Light hearted opinion article:
"That same year, Trump was so upset by Bill Maher's joke that Trump was "the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan," that he sued the comedian for $5 million. (Trump later dropped the lawsuit.)
And Trump has gone after "Saturday Night Live" and Alec Baldwin numerous times in the last few months for the show's comedic barbs at his expense. Trump even called for the cancellation of the iconic late night show that has skewered multiple presidents since it premiered in 1975.
You get the idea, Trump hates knowing that people are laughing at him. And his goal in lashing out is to clearly silence comedians -- even by simply causing them to self-censor to avoid the wrath of Trump.
His desire to silence comic dissent raises the more sinister reason Trump is refusing to attend the WHCD. Trump, like dictators in the Middle East where I've performed comedy countless times, don't want to be publicly ridiculed. The leaders there prefer being revered -- or even feared-- but can't endure being mocked, because they believe it will undermine their power. Given that Trump seems to be following a "Dictator for Dummies" playbook with his attempts to de-legitimize our media, intelligence agencies and even our judiciary, this is plausible.
Trump is following the authoritarian playbook
But there's also another possible reason Trump doesn't want to go. Simply put: Trump could never compete with Obama's comedy chops and Trump knows it. He knows his performance at the WHCD will be compared to former President Obama's performances, and that's very bad for Trump. Objectively speaking there has not been a modern-day president in as good as Obama at delivering jokes. Period.
In contrast, while Trump can be funny off the cuff, he's awful at delivering prepared jokes. Check out his performance in October at the Al Smith dinner. Trump read the jokes like he was reading an eye chart. He was even booed by the audience for some mean spirited jokes.
It's likely we may never know the real reason why Trump plans to skip the WHCD. But he is truly missing out an opportunity to laugh at himself, which might just help elevate his historically low approval ratings.
Personally, my hope is that Alec Baldwin appears at the WHCD as Trump. That would be comedy gold! Or the WHCD could mock Trump in absentia, possibly having a Trump blow up doll sit on the dais".
"But if our President thinks not attending will insulate him from being mocked, he's very mistaken. Donald Trump may ultimately be able to build a wall or impose a travel ban, but he will never, ever be able to stop comedy".
"That same year, Trump was so upset by Bill Maher's joke that Trump was "the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan," that he sued the comedian for $5 million. (Trump later dropped the lawsuit.)
And Trump has gone after "Saturday Night Live" and Alec Baldwin numerous times in the last few months for the show's comedic barbs at his expense. Trump even called for the cancellation of the iconic late night show that has skewered multiple presidents since it premiered in 1975.
You get the idea, Trump hates knowing that people are laughing at him. And his goal in lashing out is to clearly silence comedians -- even by simply causing them to self-censor to avoid the wrath of Trump.
His desire to silence comic dissent raises the more sinister reason Trump is refusing to attend the WHCD. Trump, like dictators in the Middle East where I've performed comedy countless times, don't want to be publicly ridiculed. The leaders there prefer being revered -- or even feared-- but can't endure being mocked, because they believe it will undermine their power. Given that Trump seems to be following a "Dictator for Dummies" playbook with his attempts to de-legitimize our media, intelligence agencies and even our judiciary, this is plausible.
Trump is following the authoritarian playbook
But there's also another possible reason Trump doesn't want to go. Simply put: Trump could never compete with Obama's comedy chops and Trump knows it. He knows his performance at the WHCD will be compared to former President Obama's performances, and that's very bad for Trump. Objectively speaking there has not been a modern-day president in as good as Obama at delivering jokes. Period.
In contrast, while Trump can be funny off the cuff, he's awful at delivering prepared jokes. Check out his performance in October at the Al Smith dinner. Trump read the jokes like he was reading an eye chart. He was even booed by the audience for some mean spirited jokes.
It's likely we may never know the real reason why Trump plans to skip the WHCD. But he is truly missing out an opportunity to laugh at himself, which might just help elevate his historically low approval ratings.
Personally, my hope is that Alec Baldwin appears at the WHCD as Trump. That would be comedy gold! Or the WHCD could mock Trump in absentia, possibly having a Trump blow up doll sit on the dais".
"But if our President thinks not attending will insulate him from being mocked, he's very mistaken. Donald Trump may ultimately be able to build a wall or impose a travel ban, but he will never, ever be able to stop comedy".
