Zero Day is a Netflix series starring Robert De Niro as a former president called back to duty to save the country in its hour of need. An apocalyptic hacking attack has derailed trains and planes and pretty much put the country to a halt.  So De Niro’s character, former President George Mullen, is appointed to head the commission which his daughter thinks will violate civil rights, suspend habeas corpus, etc., in order to address the crisis.

It’s an interesting premise and De Niro is in top form.  Perhaps it’s difficult to cast the elderly De Niro, at 81, but the idea of a president coming out of retirement with Joe Biden like memory lapses… it makes sense.  And the echoes of Joe Biden in the character Mullen make this series immediate; moreover, the hacking attack and the worries over civil liberties is an echo of Covid.  The critics of Mullen and his Zero Day Commission reminds one of the venom against Dr Anthony Fauci, as protesters wave signs reading “Fire Mullen.”

Evan Green

A national emergency requires extraordinary measures by the government, meanwhile, commentators with conservative leanings such as the Tucker Carlson-esque Evan Green regard these measures as tyranny. He tells his viewers:

“George Mullen and his cronies have trampled on every civil liberty that we have.”

Consistent with leftists’ view of Tucker Carlson, Evan green is portrayed as a conspiracy theorist flannel-wearing demagogue, confusing Winston Churchill as a war criminal.  Green is 90% Tucker with a dash of Alex Jones, given his populist fulminations.

For his part, Mullen is constantly watching Green’s program and the entire establishment seems to regard him as a menace to democracy, again, not unlike their view of Tucker Carlson.  

Green signs out to his viewers:

“Keep truthing, and if others won’t to hear it, just say it louder until they do.”

This Neanderthal motto is a funny caricature of conservative media I suppose, but it doesn’t do justice to Tucker Carlson is much more subtle analysis.  And although the Evan green character is a caricature, if there were such a commission with such extraordinary powers, wouldn’t you want someone in the media criticizing them and being skeptical of it?

When Green is detained by the commission, snatched from his Tucker-like family in the middle of the night, the series takes an even darker turn. Mullen is Biden-like not just in his senility, but also in his penchant to exact revenge on his political enemies; using law enforcement in a dubious manner. In other words, the arrest of Green recalls the Mar-a-Lago raid. Both are obvious examples of vengeance and overreach.

This is not to mention that Tucker Carlson himself has been victim to government surveillance. It’s just amazing that Zero Day seems to be portraying the victimization to figures on the right.

As the Speak of the House puts it:

"People are going to be asking a lot of questions."  

Leftist Priors

Unfortunately, the series is filled with the usual leftist tropes, such as Mullen’s obnoxious girl boss daughter and know it all wife, and the female African-American president who is suddenly a computer expert when she explains the hacking attack. At any rate, that female president, who is ready to pin the blame on Russia despite a lack of evidence, may be a nod to Kamala Harris. 

To the extent that Zero Day calls into question Russia’s culpability, it might run parallel with our thawing relations with the erstwhile geopolitical foe.

To its credit, however, Zero Day also diverges from the modern Democrat Party in some respects. For example, the Cyber attack is initially attributed to Russia but our protagonist president Mullen is inclined to be skeptical of this.  He regards this as a rush to war and scapegoating.  Contrast this with the current leftist view which is that no amount of calumny against Russia is enough.

The Great De Niro

But the theme of someone who has been almost forgotten returning to greatness is…compelling.  And if anyone can convey greatness on screen, it’s Robert De Niro.  I don’t like the real Robert De Niro’s political opinions, but I’m willing to suspend disbelief and imagine him giving a speech on the street that inspires and energizes people. 

Grade: A

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