The Boundaries Between Politics and Stand-Up Comedy Are Crumbling
Comics are running for office; politicians are trying to be funny
Of all Donald Trump’s beefs with the “mainstream media”, it may be the least likely. Those po-faced purveyors of fake news, claims the president, do not take him seriously as a comedian. “He has a great sense of humour that he doesn’t get credit for,” explains a White House official.
So, credit where credit is due. The expansive, largely unscripted, disquisitions with which Mr Trump entertains his rallies are less traditional “speeches” than a stand-up comedy routine. Instead of tedious policy pronouncements and fine phrasemaking, his audience is treated to an impromptu circus of gags, pouts, gibes, mimicry and put-downs: “Pocahontas” for Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator and candidate for presidential nomination (because of allegations that she exaggerated her native-American heritage); “One Per Cent” for another Democratic contender, Joe Biden (a wildly inaccurate summary of his poll ratings), and so on.
David Litt, who used to write jokes for Barack Obama, acknowledges that Mr Trump has a great feel for his audience and the “skill-set of a comedian”. In treating politics as a joke-filled prank, Mr Trump is, as so often, right on trend. Ukraine has just gone one…
