To Beat Trump, Mock Him

[octoberlib]

The lesson from pro-democracy fighters abroad: Humor deflates authoritarian rulers.

Nicholas Kristof
By Nicholas Kristof
Opinion Columnist

Can critics of President Trump learn something from pro-democracy movements in other countries? Most Americans don’t have much experience confronting authoritarian rulers, but people around the globe are veterans of such struggles. And the most important lesson arguably is “laughtivism”: the power of mockery. Denouncing dictators has its place, but sly wit sometimes deflates them more effectively. Shaking one’s fist at a leader doesn’t win people over as much as making that leader a laughingstock.

“Every joke is a tiny revolution,” George Orwell wrote in 1945.

American progressives have learned by now that frontal attacks aren’t always effective against Trump. Impeaching Trump seemed to elevate him in the polls. A majority of Americans agree in a Quinnipiac poll that Trump is a racist, yet he still may win re-election. Journalists count Trump’s deceptions (more than 20,000 since he assumed the presidency) and chronicle accusations of sexual misconduct against him (26 so far), yet he seems coated with Teflon: Nothing sticks.

America has had “Baby Trump” balloons, “Saturday Night Live” skits and streams of Trump memes and jokes. But all in all, Trump opponents tend to score higher on volume than on wit. So, having covered pro-democracy campaigns in many other countries, I suggest that Americans aghast at Trump absorb a lesson from abroad: Authoritarians are pompous creatures with monstrous egos and so tend to be particularly vulnerable to humor. They look mighty but are often balloons in need of a sharp pin.

No, I won’t be drawing cartoons or trying stand-up. I know my limitations. But I’m frustrated by the lack of traction that earnest critiques of Trump get, and I think it’s useful to learn lessons about how people abroad challenged authoritarians and pointed out their hypocrisy with the simple precision of mockery. I’m also frustrated that some forceful criticisms of Trump sometimes come across to undecided voters as strident or over the top. People like me are accused of suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, and our arguments are dismissed precisely because they are so fervent.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/opinion/sunday/trump-politics-humor.html

[customerserviceguy]

1. True

but I don't think Americans will know how to process a debate that turns into a bickering session. We've not seen anything like that in American politics, unless you count the squabble between Trump and Marco Rubio during the GOP debates of 2016. And Trump managed to eventually win that donnybrook (pun intended).

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Does the article mention the debates?

I’m asking seriously, as I’m not a subscriber.

[customerserviceguy]

4. I'm not a subscriber, either

I just mention it because it's a possibility during the debate. I've no doubt that Trump will try something incredibly mean that he was effectively cautioned not to do when he debated Hillary Clinton. And even still, he managed to stalk her menacingly while on the stage.

[octoberlib]

6. It doesn't mention the debates. Biden could use mockery , though at

Trump's stupid criticisms of him, like the Hunter Biden stuff.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. I have advocated this tactic from the beginning

Consider the consternation when the tRump baby balloons began floating.

[Tribetime]

5. I believe you're correct he can't handle criticism

he would melt down right in front of us. I remember Obama slamming him at a dinner.

[BComplex]

8. He keeps callin Biden "Joe". Biden needs to call him "Donald" or "donny".

[BlueWavePsych]

9. What about 'Donny Boy' with a smirk.

[BComplex]

10. That would freak donny boy out!

I like it!

[DeminPennswoods]

7. Mel Brooks' entire premise behind "The Producers"

nt

[Kid Berwyn]

11. How does one ridicule the ridiculous?

75 samples of Drumpf brand idiocy.

On Sharing His Financial Success

"I look very much forward to showing my financials, because they are huge."

TIME, 14/4/11

https://www.shortlist.com/news/most-ridiculous-trump-quotes-ever