- Feb 5, 2002
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President Donald Trump is often hailed as funny. While campaigning, his speeches at rallies and appearances on podcasts and news programs often elicited peals of laughter from rallygoers and viewers.
During his first few press conferences upon returning to the White House earlier this year, even the reporters questioning him frequently found themselves chuckling or laughing. While the president does have a sharp wit and an amusing rhetorical style, much of what he says is not a “joke” in the traditional sense; rather, he just says what’s on his mind — and, incidentally, what’s on most others’ minds, too.
The reason this inspires laughter is because the past several years (anywhere from the past four years to the past few decades, depending on your sense of humor, where you fall on the political spectrum, etc.) have been increasingly restrictive in terms of what can be said, even jokingly. In the 1950s, Bugs Bunny slapping on lipstick and donning a dress and wig in order to fool Elmer Fudd was an obvious joke: by the end of the 2010s, such humor was labeled “transphobic” and would have come along with a Facebook or Twitter ban.
Given the regime of censorship and atmosphere of thought-policing prevalent over the last however-many-years, pervading even the world of comedy, it is a relief to hear someone else voice a “cancellable” thought that you yourself were thinking — it’s even more of a relief when the man so nonchalantly speaking his mind is the U.S. president.
Continued below.
During his first few press conferences upon returning to the White House earlier this year, even the reporters questioning him frequently found themselves chuckling or laughing. While the president does have a sharp wit and an amusing rhetorical style, much of what he says is not a “joke” in the traditional sense; rather, he just says what’s on his mind — and, incidentally, what’s on most others’ minds, too.
The reason this inspires laughter is because the past several years (anywhere from the past four years to the past few decades, depending on your sense of humor, where you fall on the political spectrum, etc.) have been increasingly restrictive in terms of what can be said, even jokingly. In the 1950s, Bugs Bunny slapping on lipstick and donning a dress and wig in order to fool Elmer Fudd was an obvious joke: by the end of the 2010s, such humor was labeled “transphobic” and would have come along with a Facebook or Twitter ban.
Given the regime of censorship and atmosphere of thought-policing prevalent over the last however-many-years, pervading even the world of comedy, it is a relief to hear someone else voice a “cancellable” thought that you yourself were thinking — it’s even more of a relief when the man so nonchalantly speaking his mind is the U.S. president.
Continued below.
Why Trump Is Funny and Colbert Is Canceled
Throughout human history, one of the many causes of laughter has been relief. In Homer's epic "The Odyssey," when Odysseus returns home after years of war and a