A few days ago, there were panicked headlines about a recent "deal" by the Trump Administration to have what many outlets referred to as something along the lines of a Qatari air force base on American soil. Along with this went the usual contradictory statements by clueless officials and the prospect of assorted nutty factions of MAGA duking it out.

As it turns out, the concern over this "base" is misplaced, but not unfounded.

Time reports on the nature of the facility itself:

In a clarifying social media post late Friday, [Secretary of War Pete] Hegseth said that the airbase would still be under U.S. jurisdiction, and that the Qatari air force would not have its own base.

...

Many have noted that the deal with Qatar bears similarities to those the U.S. has made with other countries. The German air force still maintains a tactical training command in Texas after decades in New Mexico, and more than 1,000 Singaporean military troops train in the U.S. each year. Pilots from several other NATO allies also train in the U.S. [bold added]

Say what you will about the propriety of the United States having a friendly relationship with a nation famous for sponsoring terrorism and harboring officials of a force waging war against our ally, Israel. In that sort of context, this new "base" isn't a base and is a Grade A nothingburger.

Except that's not the full context, and what the facility will have turned out to be when all the MAGA people calm down and the egg on the face of the lefty press gets wiped off isn't so much the problem as what this tempest in a teapot will have accomplished.

Elsewhere in the piece, Time notes:

But President Donald Trump's relationship with Qatar has come under scrutiny in recent months following a string of deals both in and outside of government.

In April, the Trump family company struck a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar. The next month, Trump unveiled his plan to accept a luxury Boeing jet to replace Air Force One as a gift from the Qatari government, claiming on Truth Social that the "free" gift would save U.S. money and that "only a FOOL would not accept".

That move received blowback from Republicans and Democrats alike. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move the "kind of thing that even Putin would give a double take," and Republican lawmakers also aired out national security concerns over the $400 million plane.

...

The Qatari deal follows the nation's role, along with the U.S. and Egypt, as a mediator in peace talks that led to the newly enacted Israel-Hamas peace deal and ceasefire. In accordance with the first phase of the deal, Israel pulled back its forces in the Gaza Strip to agreed-upon lines on Friday, and Hamas is now expected to release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The U.S. plans to send 200 troops to Israel to monitor the deal. [bold added]

All of this stinks to high heaven, and intentionally or not, the "base" ends up being a distraction useful to this Administration.

All these people got worked up over nothing. This is business as usual, and nothing more I can almost hear them saying. MAGA, always looking for an excuse to back Trump will be mollified, again. And the press, desperate to nail Trump will look silly, again.

In the meantime, Trump's blatant violation of the Emoluments Clause (and the whole matter of his being bought and paid for), as well as the small matter of why in hell a regime that harbors Hamas officials is involved in peace negotiations, are, while worthy of much more attention, left unexamined and in danger of being forgotten.

-- CAV

Clown nose on … or off? It’s a question many comics are asking themselves today.

This isn’t Cancel Culture redux. It’s the Strange New Respect comedians are receiving across the cultural landscape. And it comes with serious strings attached.

Just ask Bill Burr, one of many comics hounded by fans and fellow stand-ups for performing at the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. The hard-charging Burr is part of a rebellious stand-up class, the truth tellers who thumb their noses at the woke mob … and thrive.

Why would he cash in on a gig funded by a suffocating regime?

Fellow participants, including Aziz Ansari, have faced similar heat. The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” pressed Ansari on his inclusion in the festival.

Burr remains defiant about his critics, calling them “sanctimonious c****.” Jessica Kirson, an openly lesbian performer, took a different approach. She belatedly returned the money she made from participating in the event.

Saudi Arabia’s record on gay rights is less than stellar.

RELATED: KIMMEL PRETENDS TO CARE ABOUT FREE SPEECH 

Others who took the money and yukked it up? Dave Chappelle, Andrew Schulz, Jo Koy, Mark Normand, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Jim Jefferies, Sebastian Maniscalco, Tom Segura and Jeff Ross.

Marc Maron, who seems to always find fault with fellow comics, and David Cross skewered their peers for performing at the festival. Suddenly, picking up a fat paycheck isn’t as simple as it once was.

What’s a comic to do? More importantly, why are we suddenly holding comedians to a higher standard?

Welcome to The Trump Effect

The Left and Legacy Media outlets, but we repeat ourselves, boost any comedian who pummels the president. Recall the media meltdown when CBS decided it didn’t want to keep losing a reported $40 million a year and canceled TDS sufferer Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show.”

That seemed modest compared to the hair-on-fire coverage of Jimmy Kimmel’s brief suspension. Did Kimmel mislead about Charlie Kirk’s assassin because he thought the comments were funny, or was he just desperate to score a partisan point at all costs?

Conversely, recall how the press hounded Jimmy Fallon for his affable “Tonight Show” interview with then-candidate Trump in 2016. He’s been a reliable Trump critic ever since, giving a four-year pass to the Biden/Harris administration.

Media outlets also regurgitate every anti-conservative sketch “Saturday Night Live” offers in a given week.

Amy Poehler’s U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to answer any questions and got some backup from Tina Fey’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

See more: https://t.co/cqbUmFd0sa pic.twitter.com/g8t4YXhr4Y

— TheWrap (@TheWrap) October 12, 2025

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Reunite on ‘SNL’ as Kristi Noem & Pam Bondi https://t.co/t6JOesHCAQ pic.twitter.com/b7RwEsHMEB

— TMZ (@TMZ) October 12, 2025

Amy Poehler, Tina Fey reunite in ‘SNL’ cold open to mock Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem https://t.co/pZesIVSbWO

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 12, 2025

That reward system is one reason why comedians shifted aggressively to the Left following the 2016 presidential campaign. That coverage turned monologue jokes into cultural markers, suggesting their importance outstripped any temporary laughs.

