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........