Commentary: Want to be loved by the Left? Get fired by Trump

How do you go from being a government hack to a progressive hero? It's easy: Get fired by Donald Trump.

From FBI Director James Comey to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Veteran's Affairs chief David Shulkin, it turns out there's no surer route to redemption among liberals than a "You're fired!" from President Trump. Even better if it comes via tweet.

This weekend, fired VA Secretary Shulkin got a sympathetic hearing from the media for his claims that he's the victim of a Trumpian purge: "Fired VA Secretary Says White House Muzzled Him" was the headline at NPR.  The New York Times published an op-ed by Shulkin in which he praised himself for doing an outstanding job and blamed his downfall on "a brutal power struggle" by forces "who seek to privatize" the VA. On CBS News' "Face The Nation," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, tagged Shulkin's firing on the Left's favorite villains: The evil Koch Brothers.

"They are now the most powerful political force in America, stronger than the Democratic National Committee or the Republican National Committee," Sanders said of the Kochs. "Their view has been 'we have got to privatize, privatize, and privatize.'

"And what Dr. Shulkin, who Trump just fired this week, has told us is that the reason for his firing is that he resisted privatization of the Veterans Administration," Sanders said.

But you won't find the Koch Brothers mentioned anywhere in the inspector general's report that actually led to Shulkin's firing. Instead, it talks about an extravagant $122,000 work-cation for Shulkin and his wife Bari; falsified claims about the VA secretary receiving an award to justify paying for Bari's travels; and false claims that the email evidence of this fraud was due to a staffer being hacked.

Those falsehoods, and that improper gift of free tickets to Wimbledon are not exactly the hallmarks of a heroic whistleblower. And yet Shulkin has received sympathetic treatment from the media. Why? Because he's achieved EOT status: "Enemy Of Trump."

And any enemy of my enemy….

A more dramatic example of this anti-Trump-induced amnesia is former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, unceremoniously fired via Twitter last month.  His firing occurred in the wake of a nerve-agent attack on a Russian former spy and his daughter in the UK—an act almost certainly committed by the Putin government. Like most of the Western world, then-Secretary Tillerson held Russia responsible for the attack. When Tillerson was fired the next day…

"Rex Tillerson Gets Fired the Day After He Criticized Russia," blared the New Yorker headline. "News comes *immediately* after Tillerson said the poisoning in the UK 'clearly came from Russia—while Trump has been silent," tweeted Mark Murray, NBC's senior political editor. "Did Trump fire Tillerson because he was too anti-Russia," the Washington Post wondered.

Rex Tillerson, Anti-Russia warrior? When did that happen? Does anyone else remember these headlines from just a year earlier?

"Behind the Deep Ties Between Exxon's Rex Tillerson and Russia"—CNN

"Rex Tillerson: An Appointment That Confirms Putin's Election Win"—Guardian

And here's another from the Washington Post: "What Is The Russian Order Of Friendship and Why Does Rex Tillerson Have One?" 

For most of his time as secretary of state, Tillerson was Exhibit A in the #RussiaGate case—a pro-Putin operative with oil ties to Moscow in a key role on Team Trump. Then Trump fired him—and suddenly, the same people are bemoaning his loss. Tillerson was transformed into a moderating force trying to beat back the president's attempts to…well, whatever it is the conspiracy theorists believe he is trying to do so that Putin won't release those embarrassing photos from the Moscow Ritz-Carlton.

(Serious question for #RussiaGate spinners: At this point, do we still think it's possible for Donald Trump to be embarrassed?)

But perhaps the most shocking example is the curious case of James Comey.

In November of 2016, then-FBI-Director Comey was political enemy #1 of the Democratic Party. Before the election, Democrats like Senator Harry Reid were denouncing his handling of the Clinton email case, going so far as to suggest he had broken the law.  Nancy Pelosi compared his last-minute letter to Congress on the matter to a political "Molotov cocktail."

After Hillary's loss, it was even worse.  "Donald Trump owes him a big thank you" said Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times.  Democrats far and wide blamed Hillary Clinton's election debacle on Comey.

Today, Comey's book—A Higher Loyalty—Truth, Lies, and Leadership-- is on the best-seller list before it's even been released; He's scheduled to be feted on the Left's favorite cable news shows; and enthusiastic partisans are paying up to $850 a ticket to see him on his book tour.

It's as if Newt Gingrich suddenly became the golden boy of MSNBC.  How did it happen? He's the ultimate EOT: He was fired by Trump in the midst of the RussiaGate scandal and then leaked information to wage war on the White House.  The anti-Trump trifecta.

There are more examples. Notorious "neocon" Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, once hated for promoting the Bush Doctrine in Afghanistan and Iraq, is now a liberal darling for leading the #NeverTrump movement.  Mitt Romney, once smeared by Democrats as a misogynist with "binders full of women," is now the responsible GOP good guy they can respect, etc. etc.

What it all points to is the political gravitational pull of the Trump presidency. Every policy and (especially) every person is measured by their relationship to Donald Trump. Simply being Trump's enemy can suddenly make you every Democrats' best friend.

In:
• James Comey
• Donald Trump
• Rex Tillerson

Michael Graham

CBSN contributor Michael Graham is a conservative columnist for the Boston Herald.