The 2024 presidential election results only heightened this atmosphere, but with a surprise twist.

Pundits gave comics like Joe Rogan, Tim Dillon, Tony Hinchcliffe and Andrew Schulz partial credit for Trump’s electoral victory. The podcasters hosted either Trump or future Vice President J.D. Vance, offering mostly softball queries in the process.

That gave Team Trump access to a young, male demographic that voted MAGA in larger-than-expected numbers. Voila, the Podcast Election was born.

The Legacy Media tried to turn Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico comments at the end of the 2024 presidential campaign into a new “Grab ’em by the you-know-what” moment for Trump. That effort didn’t acknowledge that the cultural winds were no longer at their back.

Still, any given Rogan riff now takes on greater political importance. If he questions Trumpian policies, Legacy Media reporters rush to their laptops to spread the news. To be fair, conservative pundits did the same every time Rogan called out President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.

Comedians are left scrambling to balance traditional yuks with profound political statements. Some hope the right quip or gag can impact the political debate. Others seemingly relish their upgraded status.

And, as is too often the case, the laughs are left behind. Does anyone think Burr barking, “Free Luigi” is remotely funny? Why is the term “clapter” on everyone’s lips?

Clown nose on … or off?

That phrase once applied mostly to “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart. The faux news anchor bounced from court jester to serious journalist, whichever served his partisan interests.

Question his facts or line of reasoning? Hey, I’m just a comedian (clown nose on). Even Bill Maher, one of the best satirists on the scene, falls back on that defense when cornered.

Some comics appear increasingly uncomfortable with the New Normal. Burr is clearly miffed at having to defend himself for taking a comedy gig, and he bristled when a journalist pressed him on his politically charged comments earlier this year.

Kirson didn’t take the gig, expecting to give back the money later.

Theo Von, following a disturbing on-stage meltdown, told fans he had no desire to kill himself. Rogan engages more directly with political headlines now, occasionally contradicting himself in the process.

Other comics relish the Strange New Respect.

Where would Colbert and Kimmel be without a fawning press and fans waiting for their next, wildly predictable Trump gag? Media outlets all but acknowledged that Colbert’s first Emmy win last month was a consolation prize for losing his job.

‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ wins the #Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series. The crowd chants his name as he takes the stage as a winner for the first time since 2014. pic.twitter.com/b7zqiaGW1b

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) September 15, 2025

Others, like Von, Burr, Rogan and Kirson, are navigating the shifting cultural winds with care. Here’s betting others are doing the same, but silently.

There’s a real danger in this cultural transition, at least to a comic’s credentials. Political satire is a noble art and boasts a grand tradition. Think Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Dick Gregory.

The best of the best never leave laughs behind. They also do their homework, so the jokes ring true. That’s a critical component of political humor.

Propagandists like Colbert and Kimmel often fail that test. Miserably.

Kimmel just told his audience that Antifa doesn’t exist, while Colbert said Democrats don’t want to spend our money on health care for illegal immigrants. That’s neither funny nor accurate.

These political comics may savor their larger profiles in the Trump era. If they keep mistaking talking points for punch lines, they’ll face increasingly smaller crowds. And that’s not funny at all.

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.

The post Why RiyadhGate Spells Bigger Problem for Trump-Era Comics appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis called out out the gushing critical response to Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie One Battle After Another, saying its fans have a serious leftist bias. New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis celebrated this Leo DiCaprio-Sean Penn flick as “an exciting, goofy and deadly serious big-screen no — a no to complacency, to oppression, to tyranny.” (Italics hers.) The “oppression” that makes this film so “timely” is deporting illegal migrants. DiCaprio’s bumbling Bob was in a “revolutionary” group. Wrote Dargis: “Early on, Bob eagerly follows her lead during the group’s attack on a migrant detention center where, under the cover of night, they and the other insurgents disarm the military guards and liberate a crowd of men, women and children.” Let’s connect the dots. Deportation is racist. Armed resistance to deportations is “anti-racist.” Deportations are “tyranny.” Even if Americans voted for mass deportations. On his podcast, Ellis called out its politics, according to Variety: It’s kind of shocking to see these kind of accolades for — I’m sorry, it’s not a very good movie — because of its political ideology, and it’s so obvious that’s what they’re responding to, why it’s considered a masterpiece, the greatest film of the decade, the greatest film ever made. Because it really aligns with this kind of leftist sensibility. Ellis even predicted the move will eventually be dismissed as a “kind of musty relic of the post-Kamala Harris era — that thing everyone gathers around and pretends is so fantastic and so great when it really isn’t, just to make a point...There’s a liberal mustiness to this movie that already feels very dated by October 2025. Very dated. And it just doesn’t read the room. You know, it reads a tiny corner of the room, but it does not read what is going on in America.” As for critics who hail the film as "important," Ellis protested: “No, it is not. It has really not read the room. It has not read the room at all about what’s going on in America.” But that's often how Hollywood operates. The film will be celebrated for its "urgency" about the Trump "moment," and will probably get a pile of awards. Ellis is right: the evaluation of art often depends on whose side is served. In this case, though, the movie has earned more than $114 million at the box office. Often, the Oscar bait sells far fewer tickets.