic.twitter.com/Yo2HiAhtvN
— Ragan Walker (@raganwalker) July 27, 2017
Wow, sorry I slept through all the fun! FWIW, Mr @Scaramucci's Form 278e is publicly available from ExIm. Just ask. https://t.co/Io2ed5IEuj
— Lorraine (@Woellert) July 27, 2017
You might also have noted a bit of coat trailing there with the Mooch dragging his new boss’s name into the mix. The Mooch has stated that he and the beleaguered Reince Preibus are like brothers.
As Gucci himself put it :
"When I said we were brothers from the podium, it's because we're rough on each other. Some brothers are like Cain and Abel. Other brothers can fight with each other and get along."
That expression of fraternity has to be set against the background of the nickname he and his inner circle have long had for the White House Chief of Staff. It was referred to coyly in Season One as a "particularly crude nickname". Well, its "Rancid Penis".
Then too you’d have to take into consideration this gem from Thursday night:, as reported in the New Yorker:
'“Reince is a fucking paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci said. He channelled Priebus as he spoke: “‘Oh, Bill Shine is coming in. Let me leak the fucking thing and see if I can cock-block these people the way I cock-blocked Scaramucci for six months.'
Anthony Scaramucci's bizarre call with @RyanLizza. #TheMooch https://t.co/bj2lfcEwmh
— Omid P. Panahi (@OmidPPanahi) July 30, 2017
Maybe he meant brothers like Dodd and Bear Gerhardt from Season Two of Fargo.
SNEAK PEEK
What can we expect from future episodes?
As we learnt in Season One of the Trump Show, expect the unexpected. The fact that Sean’s staying on for a while should make for some interesting storylines. Is he just hanging around to get more dirt for his tell-all book? Will he be doing some cross promotion for his upcoming guest spot on Dancing with the Stars? Maybe do 'Singin' in the Rain' with Sarah in the Oval office?
And what can we expect from the new/interim team? I mean, if Sean’s not leaving till late in episode three, technically at least, Sarah will be on the sideline, kicking her heels and chomping at the bit (although realistically nobody’s going to let Sean get within cooee of a mic).
The appointment of the Mooch is the reason why Sean resigned in the first place, for reasons as yet unexplained. Expect some flashbacks here. Normally, we could expect that future episodes would focus on the festering relationship between Sean, The Mooch and Rancid Penis. Lots of sarcastic comments in staff meeting and briefings. Full-throated arguments about whose turn it was to bring in the fucking donuts. A scriptwriter’s dream.
But the Trump Show is not normal. I can’t tell you too much but the next episode opens with another shock resignation and an unexpected vacancy in Homeland Security. Don’t miss it. It’s must watch stuff — even if it is from the kitchen and through splayed fingers.
And somewhere a frog is saying: “Is it just me or is it getting hotter in here?”
You can follow Jim McArdle on Twitter @JamesMcArdle7.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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Donald Trump’s approval rating is nearly 30 points worse than Bill Clinton's during the Lewinsky scandal https://t.co/YWicSGcDuA pic.twitter.com/C1UUol3STy
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 30, 2017
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