WaPo chief fact-checker eviscerated online for judging 2020 presidential election by fictional standards of ‘West Wing’ TV series
A Washington Post editor provoked an onslaught of online ridicule after he opted to compare and contrast the real-life 2020 presidential race with TV series ‘The West Wing’, beloved by US liberals for its ideological outlook.
Glenn Kessler, chief writer of Washington Post's Fact Checker section, which rates the supposed veracity of political statements by assigning them a ‘Pinocchios’ score, pondered on Monday the meaning behind the ongoing election season being very unlike the 1999 TV show ‘The West Wing’.
Kessler rushed to Twitter with his observation that the structured somber stories in Aaron Sorkin’s White House drama were quite different from the real-world election.
“Watched the sober and compelling Jimmy Smits-Alan Alda debate the day after the crazy Trump-Biden shoutfest,” the pundit tweeted. “Quite a contrast,” he then pointed out, perhaps for those who aren’t fully caught up with the show yet.
Finally finished all seven seasons of West Wing. Fascinating to spend evenings in a parallel presidency/presidential campaign. Watched the sober and compelling Jimmy Smits-Alan Alda debate the day after the crazy Trump-Biden shoutfest. Quite a contrast.
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) October 5, 2020
The mere idea of seeing some truths behind the discrepancies between real-life politics and scripted media caused a comedic uproar on Twitter. Users mocked Kessler by parodying his tweet and writing, for example, that there was “quite a contrast” between the Looney Tunes basketball movie ‘Space Jam’ and the NBA finals.
Just watched Space Jam the day after the NBA finals. Quite the contrast. https://t.co/mRvdsXhgoo
— David Weiner (@daweiner) October 5, 2020
Finally finished all 302 Berenstain Bears books. Fascinating to spend evenings in parallel world. Read the sober and compelling struggle between Brother and Sister Bear in The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight the day after the crazy Trump-Biden shoutfest. Quite a contrast. https://t.co/TyegXcJowV
— Garbage Ape 🗑🦧 (@GarbageApe) October 5, 2020
Finally finished watching every episode of Hogan's Heroes. Fascinating after the sober and compelling documentary I watched on Nazi prisoner of war camps. Quite a contrast.
— ephem4all (@ephem4all) October 5, 2020
Other commenters were baffled by a supposedly serious pundit publicly lamenting “that the world wasn’t more like the fictional delusions of a New York liberal,” apparently referring to the show's creator Aaron Sorkin.
The guys who claim to report “fAcTs” are lamenting that the world isn’t more like the fictional delusions of a New York liberal. https://t.co/ccRryOoKpR
— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) October 5, 2020
Aaron Sorkin poisoned an entire generation of political minds. The damage to the republic remains incalculable https://t.co/ebX6gBJ0s6
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) October 5, 2020
The first presidential debate of the 2020 race has been described by American media as a “debacle” and even “pure chaos,” due to the candidates often shouting, talking over each other, and even name-calling. Now, after President Donald Trump revealed on Friday he had contracted Covid-19, there is no way of knowing if any future debates will take place between him and Democrat Joe Biden.
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