Is a DC ‘journalist brain-drain’ even possible?

The flawed logic of the anti-Trump sex strike

No one really knows what a second Trump administration will hold for America — given the breadth of his coalition of contradictory factions, some of his voters are bound to be disappointed. But the prospect of the Donald’s mere presence back in the White House has led to a spasm of outrage on social media, with young women and members of the LGBTQIAA+ community fearful of the erosion of “rights” in case Trump, J.D. Vance and the Republicans eschew the campaign manifesto and draw instead from the Heritage Foundation’s more hardline Project 2025 agenda.

Drastic measures are being mooted. Here’s one suggestion that has nearly 10 million views on X:

The 4b movement is a protest against the patriarchy where

-you abstain from sex with men as a woman
-you abstain from childbirth
-you abstain from marriage
-you abstain from romance

If they want to take over your bodies, don’t let them have it. This was started in Korea, and now you can take control of your life under *him*. 

Trump’s election has also prompted a number of young women on TikTok to discover, and fall hook, line and sinker for, infamous troll Nick Fuentes — the far-right princeling of the groyper movement who was suggesting he wanted Trump to lose as recently as last month. “Your body, my choice. Forever,” the self-declared virgin tweeted just past 11 p.m. on Election Day. A gloating rant of his posted since Trump won has gone viral on TikTok, in which he rails:

Hey bitch, we control your bodies. Guess what? Guys win again. Glass ceiling? Dude it’s a ceiling made of fucking bricks, you will never break it.

Young women have been posting videos of themselves looking miserable to the audio — and the footage has been broadcast on MSNBC and NBC News.

A couple of points: followed to its conclusion, the only women who would be procreating if an America-wide 4B movement were to take hold would be the not-left-wing ones. Progressives would be extincting themselves, not their adversaries. That seems counterintuitive given how their side lacked in numbers at the polls. What’s more, Nick Fuentes is the last person who would be affected by a female sex strike.

Cockburn looks forward to observing a more constructive #Resistance effort.

Is a DC ‘journalist brain-drain’ even possible?

Who’s going to cover the new Trump administration? Some media sources are already signaling that they lack the emotional energy to attack his White House with the fervor they did in his first term. The Guardian offered counseling to triggered staff to help them deal with Trump’s victory Tuesday night, according to a report from the New York Post. “I know the result has been very upsetting for many colleagues,” editor-in-chief Katharine Viner told employees of the left-wing British newspaper. Guardian reporters in the UK and Australia were encouraged to reach out to their US colleagues to make sure they were OK, because nothing is better for your mental health than having a coworker with a funny accent interrupt your work day for a therapy session.

CNN media reporter Brian Stelter suggested the problem might be deeper than any one outlet, though. “Will there be a journalistic brain drain in DC? A talent agent said what I’ve also heard anecdotally: A lot of reporters are ‘questioning if they have it in them to report on another Trump cycle,’” Stelter posted on X. Maybe they’ll jump on the tradwife trend and move to a raw milk farm. Give them two years and they’ll all be begging Trump and RFK to up-end the FDA.

Blind item: how not to become the vice president 

As America surveys the wreckage of the Harris campaign, its people are left to wonder: could that have gone any worse? Well, possibly.

Though Tim Walz proved to be a particularly ineffective vice presidential pick (note for the future: female candidate + “Tim” = defeat), Cockburn imagines that there were even fewer viable suitors for the ticket… such as one politician supposedly ruled out due to rumors of their infidelity…

Going Post-al

Well done to Will Lewis, whose stereotypical English emotional intelligence was on full display this week. After outrage from Washington Post staff at the decision to no longer endorse in presidential contests, and anguish at Trump’s victory, CEO Lewis decided to soften the blow by announcing the imminent end of work-from-home, demanding that all Posties return to five days a week in the office from June onwards. By smuggling out that bombshell with the newsroom still reeling from Democracy’s Death in Darkness, Lewis chose to channel another infamous British boss: “You’re still thinking about the bad news, aren’t you?”

Cockburn can’t help but contemplate whether other managers — particularly the Trump-appointed heads of government departments — may follow in Lewis’s footsteps, crack down on the pajama class and pour employees back into downtown DC during the working week…

Cohen’s turkey day

Some are down worse than others after Trump’s landslide victory. The ladies of The View, for example, had to show up to work and put on somewhat happy faces. Host Sunny Hostin was quick to blame “misogyny” in Latino men for their support for Donald Trump’s campaign.

One man who didn’t have to get publicly humiliated for their day job was Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Since then, he’s spent years in prison and rebranded as a #Resistance hero. But at least one of his followers didn’t appreciate his recent livestreams, where viewers are apparently able to add filters onto the streamer’s face, such as this turkey one:

“Can we stop with that? I appreciate that, I don’t like the stupid turkeys,” he said. “Let’s just, let’s just knock that stupid shit off please,” he intoned, while brushing turkeys from his face. Some fans responded in kind, by attaching lasers to his eyes.

After one viewer kept returning with the turkey, Cohen was forced to pause his train of thought. “Two seconds, I’m going to end up blocking this idiot.”

Cohen and Hostin were far from alone in their public meltdowns. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel cried because of the “terrible” Trump victory.

The entertainment industry outcry pales in comparison to how ostensibly legitimate news outlets were hoodwinked by internet meme accounts joking about how Project 2025 was Trump’s plan all along. “Trump’s MAGA allies gloat Project 2025 ‘is the agenda’” Axios reported, referring to a joke from the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh.

One proposed X community note says it better than even Cockburn ever could. “The poster is not affiliated with the Trump campaign. He literally ended the post with a ‘lol.’ This is known as a joke.”

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