HUMOR: He Who Laughs Last
By Trevor K. McNeil
A Mystery Wrapped In An Enigma
There are mysteries that have yet to be revealed to mere mortals. Like, how do they get the caramel in the Cadbury Caramilk bar? Or, how much wood would, indeed, a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck, could, in fact, chuck wood? Another mystery of gargantuan proportions, is how someone as unabashedly baffoonish and obscenely unqualified as Donald J. Trump, could be elected to the highest office in the land. “Leader of the Free-World” a bit too arrogant and, well, bullshit, to be taken seriously. There are many theories. Some crack cocaine nonsense, while others more reality-based; though the reality may be much stranger than anyone ever suspected.
An Honest Man
If you ask a Trump supporter why they like him, they are likely to say some version of “he’s a great businessman” despite him having gone through bankruptcy six times. Or, perhaps, “he’s an honest man in a den of thieves,” despite Trump agreeing to pay 25 million dollars to plaintiffs for seemingly illegal activities in the Trump University case. Common sense seems to have no effect on the electorate when it comes to Donald Trump. He has become a joke, and the joke seems to be on the United States. But who cares, at least he’s not a politician. The general distrust of “establishment politicians” goes back to the founding of America. Even George Washington, the pillar of Americana, as blasphemous as it may now seem, was often lambasted during his life. The cartoonists of his time, choosing to point their poisoned pens at him as often as at any other mortal man.
Switching Parties A Benefit
Hillary’s history is politics; and not all of it sterling. Many attacks on her verge on absurdity. I ask you, how could this busy woman who is planning one murder after another, have time to run a sex trafficking business out of a D.C. pizzeria? Absolutely ridiculous, far too time consuming. Characterizations of HRC have elevated her level of evil to surpass, in the minds of some, Hannibal Lecter or Professor Moriarty. The clamor of her detractors is unstoppable. Many of them being liberals, such as loudmouth novelist Gore Vidal, comedian Norm McDonald or the now deceased British journalist Christopher Hitchens. Trump, escaped such gaudy public absurd commentary by being a political novice. The Trumpster having never been elected to political office. He, unimaginably had never even ran for office in high school or college. Now that is political distancing.
It All Started With A Lie
“He must know something, he’s on television every week,” was the cry, from the crowd. Trump used his lack of political experience to his advantage. Sucking up the oxygen with outrageous rhetoric and bombastic tweets, he shocked and dismayed. The charlatan and con man on constant display, he proclaimed he would fund his own presidential campaign. Like so many things Trump has said, that too was just one more lie. Perhaps voters believed because he had changed parties so many times, he couldn’t be too dangerous. Trump obviously lacked political loyalty, if in fact he had any loyalty at all, it wouldn’t be to a political platform. He would be no party hard liner, voters could be sure of that.
Party Hopper
Trump was a party hopper extraordinaire. A Republican in 1987, then a Reform Party member in 1999. When it became obvious the Reform Party was a losing cause he became a Democrat in 2001. In 2009, I suspect because the Democrats had dared nominate a black man, Trump jumped parties again, becoming a Republican. I see it as a classic case of voters expecting the horse that wins will defy the party program and do what is best for his supporters. Such as the shockingly liberal rule of alleged Conservative Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who spent the first 25 years of his adult life as a staunch Labor supporter. So such things can work out.
Humble Pie
Even politicians, in rare instances of candor, admit that a degree of criticism is part of public life. There are exceptions such as the notorious New York politician, and crime lord, William “Boss” Tweed, who became so irate over his depiction in the press, particularly in cartoons, he famously asked an assistant how to “stop them damn pictures?” How could we know that the man who hates and demeans every other man or woman, dead or alive, could be so thin-skinned as our Donny Dolittle?
Sax And Sunglasses
Others, even Republicans believe it or not, have a sense of humor, about politics and themselves. The ability to laugh at yourself is a key presidential skill, something Trump seems to be sorely lacking in. Otherwise they run the risk of coming off like a cynical, arrogant, self-righteous prick. Most of them are; but they don’t want to show it. So donning sunglasses and playing saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, is acceptable. Or, giving self-deprecating speeches at charity dinners, also okay. A cunning process of humanization that can transform Ivy League (even W. went to Yale) trust fund babies into seemingly relatable human beings that a voter senses they can share a beer with.
Mock-Proof
There are those that believe Trump is a closet human being. Certainly not a guy you could share a beer with, but at least relatable. Trump’s refusal to accept criticism is all an act, they claim. Trump’s doubling down on his most embarrassing gaffs, his refusal to apologize or laugh at himself, is really just his little joke on the media. That Teflon armor in itself shields him from mockery, they tell us. Something pointed out by comedians themselves, noting that they can’t satirize Trump because he “does it himself.” His tweets and public statements bordering on self-parody.
Self-Parody
There is no hidden genius, I’m afraid, in Trump’s case. Trump’s refusal to laugh at himself has become a self-parody, but not an intentional one, or an amusing one. Trump is about as funny as an Alex Jones rant. By saying what he really thinks he has shown a level of ignorance and buffoonery unparalleled in American politics. He has made himself a pathetic joke, in this country and a pariah overseas. His recent tweet suggesting that the 75 year old protester who got his skull fractured by a cop in Buffalo, NY, is a sterling example. The statement being so absurd that it cannot actually be taken seriously. No real politician would ever think to say something so stupid.
It’s 2020 Not 2016
And, then we have Joe Biden. After 40 years in public life, there has been little humor, but boatloads of personal pain and policy mumbo jumbo. It doesn’t look like there will be any Saxaphone concerts this election cycle. Perhaps it is a good thing. At least this time around, with Joe and Don we know exactly who and what we are getting. There will be no surprises, and fewer laughs.
