Wall Street Journal opinion columnist Peggy Noonan, a former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, revealed in a recent piece a powerful media metaphor that may become an important factor in the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Yes, the fate of either candidate in their quest for the presidency may depend on the now-fading memories of a TV host named Ed Sullivan. He’s universally remembered, of course, for creating the enduring cultural tsunami of The Beatles performing live on his show for three straight weeks in the winter of 1964.
As Noonan observed, Trump “grew up, as did I, watching The Ed Sullivan Show. I’m sure it was on every Sunday night at 8 at the Trump house in Queens. On that show, you saw every week the great Borscht Belt comics of 1950-70. Their timing — ‘Take my wife — please!’ — is ingrained in him. What he does now is shtick, because he likes to entertain and is a performer.”
