Oct.29

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

All in the Family

Yesterday, Katie Miller—who undoubtedly got her job in the White House, her job with Elon Musk, and her podcast based on merit, and not for any other reason—was on the show of Jake Tapper, who loves to perform "balance." And they got on the subject of former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, perhaps unaware that the Biden administration has been out of office for 9 months. Miller had some choice thoughts on Jean-Pierre:

I saw her interview this morning in the New Yorker, if it came out today or yesterday, but I think what you're seeing and what [Former Hillary Clinton spokesperson] Karen is attesting to is that she is quite incompetent to do the job, right? This is what Republicans have been saying for years now, is that she is just another evidence that DEI doesn't work, whether that's in the White House in your press secretary role or whether that's, you know, an air traffic controller, an air pilot, whether that's your doctor. You know, you want to hire the best for the role, not just based on skin color, Jake. Why did she get the job over John Kirby?

Miller also complained that "every fourth sentence" out of Jean-Pierre's mouth was a reminder that she (Jean-Pierre) is a gay Black woman.

We only mention this story because it is the most recent example of MAGA Republicans kvetching about how people should be judged based solely on merit. We could easily give a thousand other examples, of course. What we don't fully understand is exactly what is going on in the minds of people like Miller. Is this just a dog whistle, so as to make Jim Crow great again? Or do they really not see that there are all kinds of cases where someone is given a job, or a promotion, or an opportunity based on something other than merit, and DEI has nothing to do with it?

That brings us to the actual news here, namely that the second-to-last event on the LPGA calendar, the Annika, is coming up. Since it's part of the final stretch, it's a big event that tends to attract most or all of the top players—you know, the people who have earned the right to be there. And this year, it will also include a notable name, which belongs to someone who most certainly has NOT earned the right to be there: First Granddaughter Kai Trump.

Kai is the daughter of Donald Jr., and is a pretty fair golfer. How fair? Well, she's headed to the University of Miami to play on their women's golf team. She's also ranked #461 in the American Junior Golf Association's Girls' ranking. For those unfamiliar with this sport, and these rankings, that is... pretty fair. It's also not within a country mile of world-class. To put that in context, if a person was the #461 ranked boys basketball player, they would be good enough to be the third- or fourth- best player on a mid-range NCAA team, and would be a longshot to claim one of the 450 roster spots in the NBA. There are only 222 players on the LPGA Tour (a bit less than half), so the competition for an earned slot is even more fierce.

Although everyone is pretending otherwise, and saying lots of nice things about "nurturing young talent" and the like, Kai Trump was chosen for a sponsor's exemption because she'll attract eyeballs to the tournament. She is herself an "influencer," with a social media following in the millions. There will be some people in MAGA nation who tune in, just to root for a Trump. There will be some people who are not in MAGA nation who tune in, just to root against a Trump. The sponsors usually get 4-5 exemptions to use for this purpose, and it's hard to imagine a more productive use of one of the slots, unless Tiger Woods agreed to get a very hasty sex-change operation.

This story certainly raises some interesting questions. Among them:

• If Trump plays poorly, as is likely, is it OK to boo/critique her mercilessly? On one hand, she's a first-timer and not a battle-hardened veteran. On the other hand, she's legally an adult (18), she's willingly pursued and accepted a slot on the big girls' tour, and she should know full well what she signed up for.
  
  
• How will the media cover this? Undoubtedly, Trump will get far, far more attention than any other golfer who fails to make the cut. She'll probably get far, far more attention than whichever golfer wins the tournament. Will the media try to cover it straight down the line? Or will they be extra harsh in their assessments, either because she's a Trump or because she took a spot from a more talented golfer? Or will they be less harsh in their assessments, for fear of presidential blowback?
  
  
• Will Donald Trump come to the defense of his granddaughter? Most readers are probably familiar with the story of Harry S. Truman, who did not like a reviewer's negative assessment of daughter Margaret Truman's vocal recital, and so wrote a heated letter where he (Truman) threatened, in 1950s language, to punch the reviewer in the face and in the balls. Will the current president do that, if he feels his granddaughter has been unfairly maligned? And what will Trump's standard for "unfairly maligned" be? And will he limit himself to an angry tweet, just like Harry S. limited himself to an angry letter? Or will he sue Golf Digest or ESPN or CBS Sports for $100 million?

The tournament is November 13-16. And note that we are aware that Kai Trump might actually be playing one of the ancillary events, like the pro-am, and not the actual tournament. If so, then she's learned a thing or two from her grandfather about, well, lying, because on social media she's said very clearly that it's the main tournament she'll be playing. (Z)