Like other right-wingers, Newsmax columnist James Hirsen has become a simp for Elon Musk over his purchase of Twitter. He gushed over Musk’s long-delayed completion of his Twitter purchase in his Oct. 31 column:
Tesla founder Elon Musk currently owns the singular status of being the wealthiest person in world.
Back in April of 2022, amid a modest amount of fanfare, he purchased a 9.2% stake in Twitter. This caused the keepers of the predominant media narrative to come unglued.
Amusingly, he was able to explain his motives on the very platform that he was in the early stages of acquiring.
[…]He had already secured a significant degree of celebrity status, having previously grabbed headlines numerous times over and had even taken to the iconic “Saturday Night Live” stage to perform host duties.
Now it looks as though he has become a historical figure of sorts, due in large part to his $44 billion purchase of the company he has characterized as “the de facto public town square.”
Along with the entire world he had watched as a small group of corporations worked hand-in-hand with the government, under the guise of eliminating “misinformation.”
It was a warped process at a minimum, one in which people were stripped of the ability to engage in the free exchange of ideas, something that Americans had previously enjoyed and had even taken for granted.
[…]Although what Twitter will ultimately become still remains to be seen, the new chief has been using his account to celebrate the personal ownership of the platform.
A recent message posted by the entrepreneur perhaps best captures feelings on the part of a vast majority of Twitter users.
Elon tweeted the liberating song lyrics of the late great B.B. King, “Let the good times roll.”
May he keep the bird free.
Hirsen gushed further in his Nov. 21 column:
Elon Musk just welcomed back to the Twitter-verse former President Donald J. Trump.
In the process, the social media site owner and self-described “Chief Twit” showed exactly what he’s made of, principles-wise.
The official reversal of Trump’s lifetime Twitter ban, along with the restoration of his more than 80 million followers, was implemented over the past weekend. The handle @realDonaldTrump was reactivated, and users on Twitter are once again able to tag the former president in posts.
[…]As the present world’s most successful entrepreneur, Elon understands that business accomplishments are the fruits of a free-flow exchange of ideas.
When free expression is stifled, weeds of stagnation are able to take root. They have the capacity to choke off discussion, interaction, creativity and ultimately personal as well as collective achievement.
Rather than admit that Trump was kicked off Twitter for helping to incite the Capitol riot, Hirsen pretended that Trump actually tried to calm things down:
His tweet history stands as a testament to his social media mastery. The brevity and wit are unmatched by anyone, except perhaps the Chief Twit himself.
Two posts that Trump made just before he was banned illustrate the point.
At his January 6 rally, after he called on people to act “peacefully and patriotically,” he followed up with a plea for peace via his Twitter account.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!” he posted.
This admonition was buttressed with another tweet.
“I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
Hirsen censored the fact that Trump did absolutely nothing for more than three hours as the riot raged choosing instead to watch TV (and he certainly wasn’t going to mention that he himself spread lies about purported election fraud). Instead, Hirsen remained in gooey gush mode:
It took a lot of courage to do what Elon did in returning Trump to the Twitter platform.
It also took a whole lot of integrity, something society desperately needs yet too frequently gets in its civic and corporate leaders.
The man is a genuine free speech devotee who is determined to rebuild the digital town square.
For the sake of our country, pray that he succeeds.
Hirsen unsurprisingly latched onto Musk’s release to hand-picked reporters of selective internal Twitter documents, trying to turn right-wing actor James Woods into a victim in his Dec. 5 column, doing the usual tell of srarting by reciting Woods’ resume to enhance his victim status:
James Woods is well known for his accomplishments in the entertainment arts.
Consummate actor of stage and screen, he gained a considerable degree of fame for his role in the film adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh’s 1973 non-fiction book “The Onion Field,” a crime thriller extraordinaire.
Over the years James has had the opportunity to work with many a legendary Hollywood director, a distinguished roster that includes the names of David Cronenberg (“Videodrome”), Oliver Stone (“Salvador” and “Nixon”), Richard Attenborough (“Chaplin”), and Martin Scorsese (“Casino”).
In addition to the big-screen circuit, he has taken strolls down the TV road, playing characters the likes of America’s Mayor in the film “Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story.”
Industry trophies stand as a testament to his achievements. Among other accolades, he has two Oscar nominations and two Emmy wins to his credit.
Most recently, James has become a focal point of the so-called Twitter Files, the first in a series of documents released to journalist Matt Taibbi by Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
The files detail the behind-the-scenes communications surrounding Twitter’s content moderation decision-making (under previous ownership), which involved, among other things, the suppression of a 2020 New York Post story about President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and Hunter’s notorious laptop.
[…]Files also reveal that Twitter seemingly complied with the Democratic Party’s directives in suppressing the accounts of select celebrities, quite strikingly the account of James Woods.
In the words of Taibbi, “Celebrities and unknowns alike could be removed or reviewed at the behest of a political party.”
James has stepped forward to lead a class action lawsuit against the social media platform as well as the DNC over damage done to his personal civil rights, reputation and career.
Hirsen failed to mention that the thing that really got Woods in trouble with Twitter was that he tried to post pictures of Hunter Biden’s penis allegedly taken from the laptop. Hirsen laughably headlined his c column “We’re All James Woods Now,” which is indisputably false because we all weren’t desperately trying to post Hunter Biden’s penis on Twitter.
Hirsn was back in full Musk hagiography mode for his Dec. 12 column, portraying Musk as a selfless hero for releasing internal Twitter documents:
The radically intolerable judgmental left is in full takedown mode, characterizing Elon’s actions as those of an ambitious billionaire who seeks ever more wealth and power.
But how does one even begin to evaluate the sincerity of the motives and/or actions of fellow human beings?
One of the ways is to ask the question, What’s in it for them? That is, What do they have to gain?
Equally or even more telling is the question, What do they have to lose?
When we look at Elon’s position in the business world, it’s fairly obvious that he has a whole lot to lose in terms of tangible things. After all, he’s the richest person on the planet.
There’s also the matter of his reputation, an immaterial possession that many value even more than all of the material combined.
Yes, it could easily be said that Elon has risked everything in order to bring this important story to light.
[…]No exaggeration. Elon is risking his life, fortune and sacred honor.
Yes, it is a exageration. Hirsen is conveniently silent on how Musk’s Twitter has suspended accounts that made fun of him as well as journalists who report on him — which bolsters the case that his purchase of Twitter is driven by ego and not altruism. But those are acceptable targets who apparently need to be slienced, so Hirsen will continue to stay silent.