You’ve gotta laugh while you can, Mr. President: A very short history of political satire — and why Trump hates it

A very short history of political satire

A thick skin and a sense of humour are just about the most important requirements of a president of the USA. Unfortunately for Donald Trump — but luckily for his growing army of political satirists — he’s got neither.

That is fundamentally why he forced the abrupt departure of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, only to see him reinstated a few days later to his undisguised frustration. But before Trump goes after ALL the political satirists, as he’s promised his humourless followers, here’s a cautionary tale.

I know he won’t read it because Trump doesn’t read, but here it is anyway.

From ancient Greece to Tudor England

Political satire is much older than 79-year-old Trump. Well over 2,000 years ago, the Greek playwright Aristophanes mercilessly ribbed the politicians and leading lights of the day in plays that packed 10,000-seat houses. One particular target was a populist politician named Cleon, which may ring a bell. Yet Aristophanes was never imprisoned, tried in court or otherwise shut down. In fact, he won awards and was widely admired.

Fast forward a couple of millennia to Tudor England of the 1600s, when the Mother Goose rhymes were veiled commentaries on the social and political events of the royal house. And a little more than a century after that came Gulliver’s Travels, which not everybody knows is a social satire.

Written by clergyman Jonathan Swift, this timeless book pulls the leg of just about everybody — pompous politicians, hapless intellectuals and the very stupid.

Incidentally, it was Swift who coined the name “yahoos” for the latter.

America’s long relationship with political humour

America also has a long acquaintance with political satire.

Mark Twain didn’t spare the feelings of elected officials over burning issues such as slavery, and later Will Rogers’ gentler brand of the art won him a huge audience.

And as the Voice of America (since shut down by Trump, who firmly believes he’s the voice) pointed out in a fascinating article, the First Amendment has specifically protected political satire for 235 years under the name of free speech.

Television turns satire into a national sport

The advent of television accelerated political satire in the US. The late George Carlin took the mickey out of a lot of things, but one of his best lines was: “In America anyone can become president. That’s the problem.”

Starting in 1975, Saturday Night Live has cordially insulted most presidents. Chevy Chase used to impersonate a Gerald Ford who dropped papers everywhere, forgot things and once fell over a Christmas tree.

These days there’s so much political satire in America that it’s become an academic subject, largely because of Trump.

A professor, Alison Dagnes, wrote a book called A Conservative Walks into a Bar: The Politics of Political Humor, while another professor, Robert Lichter, helped pen Politics Is a Joke: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life.

Why Trump can’t take a joke

Most presidents take it all in good humour — except Trump. In his first term he appeared a couple of times on Saturday Night Live but gradually got annoyed at Alec Baldwin’s buffoonish impersonation of him. Now he rants that no channel has a licence to make jokes about him.

What Trump doesn’t seem to realise is that late-night comedians hardly have to invent anything because the White House is providing their material for free. When Melania donned one of her verandah-brimmed hats to a royal garden party during the recent two-day visit to Britain, a woman comic said: “God, she’s wearing a UFO.” And later, when her face was almost completely hidden: “Is she really in there?”

Now that Trump’s been thwarted in shutting down Jimmy Kimmel, he really has made up his mind to go after ALL of the late-night lampoonists, including Jimmy Fallon, who also does a good impersonation of The Donald.

The president is always the biggest target

It’s not going to work though. As Professor Dagnes points out, “the president is 100 percent of the time the most satirized figure in American politics.”

You may have noticed something about Trump: he never laughs.

Read more of my stories in the History Repeats series →