Great Communicator vs. Word Salad Harris

Maybe Facebook had a point.

The social media giant initially blocked the marketing team behind “Reagan” from boosting posts tied to the biopic.

The platform later apologized only to do so again. This time, Facebook served up a specific rule violation. The posts could “influence public opinion” on the 2024 election, according to “Reagan’s” marketing team.

That baffled the “Reagan” brain trust. How could a movie based on a leader who died 20 years ago have any impact on the current presidential race, they argued?

Sounds absurd. Or does it?

Anyone watching Dennis Quaid bring President Ronald Reagan back to life will recall a leader with innate talents. He took complex concepts and boiled them down in ways the average voter could understand.

Reagan’s “Bedtime for Bonzo” film made for a good chuckle. Some laughed at the actor as much as the film. Decades later, that Hollywood training let him bend a phrase, and an audience, to his will. Just ask Walter Mondale.

That’s not all.

Audiences will relive the Reagan era and then check their smartphones for the latest Kamala Harris headlines. The vice president has been elevated to the top of the ticket following President Joe Biden’s stunning July withdrawal.

Call her The Not Very Good Communicator.

Few politicians can measure up to Reagan’s folksy way of connecting with everyday Americans. Credit show business, a natural gift of gab or a combination of the two.

Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were no slouches in this department, to be both bipartisan and fair. President Donald Trump draws massive crowds to his stream-of-conscious rallies, a feat few politicians could match.

Still, for all of Trump’s unusual gifts, he lacks Reagan’s ability to sway both sides of the aisle. Try and find a Trump Democrat, or at least one who will utter that nickname aloud.

And then there’s Harris.

The new Democratic standard bearer spent the first six-plus weeks of her campaign fleeing any microphone thrust in her path. She’s stayed on message and teleprompter, agonizing over which journalist would throw softballs her way.

And, when she sat down with CNN’s Dana Bash at long last, few came away satisfied. Chances are she won’t try that again, at least if she can help it.

Even in micro-doses we saw how awkward Harris can be off-script. Suddenly, all those word salad speeches uttered as Vice President came rushing back. Social media users pummeled her with memes while corporate media journalists looked the other way.

Pop culture platforms resisted the urge to mock Harris’ rhetoric. Yet the reliably progressive “Daily Show” couldn’t help comparing her to the hapless heroine in HBO’s “Veep.”

That platform wouldn’t uncork that sketch today, but they did it at a time when Harris’ flaws were visible for all to see.

Now, Hollywood stars like Quentin Tarantino are all but begging Harris to stay quiet, at least until Election Day.

Some communicator.

Quentin Tarantino Urges Kamala Harris Against Doing Interviews Until She Wins: ‘Don’t F–k S–t Up!’ | Video: https://t.co/UXBqTS4M2c

— TheWrap (@TheWrap) August 26, 2024

We’ve gone from, “Mr. Gorbachez, tear down this wall!” to, ““You have to believe in what can be, unburdened by what has been.”

It’s sad that we have to reach back into the 1980s to find a politician whose ability to lead deserved a big-screen tribute. It’s worse that a candidate so close to the White House is best known for sticking her word salad fork in her mouth.

“Reagan” took a good, long while to hit theaters, so it wasn’t conceived as any GOP “October Surprise.” Plus, no one knew Harris would take over for President Biden until weeks ago.

Timing is everything in both Hollywood and inside the Beltway. “Reagan’s” Aug. 30 release date couldn’t have been worse for the Harris/Walz ticket.

Editor’s Note: It’s a brutal time to be an independent journalist, but it’s never been more necessary given the sorry state of the corporate press. If you’re enjoying Hollywood in Toto, I hope you’ll consider leaving a coin (or two) in our Tip Jar.