There’s been mountains of hay made over the last few years diagnosing the causes behind the “death of discourse,” but it mostly devolves into people standing around the corpse casting blame around like a bad game of Clue. For some reason I’m compelled to join the throng and throw an “J’accuse” of my own out into the Aether, but first some further apologetics for Trumpism.

There’s an awful lot that can be said about the role that the “rhetoric” of former President Donald Trump played in this murder. Back in 2016 when I would channel surf late at night, I’d sometimes catch myself watching Trump campaign rallies because my lizard brain was tricked into thinking it was the latest edition of Vince McMahon’s flagship wrestling programs.

The art of “cutting a promo” has captured the attentions of human beings throughout our history, but few politicians in living memory have every truly mastered it. Donald Trump was one of the few. The character Trump played, versus the one he was painted as, was that of your drunk relative at the party who isn’t afraid to offend and believes they are the smartest guy in the room, despite all evidence to the contrary.

For some reason few of us could look away, especially if his speech and conduct offended or infuriated us. At a certain point, one couldn’t help but be incredulous that Trump hadn’t been relegated back to reality TV and lame movie cameos where pop culture has-beens like him belonged.

A lot of the people following him in the early days were only in it for the spectacle, wanting to see what outlandish thing the Orange Man would say and who he would be going in on next. Trump’s decision to leap into so called “Kayfabe Politics” played a big role in his early successes, and ultimately proved integral to how he would operate even while in the White House, for better and worse.

Trump’s critics say this created a climate around discourse that rendered every conversation and argument into the stereotypical awkward family political argument. It was Thanksgiving every day, with an extra dose of “nastiness.” If you view the situation in a vacuum, clearly the one responsible for upsetting the American dinner table was Donald Trump and all the rainbow of jerks and trolls empowered by his rhetoric.

However, I propose the tone of national discourse had skewed nasty for some time due to a rot festering in the American soul for over two decades now, and ground zero for it is the basic cable channel Comedy Central.

The network’s seminal program “The Daily Show” and its former host Jon Stewart, provided a sincere if glib appraisal of the issues and topics of the day for 16 years. At a certain point in time, this show was genuinely a place that people of all political stripes went to get a few laughs and a fresh perspective from the sea of talking heads.

By the time Stewart had jettisoned himself from the business of being a “fake News-man,” his dynasty of would-be successors had already moved on and established themselves in their own little fiefdoms on other networks, bring with them ambitions of being more than just a lowly “late night comedy show.”

If you look at the lineup of snickering shills populating the so called “Late Night Comedy” block in the current year, you don’t have to look too far to see where they all got their playbook from, but they have replaced Stewart’s cordial manner with that of smug contempt. With the exception of maybe Jimmy Fallon, from SNL to Stephen Colbert they all exude the same oozing superiority in every bumper, radiating condescension as they deliver insipid monologues and uninspired skits to an ever-shrinking audience.

For the duration of the Trump Administration, these shows functioned as an Orwellian “Two Minutes Hate,” stoking the fires of discontent aflame in half of the culture while castigating and shaming the other. But it was Trump’s efforts alone that killed discourse? I don’t buy that.

Jon Stewart may have slagged on Republicans more often than not, but at least he left enough good will in his heart not to actively make it his job to antagonize and alienate half of his audience. There’s a reason why Stewart’s successor Trevor Noah is on the way out, and why so few are crying that he will be gone. Even fewer care who will be replacing Noah, because it’s surely bound to be someone exactly like him.

Modern late-night programing and their hosts serve no purpose other than to deliver narratives, talking points, and rebuttals into the brains of their audience. As Comedy Central went, so did “Late Night” entertainment in general, from a place for edgy and culturally defining content, to a place instead entirely devoted to propaganda. You don’t wind up with a climate like the one in 2016 let alone that of 2022 without years of subtle cultural repression and growing alienation fueled by condescending hacks masquerading as purveyors of truth.

But even with diminished ratings and pushback from members of the public, the networks and advertisers are just fine with the efforts of their squad of propagandist clowns. For some reason I don’t foresee the government agencies knocking on their doors for any reason other than to coordinate the next puff piece interview between Jimmy Kimmel and Hunter Biden.

After all this isn’t about business anymore, it’s about the “message,” and that will always be more important than telling the truth, forget about even entertaining you.