Actor Rob Lowe Pictured with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Triggers Liberal Firestorm
One of the most insidious tactics of the left when it comes to the Trump administration is something I like to refer to as “de-normalization.” Trump can’t be “normalized,” they say. We can’t allow him or anyone around him to be treated normally.
That means that no matter what, no objective reporting can be done on Trump, no one can appear with Trump (or even anyone tainted by the association of working in his administration or being in his party) and no one can talk favorably about anything he does — literally anything — without drawing ire. I’m thoroughly convinced that Trump could save a drowning puppy in the Potomac while simultaneously signing an agreement that would make peace with North Korea and Chris Hayes would probably only focus on a Twitter rumor that Trump threw the puppy in there.
Kanye West found this out the hard way. Now, Rob Lowe is suffering a similar fate.
Unlike Yeezy, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Lowe is a conservative and has been for a long time. So, the fact that he appeared in a photo with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders probably shouldn’t have raised too many eyebrows.
So fun meeting @RobLowe. Incredibly talented, funny, and very nice guy. Thanks for entertaining us all these years! pic.twitter.com/9WAd2ICeWE
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) May 12, 2018
And then, as if on cue, the Twitter trolls rolled out in force.
Twitchy caught some of the reactions from Rob Lowe fans who were peeved that Rob Lowe triggered them this way.
and here we NEVER watch another @RobLowe show https://t.co/QFRi5jvmYn
— Yeldeo™ I Resisted! (@Yeldeo) May 12, 2018
I feel betrayed @RobLowe https://t.co/qrlCf4HKRs
— Bryn Behrenshausen (@brynbehr) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/BaldyDem/status/995281924158623745
Of course, there was a humorous (and canny) response to all of this “done with Rob Lowe” posturing.
OMG WHAT WILL HE DO???
— Troy (@sooners5150) May 12, 2018
The “done with Rob” thing went even further into boycott territory for some people.
@RobLowe BOYCOTT HIS SHOW IT STINKS ANYWAY HE FLIES WITH LIARS https://t.co/RF6Ha19APL
— bonnie bawn (@BawnBonnie) May 12, 2018
Yuck. Boycott Rob Lowe.
— Lee Anne 🌊 she/her💙🌼🐝🌻 (@LeeAnne0523) May 12, 2018
@RobLowe Oh dear. My opinion of you just bottomed out. Sorry dude but carefully pick your friends. #Heartbroken #NooooRob #SayItAintSo #RobLowePleaseShower https://t.co/2HxffVUMtY
— Bring on 2024 🟧 🇺🇸 (@gsojudy) May 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/RefugeSquirrel/status/995345688958525440
This is what de-normalization looks like. Unless they do something outlandish or offensive, I don’t particularly mind if those I follow in the entertainment industry are liberals, the same way those entertainment figures probably don’t mind that the people who manage their money are conservatives. It’s something that usually comes with the territory. If Paul Ryan could admit during the 2012 campaign he listens to Rage Against the Machine — an avowedly socialist band — I think I’m in pretty reasonable company here.
This sort of thing doesn’t work both ways, however. Keep in mind that Lowe — a rara avis in that he’s a conservative entertainer — didn’t say anything about Sanders. He didn’t say anything that would offend anyone. He didn’t say anything, period. He simply posed for a photo with her. I suppose Lowe had to know this would trigger liberals and did it anyway, but this says more about the state of America in 2018 — as well as Lowe’s steadfast decision to disregard what the media or the Greek chorus of liberal social media copycats might think — than it does about his decision to take a picture with a Trump administration figure.
Rob Lowe is the kind of guy who opens up his house to feed firefighters that were battling the largest blaze in Southern California in recent memory, all on his own dime. He takes one photograph with the White House press secretary and all of a sudden, that goes away? Some people want to boycott him not even over what he thinks or says, but who he takes a picture with?
This is the essence of de-normalization. A man who won 30 states and 46.1 percent of the vote in 2016 is suddenly untouchable, and anyone who deigns to help out his administration — or even anyone that poses for a photo with them — suffers a similar fate. The greatest irony of all, however, is the fact that while they engage in de-normalization, liberals still feel compelled to bemoan the balkanization and divisiveness of American politics as if it wasn’t their fault. Apparently, mirrors must be in short supply in liberal homes, since they never seem to be able to look in one as they lament the state of our union. More’s the pity.
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