Like comic book fanboys who write bad reviews of a superhero movie based on its trailer, Megyn Kelly’s interview with raging conspiracist Alex Jones was widely panned by many liberals before it was even seen. And not just liberals. A dozen family members of Sandy Hook victims felt so aggreived, they had a law firm send a letter threatening to sue NBC News for its decision “to amplify the voice of a man who has made a living debasing...and smearing our client’s names.” One can only hope that the firm, Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, didn’t have the balls to actually charge a fee for doing this.
We have been told that by interviewing Alex Jones, Megyn Kelly is amplifying his baseless rantings, that she is giving him a platform and therefore causing unimaginable pain to the parents who lost children in the horrific Sandy Hook massacre. We have been told that Alex Jones should never be interviewed on a major news network because doing so would only dignify him, unless perhaps he were to be interviewed by the ghost of Mike Wallace.
Please note: Megyn Kelly’s biggest detractor now is Alex Jones himself. He did everything within his power to discredit her before the interview aired. His posting of their pre-interview, exposing Kelly’s promises to him, was meant to expose her as a fraud, but all it revealed was her strategy for landing a big stinky fish. Kelly was undeniably disengenious in her approach to Jones, but if he knew that, then why did he agree to the interview?
The simple truth is that Alex Jones chomped on Megyn Kelly’s bait and has been desperately trying to wiggle off the hook ever since. Unable to do so, on Sunday afternoon he released a stupefyingly tone-deaf video in which he finally admitted that the Sandy Hook murders took place and invited the parents of the slain children “to open a dialogue... instead of letting the MSM (mainstream media) try to drive this nation apart.”
Yes, of course, it’s the media’s fault for reporting on what happened at Sandy Hook and what Alex Jones actually said about it. No wonder Donald Trump told him, “Your reputation’s amazing – I will not let you down.” Alex Jones is Donald Trump’s kind of journalist: he doesn’t care about facts and spews garbage. Megyn Kelly, on the other hand, he’s had issues with, most notably when he said, “she had blood coming out of her wherever,” because she dared, while an employee of Fox News no less, to confront him with his own misogynistic hate speech.
This is the same Megyn Kelly, who while interviewing Dick Cheney told him, “Time and time again, history has proven that you got it wrong in Iraq.” This is the same Megyn Kelly who refused to give an inch to Ben Carson when he insisted that the Gold Star family Donald Trump insulted owed Trump an apology. This is the same Meygn Kelly, who after Newt Gingrich told her that she was “fascinated with sex,” told him, “I’m not fascinated by sex, but I am fascinated by the protection of women...” and then, “Take your anger issues and spend some time working on them.”
Apparently, none of this matters to The Daily Show’s Michelle Wolf, who in a recent hit-job segment smugly called Kelly “basically a pretty race-baiting puppet (of Roger Ailes).” Wolf then proceeded to show a montage of seven clips, none of which offered a shred of evidence of her claim, except arguably the final one, Kelly’s infamous blunder of referring to Jesus as white. Wolf didn’t bother to mention that on her very next show, Kelly said, “I did say Jesus was white. As I’ve learned in the past few days, that is far from settled.”
Note to Michelle Wolf: I’m guessing that you have accepted Bill Maher’s explanation for his use of the term “house nigger.” Then why not Megyn Kelly’s explanation for saying that Jesus was white? Another thing: It did not escape me that your use of the word “pretty” in describing Kelly was pejorative and dismissive, as if to suggest that she’s a no-talent. There is something really strange about that coming from a woman as pretty and talented as yourself. I’m guessing that you would not like it if someone referred to you as “a pretty race-baiting puppet (of Trevor Noah).” Think about it.
I will admit that as a satirist and a liberal, I don’t enjoy criticizing The Daily Show because it is a show I love. But let’s get a grip here. Megyn Kelly is not the Antichrist, nor is she Rachel Maddow. But Alex Jones was never going to sit down for a chat with Rachel Maddow or anyone at MSNBC. But he would talk to Megyn Kelly and the fact that he did is a victory for her and, more importantly, for journalism.
Joe Raiola is Senior Editor of MAD Magazine and Producer of the Annual John Lennon Tribute in NYC. He has performed his solo show, “The Joy of Censorship” in over 40 states.
