Ann Coulter (Gage Skidmore)

Sometimes I look at President Donald Trump and wonder how I’m going to write yet another article about his stupidity. Trump has made a lot of boneheaded decisions, but one of the worst things he’s ever done is let U.S. policy be dictated by people like Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.

A few weeks ago, Trump seemed to be close to agreeing on a deal about border security with the Democrats. But then propagandists on the right got wind of it and started haranguing Trump. Coulter called him a “fraud” and “gutless.” Trump jumped to attention, shut down the government leaving about 800,000 government workers with no money for Christmas and no way to pay their rent or mortgage.

The president of the United States has access to the best intelligence, is surrounded by a team of experienced policymakers, and yet he chooses to follow the leads of right-wing blowhards. If that’s the case, he might as well go down to the nearest bar and ask the regulars what we should do about Syria.

I’ve been studying the right-wing media ecosphere for two decades and I’ve figured out that it’s essentially hot hair. It’s largely bigoted entertainment for an audience who pines for the good, old days when they could be openly racist. (Essentially, the Make America Great Again crowd.) But it doesn’t inform people. That’s because it’s not journalism, it’s entertainment, if you can even call it that. Politifact rated 84 percent of Limbaugh’s statements to be untrue.

Coulter and Limbaugh’s jobs are to amuse bigots. Their material is also chockful of misinformation. Their real goal is to say something crazy that will drive up ratings so they can sell more advertising. They also have a nice side-hustle selling fact-free books to their gullible followers.

And they’re also hypocrites, because as much as they like to sell themselves as fans of “traditional family values,” they really don’t believe in that. Limbaugh is currently on his fourth marriage. He also lived in a separate home from his third wife. In 2006 he was busted returning from a sex tourist jaunt in the Dominican Republic with a pocketful of Viagra. And before that, he did a stint in drug rehab for addiction to Oxycontin. (Limbaugh had previously advocated harsh punishment for drug users.) And even though he’s made homophobic comments, he invited Elton John to perform at his wedding.

Coulter does schtick. It’s performance art. She’s playing the role of an obnoxious right-wing commentator like “the heel” (bad guy) in professional wrestling. She’s the woman you love to hate, but she’s not a serious commentator.

Coulter is another fraudster shaking down right-wing rubes. Another devotee of traditional family values, she’s never been married and is childless, like Limbaugh. She also fills her books with white nationalist rhetoric and contributed to white supremacist site VDARE, even though she dated former “Good Times” actor Jimmy Walker. “The Boondocks” mocked her rumored dating habits several years ago. One of the characters on the show said Coulter’s gig was all an act, and she was doing it for that “redneck money.”

Coulter does schtick. It’s performance art. She’s playing the role of an obnoxious right-wing commentator like “the heel” (bad guy) in professional wrestling. She’s the woman you love to hate, but she’s not a serious commentator. Still, she still gets invited on mainstream political shows, even though she has no intention of adding serious input to the conversation. Just take a lot look at some of her comments.

She claimed the growth of soccer was a sign of moral decay

Claimed the Democratic party hates white people

Advised a Muslim to “take a camel.”

Called former Democratic politician John Edwards a “faggot.”

Limbaugh also has a long track record of making racist comments including telling an African American caller to take the bone out his nose, saying the NFL looked like the Bloods and the Crips and saying former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa looked like the “shoeshine boy.”

But provocation and shock is the name of their game. They want to try to get reactions out of their audience. Unfortunately, they’ve spawned several copycats such as FOX News talker Laura Ingraham, who recently complained about the country’s changing demographics. This lead to an ad boycott.

And now there is a new generation of shock jockettes such as “white power Barbie” Tomi Lahren and the equally idiotic Candace Owens. Owens recently said Trump appealed to young people because he was “punk rock” and claimed he was going to win over African-American voters. Both Owens and Lahren are climbing the right-wing media ladder and will surely soon put out brain-cell killing books. It seems to be a lucrative business.

But we’ve figured out these entertainers’ racket, they’re simply trying to make a buck. But they’re not policy analysts who should be advising the president. That would be like President Barack Obama asking Dave Chappelle where he should call in the next drone strike. Of course, that would never happen. Obama wouldn’t dream of asking Chappelle for advice on strategy, and Chappelle would be smart enough not to give it.