Should Fire and Fury be made into a TV series?

On January 9, Michael Wolff released his book Fire and Fury, the 519th controversial, headline-demanding, scandalising bombshell to come out of the Trump administration. One which continues to write the jokes for satirists and attempts to normalise one of the most irregular periods in US political history.

The revelations within the book, ranging from the President’s mental instability to his preferences of dinner, naturally, have provoked many reactions. Trump and the White House deny everything. They also want the book to be blacklisted. Mainstream Media outlets are pouring over every page with fierce debates. Fox News cares not for any of the book’s content. Late night satirists are milking it for every joke. And then there’s Endeavour Content: they want to make Fire and Fury into a TV show.

Why wouldn’t they? Why wouldn’t anyone? Even before Fire and Fury was released, Trump’s White House was equal parts farcical comedy and political soap opera with its revolving players presenting their own twists on reality and colourful statements which made them the perfect bait for the Mainstream Media. Every tweet, every insult, every member of staff fired, every cry of FAKE NEWS, we’ve all digested it through outlets like CNN and Fox News… and then the comedians who have never had an easier time of it. The potential jokes are just too good to ignore and the personality at the centre is just too irresistible not to impersonate.

Fire and Fury has shown that the unstable White House is even more unstable than we first thought

Even before there was one definitive text of juicy secrets to make into a TV drama, Trump has already been parodied in multiple shows. Saturday Night Live brought Alec Baldwin into the light with his Trump impersonation in the build-up to the election which he still plays now and again. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has an animated Trump character, The Daily Show has The President Show as one of its segments and even over here in the UK, Dead Ringers didn’t hold back from making their 2017 end-of- year special about Trump pushing the nuclear button and ending the world in his own trademark way.

And now we have Fire and Fury which has shown that the unstable White House is even more unstable than we first thought, that the President who didn’t anticipate the workload and didn’t really want to be President. It’s tantalising. It’s comedy gold. But it shouldn’t be made into a TV show. Not because it wouldn’t be entertaining: it would be, that’s the problem. Parodying Trump in a sketch on a satirical show is one thing, because said shows are also presenting the news and are often savvier in analysing media reactions and the less reported stories which are having a greater impact on American lives. With every insulting tweet, Trump creates a smokescreen for the rest of his agenda. An agenda that is having a severe effect on US politics and the American people. The shutting down of healthcare programs, the rolling back of rights for minorities, the degradation of integrity in US politics and the mistrust against journalists. Just because Trump calls countries ‘****holes’ doesn’t mean that more detrimental actions are taking place, or in fact that any of this is new.

By making a full TV show about Fire and Fury the Trump administration is reduced to a piece of entertainment, current political figures inflicting damaging views and policies made into stock characters who are not just there for a few jokes, but become part of a sustained piece of fake reality. It also adds credibility to Wolff’s claims. And while those claims make sense, fitting the overall nonsensical narrative about the White House (as well as being just really funny), we need more time to verify them before they become a show. It would be equal parts gratifying and horrifying to know for sure that everything in the book was correct. And while a show would attract more attention to the Trump Administration’s chaos, it would only be one version and play into Trump’s game, a game which decrees that the highest ratings win.

We cannot be numb to what is happening in Trump’s America. And we cannot just be entertained

This is not how you make a positive impact against a narrative where truth is sensationalised and questionable, where facts are redundant and the only parts of American politics are worth paying attention to are the sensational aspects usually delivered in Twitter form. Making jokes about Trump is good and necessary, as is holding him to account. It indicates that we are not in the full grip of an autocracy. But Fire and Fury is set to become another smokescreen, diverting our attention to portrayals of the Trump administration rather than the impact they are having on everyday lives. By all means, ridicule the man until his tenure or the world ends, but don’t dedicate an entire show to it. We cannot be numb to what is happening in Trump’s America. And we cannot just be entertained.