Media Charges Forward With ‘Chelsea the Hero’ Narrative

Media Charges Forward With ‘Chelsea the Hero’ Narrative

In the span of just two weeks, we’ve been told that Chelsea Clinton is writing a children’s book, has been named to the board of directors at Expedia, and that she’s being given an achievement award for some reason.

Are you seeing a pattern yet? Tell us she’s not being groomed to run for office.

There’s more, too. Ann Friedman writes at the Los Angeles Times:

Just like her mother, Chelsea Clinton never gets a break

This week, Variety magazine announced that it would honor former first daughter Chelsea Clinton at its Women in Power luncheon with a “Lifetime achievement award.” The news spread quickly among both Trump supporters and left-leaning Clinton detractors who believe that the family’s tone-deafness cost them the election. Chelsea accepting such an award at the tender age of 37 confirmed the “out-of-touch elite” narrative once and for all.

And then “The Hill,” the D.C. outlet that had broken the news, clarified that Chelsea’s honor was not, as initially reported and gleefully reposted, for achievements over the span of her lifetime. Rather, it was an honor bestowed jointly by Variety and the television network Lifetime for her work promoting better eating habits for children. It’s a Lifetime achievement award, not a lifetime achievement award.

When it comes to accepting prizes for charitable contributions, Chelsea is in no way an outlier. Everyone in her income bracket has a shelf full of honors. Luncheon ceremonies are a way to publicly thank big-name benefactors, get them to show up to the event, and therefore attract other donors and media interest. Ivanka Trump, for example — just picking someone at random here — is no stranger to vanity awards. She has been honored by organizations such as the European School of Economics and the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s GOOD Awards. (Tagline: “Diamonds do good.”)

But Chelsea, like her mother, never gets a break — unlike Ivanka and her father.

Yeah. Trump and his daughter have it so easy compared to poor Chelsea Clinton, don’t they?

Do you already have Chelsea fatigue? Don’t give up yet!

Katie Rogers writes at the New York Times:

Now on Twitter: Chelsea Clinton, Unbound

In the months leading to the 2016 presidential election, Democratic voters had a consistent place to look for updates on Hillary Clinton’s campaign: her daughter’s Twitter feed. From reports on her campus visits to FaceTime sessions with supporters, Chelsea Clinton’s tweets were positive, inclusive and unfailingly on message.

“Couldn’t be more proud of my mom and the campaign she’s run,” Ms. Clinton wrote on Election Day. “Let’s bring it home for her today.”

Things didn’t work out as planned, of course. And after Donald J. Trump, and not her mother, was sworn in as the country’s 45th president, another side of Chelsea Clinton seemed to emerge.

In recent weeks, she has greeted the Trump era with a more sarcastic and feisty online personality, sharing with her 1.6 million followers her fiercely held political beliefs and sparring with political adversaries in 140-character bursts.

Silence is a response, so too is indifference. We (including the President) have a moral obligation to always & loudly condemn Antisemitism. https://t.co/IvEBWaNYBj

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) March 20, 2017

Finally, Eve Peyser writes at Vice:

The Agony and Ecstasy of Chelsea Clinton Fans

Since her unexpected defeat in November, Hillary Clinton has mostly faded into the background, as losing presidential candidates so often do. Neither she nor her husband, Bill, have really joined in the anti-Trump resistance—instead their daughter Chelsea has stepped into the spotlight, suddenly becoming the most vocal member of a political dynasty despised by both leftists and conservatives.

In her tweets, Clinton the younger has derided the American Health Care Act as “disgusting,” spoke out against violent white nationalism, and opposed a federal bill that allows “the cruel killing of baby animals”—and that’s just in the past few days. The New York Times wrote an entire article about her social media activity, while the Hill, a Washington politics website, reported on rumors that she might be considering running for Kirsten Gillibrand’s Senate seat in 2020 if Gillibrand decides to run for president.

(Clinton’s team has emphatically denied these rumors, telling the Hill, “She is not running.”) The former first daughter also announced that she will soon release a children’s book about inspiring female role models titled She Persisted, a reference to Mitch McConnell’s famous description of Elizabeth Warren…

Clearly, people have strong feelings about Chelsea Clinton. But was it just a natural consequence of people loving her parents?

We may never know the answer to that last question.

(Rolls eyes.)

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