Fox News, a network that had no obligation to cover the Golden Globes or the political content of its speeches, repeatedly aired footage of Meryl Streep’s remarks throughout the day, suggesting considerable interest among its viewers. Then one of its hosts, Lisa Boothe, said of celebrities, “Who cares what these people think?”

Ahem:

Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017

Trump cares what these people think. A lot.

On Monday, Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on at least two television networks to spread various talking points about the Golden Globes. Since the Trump team will be running the executive branch and the military in a matter of days, one wonders how many total hours its members spent on Meryl Streep. Trump will enter office will less experience than any president ever. How did Americans benefit from the fleeting transition hours that he spent with Kanye West? Perhaps the president-elect’s daily intelligence briefings would gain more of his attention if disguised as US Weekly spreads.

Oh, Democrats do lean on celebrity too much for their own good. And as a rule, Hollywood types are not the best source of incisive political commentary. But it’s Republicans who’ve presently made America’s future dependent on the whims of a celebrity-obsessed media hound most famous for hosting The Celebrity Apprentice.

I’m as happy as anyone to criticize actual idiocy from celebrities. But if Hollywood actors deliver remarks that are praiseworthy on substance, they deserve praise. Every American ought to be glad that Streep delivered the core of her message, knowing as we do that A-list celebrities have the president-elect’s attention.

Here is the part of Streep’s speech I’m praising:

This instinct to humiliate when it's modeled by someone in the public... by someone powerful, it filters down into everyone's life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.

Trump’s bullying instinct is undeniable and alarming. And it is a good thing, not a bad thing, for powerful people handed a microphone to reinforce moral opprobrium against it.

For David French, this part of the speech “eloquently stated the moral imperative that the strong not prey on the weak,” but like many conservatives who commented online, this was not enough for him to praise Streep, partly because he conflates the individual actress with edverything he dislikes about the Hollywood left in general (a tactic with as much rigor as that displayed by French’s critics who impute to him every quality they dislike about the conservative movement), and also because of an old Oscar-night clip. Director Roman Polanski, who once pled guilty to statutory rape, won an Oscar for The Pianist. The crowd was clapping, as they do after every award is announced, and the footage briefly cuts to Streep in the audience, who is standing and clapping.