Why Donald Trump Remains the Funniest Politician in Modern History
24th September 2024
Donald Trump is arguably the most unsuitable candidate of any major western political party in living memory, let alone leader of its most powerful state. Brazenly dishonest at times, fond of extreme and reckless rhetoric and disdainful of most political conventions, he’s also the funniest politician in decades.
The two things are not unconnected. Comedy as an art form has come under a great deal of strain in the past decade, a result of western society’s new moralization. Comedians have increasingly sought to be ethical figures on the right side of a great moral struggle, ignoring the fact that funny people don’t have to be good people; indeed, some of the greatest comedians have been malicious or self-centered.
Trump has the wit of the schoolyard tormentor, an unparalleled ability to find an opponent’s weakness. No one has coined so many unforgiving nicknames, and probably no modern figure has popularized as many phrases in the English language.