Dem
47
GOP
53
Fighting the good fight, when it comes to stopping politicians from taking bribes, is certainly worth it. But this story, which we thank reader L.K. in Los Angeles, CA, for bringing to our attention, shows why it's impossible to ever actually solve the problem. Grifters gonna grift, and if one pathway is shut down, they'll just find another.
The grift in question here is a documentary, specifically Melania, which chronicles the story of First Lady Melania Trump. It was produced and directed by Brett Ratner. Ratner was canceled in 2017 because he sexually harassed a bunch of actresses, and his work since has been exclusively Trump propaganda—he also produced the pro-Donald Trump documentary The Man You Don't Know a couple of years ago. Despite the fact that the first Trump film flopped, and that Melania Trump is barely a first lady, Amazon snatched up the distribution and streaming rights to Melania for a mere $40 million, with $28 million of that going directly to Melania Trump. This is the highest figure ever paid for a documentary.
So, why would Amazon pay so much? Hmmm... it's probably not to promote the artistry of Brett Ratner. And it's not likely because there is so much money to be made selling the film to viewers—it's already been released in the U.K., and it largely played to empty houses. And there are no reviews from U.S critics yet, because Amazon has embargoed the film prior to its general release (it will stream, and will be in over 2,000 theaters, on Friday). If you know anything about the movie business, "We don't want critics to see the film in advance" is never a good sign.
Since Amazon's interest in the film appears to have nothing to do with, you know, the movie business, there might be some other motivation at play here. For example, Amazon might be thinking about the fact that the Trump administration has the power to make life tough for Amazon in general, if it so chooses—say, by making it harder to build industrial-sized AI centers. Further, Jeff Bezos might be thinking about the fact that the administration also gets to decide how to dole out about $20 billion annually for space ventures. Bezos' other company, Blue Origin, would very much like some of that $20 billion. And if just, say, 10% of that $20 billion flows Bezos' way, then $40 million for a documentary is a bargain, even if it's a mega-flop.
The "premiere" for the film was held at the White House, and a whole bunch of corporate honchos were there to bow before the throne. Amazon was represented by CEO Andy Jassy. Apple's Tim Cook was there, too, since he knows that Trump will punish any perceived insult (specifically, by hitting the company with tariffs). And in case this government-business incest isn't bad enough, the premiere was held just hours after the killing of Alex Pretti. Basic decency would seem to demand that the event be canceled, or that the business bigwigs excuse themselves from attending. But everyone there is apparently pretty indecent. Or maybe they just really wanted to meet boxer (and convicted rapist) Mike Tyson, who was also in attendance.
And speaking of the mess in Minnesota, don't expect major corporate interests to push back against ICE anytime soon. Again, they all want to avoid ending up in the administration's crosshairs. And nearly all of them want to be in a position to lay claim to a chunk of government outlays. Further, some of them are actively profiting from ICE's efforts. For example, the database that ICE uses to find immigrants to target is hosted on... Amazon Web Services. Amazon also hosts DHS' Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System, which collects biometric and facial recognition data on Americans—270 million of them.
Amazon is just one, very egregious, non-Elon Musk example. There are plenty of other big corporate interests that are 100% in bed with the Trump administration, like CBS, AT&T, Citizens Bank, Oracle, U-Line and others. The cozy relationship between Big Business and the federal government has been a basic fact of American history for generations. But when you end up with a president who is a world-class grifter? That's when things really begin to get out of control. (Z)