It was once a motto for hard-nosed reporters:  ‘Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable.’  That was back when newspaper writers were ‘ink-stained wretches’ who hailed from the working class and used shoe leather to track down a story.  The breed was epitomized by Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in ‘His Girl Friday.’

But media types rarely afflict the comfortable these days; they are the comfortable, raking in hefty salaries and accepting awards while promoting left-wing causes.  A great example is The Atlantic, a publication that was rescued by Steve Jobs’ billionaire widow.  The publication trashes Donald Trump, sneers at his followers, and attracts readers who are comfortable, affluent, and educated.

So, who is left to champion the working class?  Well, it’s too early to tell whether Donald Trump will comfort the afflicted, but he sure is afflicting the comfortable.  The president is generally despised by wealthier Americans who are far more concerned about their stock portfolios than real wages for factory workers.

Many of those elites gathered last Monday for the Met Gala, a New York tradition where beautiful people shell out $75,000 per ticket.  The fashions are revolutionary; the attendees talk like revolutionaries while living like plutocrats.  So just as Bernie and AOC were railing against ‘The Oligarchy,’ some of America’s true oligarchs were at the Gala, strutting like peacocks in their colorful plumage.

The event is run by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and chief arbiter of who is worthy of attendance.  She was once asked who would never be invited to the Met Gala.  Her very predictable, terse reply:  ‘Donald Trump.’  So there were no Trumps to be seen, but Kamala Harris was hobnobbing with the rich and famous.  She dined on papaya piri-piri salad and delivered a word salad of her own:  ‘Artistic expression - whether it’s dance, music, visual arts, or fashion - has a way of capturing the mood and language of the people without words.’

If there were any Republicans at the Gala, they no doubt kept very quiet about their political leanings.  This was a one-party event in a one-party town in a one-party industry.  And that party is now home to many of the most comfortable people in the USA.

As for the afflicted, they’re working their butts off on farms and in factories.  But while they’re overlooked by the swells at the Met Gala, they truly believe they have a champion in the White House.  Making their lives better seems to be Donald Trump’s primary goal, and achieving it will partly depend on his tariff gamble.  In the meantime, he’s doing a bang-up job when it comes to alienating America’s wealthy and powerful.  And that’s half the battle.