Editor:
The conventional wisdom is that “The Celebrity Apprentice” got Trump elected because all the super dumb voters believed he really was the forceful and decisive businessman he played on the show, and their votes were enough, in combination with those of all the saps who thought it was their taxes that would get cut, to elect the Worst Possible President. That’s certainly persuasive, given how dumb and greedy Americans are, but I think “The Sopranos” may have been equally important.
The two essential elements of that show’s success — James Gandolfini’s soulful exploration of the moral quandary involved in living a completely amoral life and the almost gleeful depiction of the tawdry joys of such a life (hot chicks, trashy mini-mansions, unreported cash; i.e., life at Mar-A-Lago) — combined neatly with Trump’s burlesque performance on the “The C A” to normalize the idea that the perfect chief executive would be an abusive and crudely corrupt but also savvy and soulful goombah from Long Island. Of course, Trump isn’t the slightest bit soulful or savvy, just mean and stupid, so it’s like we elected Paulie Walnuts. (Disclaimer: I watched none of “The Apprentice” but all of “The Sopranos,” even the dream sequence episodes.)
Bill Hassler, McKinleyville
This article appears in No Kings II.