With Donald Trump winning the popular vote on his third shot, we need a fresh analysis of America’s prevailing political culture. Beyond sifting election returns, we must also attempt to see the world through MAGA eyes. They are the voting majority.
We could start by parsing the jokes, gags, and laugh-riots that the president-elect and his allies crassly dispensed in the final weeks of the race. Much to the chagrin of his critics, Trump’s push to the finish was fueled almost entirely by edgy comedy, which has left many people feeling uneasy about our collective sense of humor.
American democracy cannot survive four more years of derisive laughter at the expense of our unity.
The contrast between Trump’s policy ineptitude and his razor-sharp comedy is remarkable. Asked about his plans to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, Trump sputtered lamely about “concepts of a plan.” When pressed for a specific proposal on how to provide affordable child care to American workers, Trump rambled incoherently through an embarrassing list of non-sequiturs. The election results show us such stumbles can be excused. That’s because when it comes to lambasting his opponents and tickling the funny bone of the MAGA base, the incoming comedian-in-chief pulls from a seemingly bottomless well of zingers.
We learned in the final week of the campaign, for example, that it would be hilarious, for Trump and the MAGA faithful if Lynn Cheney, “a very dumb individual,” were put in front of a firing squad because—wait for it—that would teach her a lesson about reckless use of force.
At a rally days before the election, Trump brought the house down once again by declaring open season on members of the press. “Weaving” through an imagined assassination scenario, Trump explained that political violence sometimes has an unexpected upside: “To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much.” In a video from the event, audience members can be seen roaring at the thought of a media bloodbath. One attendee shakes her head and covers her mouth to stifle an outburst. The gesture appears to be a mix of delight and disbelief, as if to say, “Tell me he did not just go there.”
But, of course, he went there.
Transgressive laughter is the fundamental element of Donald Trump’s mesmerism. Trump is a jester inside the palace, playing at the role of king, but mocking the very idea of principled leadership in the process. Flouting the rules is his schtick, and it seems MAGA cannot get enough.
Though he rarely laughs, the laughter of others — women, in particular — is one of Trump’s many bizarre preoccupations. He mocked Kamala Harris for laughing too often and too heartily, just as he once attacked Hilary Clinton for “laughing at our expense” during the hyper-partisan Benghazi hearings.
After Michelle Obama scorched his record (and character) at the Democratic National Convention,