Friends in low places.
Don't you worry, ya losers, Donald Trump and the world's most prominent platform for job-related swimsuit competitions will land on their feet. With a little help from their friends.
On Thursday, the relatively obscure independent cable channel Reelz stepped in to pick up the presidential candidate's Miss USA pageant, filling the void left by NBC and Univision after they dropped it.
No doubt they got it at a steeply discounted price, but it also could be seen as a little wingnut welfare for America's windiest wingnut. The channel's owner, Stan Hubbard, has a bit of history in this regard. You may remember him from his
vigorous defense of his Minnesota station's news story that Mayor Betsy Hodges had been flashing "gang signs" during her community work, or his efforts on behalf of
climate change denial. He's a big cheese at the cracker factory.
The channel's parent company, Hubbard Broadcasting, also once donated $100,000 to Karl Rove's super PAC American Crossoads in 2012, according to the Center For Public Integrity.
The bad news for Trump is that standard-issue wingnut welfare isn't the stuff you can gold-plate your airplanes with. Going from NBC and Univision to Reelz probably is going to result in considerably smaller checks. Now all they need are some new hosts still willing to associate with Donald Trump. Get Steve King and Sean Hannity on the phone, stat!