८ सप्टेंबर, २०२०

"Now, she also said earlier that Trump had no sense of humor, therefore it couldn't be a joke. To which I pointed out..."

"... that he is the most successful stand-up comedian in the history of humanity. His rallies with gigantic audiences are literally stand-up comedy. He does it to entertain. He literally says funny things and his audience laughs. And they go because he will say funny things that will make them laugh. He's literally the most successful stand-up comedian in the history of civilization if you look at the numbers of people who go in person. You have to admit the reason the crowd is so big is because he brings entertainment and humor. So how can you be an informed voter like [this person] says she is without knowing the president is not only someone who knows what a joke is, recognizes them, and is the most successful humorist of all time? (In terms of stand-up comedy in front of a large audience.)"

From "Scott Adams: Trump Is The Most Successful Stand-Up Comic Ever; Democrats Want To Burn Down The Country Because They Don't Get The Joke" (RCP)(video at the link).

६० टिप्पण्या:

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Imus used to hang out around town with Trump and Imus said that Trump is a great humorist, Don-Rickles funny. Imus said it back when Trump was a democrat, so it wasn't poiltically motivated.

Left Bank of the Charles म्हणाले...

Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

And the attack on Sen. J S McCain, III was also a comedian’s line about preferring winners over those who get captured. Trump knew that He who must not be named had become a swamp politician that did the deep state’s dirty work for 30 years. The USN does not use his name so as not to demean his father and grandfather both of whom were true heros.


Big Mike म्हणाले...

@Althouse, please tell us you didn’t need Adams to make you aware of this.

Larry J म्हणाले...

The Democrats don’t get the joke because they are the joke. “That’s not funny!” Yes it is, buttercup. We’re laughing at you and the stupid things you believe.

Wince म्हणाले...

Simply, it's cognitively easier for Trump's opponents on the left and in the establishment to typify his combination of humor and irreverence as flippancy and hate.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"So how can you be an informed voter like [this person] says she is without knowing"

Faux naïveté by Adams?

For progs, life is easy. You always already know everything, and you get your knowledge confirmed by the MSM 24/7.

What's mere refutation when you have the right Theory? And who does Adams think he is, Karl Effing Popper?

Howard म्हणाले...

This is a recycled meme from 2016. Joe Rogan is more accurate to label Trump as a WWE villian character.

TrespassersW म्हणाले...

Left Bank of the Charles said...
Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump.

Proving . . . what exactly? That people who haven't performed to audiences as large as Pryor, Murphy, and Hart do not have a sense of humor?

Temujin म्हणाले...

I will always go back to the Republican candidate debates of 2016, when Trump used one of the greatest lines ever. The topic had something to do with Hillary's missing 30,000 emails that the FBI said they could not find. 30,000 emails. It was known that Hillary's home server was wide open to the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, Joe Bob Smith, and anyone else who knew how to do that (any person under 40). Trump commented that we should ask the Russians for Hillary's emails. "I'm sure they have them."

I spit out food it was so funny to me. The next thing I knew, the Left was in flames, crying, moaning, breathlessly wailing over Trump asking Russia to hack Hillary. Hell...they already had. Trump was right. They probably did have copies of the 'missing' emails.

The Left has no sense of humor. Everyone from Lenin on up the line knows this. Humor is not allowed on the Left. The real left. So no- this person Scott Adams was talking about would not see humor in Trump. Or Seinfeld. Or Mel Brooks. Or Robin Williams. etc, etc. Nothing is funny to these people.

AllenS म्हणाले...

Pretty sure that Trump has a larger audience than Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart.

JB71-AZ म्हणाले...

Seems to that be a leftist you've got to have your sense of humor either trimmed back or completely removed with a dull spork.

Without anesthesia.

Mike Sylwester म्हणाले...

The last time I watched President Trump speak to a mass audience, I laughed and laughed and laughed.

He's so funny because he displays utter contempt toward the mass media and toward correct political opinion.

Bill, Republic of Texas म्हणाले...

@Althouse, please tell us you didn’t need Adams to make you aware of this.

I think Althouse is telling us that Adams reads her blog. She's been saying Trump is a stand-up comic for years.

Bill, Republic of Texas म्हणाले...

Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump.

Yet not one of them got themselves elected president.

danoso म्हणाले...

Considering the number of people livestreaming his events -- Trumps audience is much larger than any of those listed.

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES म्हणाले...

One reason McCain's jet was shot down was that he was flying 4000 feet under the lowest height recommended for the mission, making his aircraft more vunerable.

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES म्हणाले...

One reason McCain's jet was shot down was that he was flying 4000 feet under the lowest height recommended for the mission, making his aircraft more vunerable.

Unknown म्हणाले...

> Pretty sure that Trump has a larger audience than Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart.

300 million!

Michael K म्हणाले...


Blogger Left Bank of the Charles said...
Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump.


I assume you are kidding. Nobody is that dumb.

Mike Sylwester म्हणाले...

This past weekend, BookTV broadcast an hour-long interview of political journalist Joel Pollack about his new book Red November. I thought the interview was very interesting.

The interviewer asked Pollack what he thought the most important lesson was from the 2016 election. Pollack said that elite political pundits had been wrong to dismiss Trump as talking absurd nonsense.

Pollack explained that when Trump spoke to mass audiences, he did ramble, but he communicated with the audiences effectively by means of "call and response". Trump would make statements, and then the audience would cheer and laugh. Such communication was very effective.

Kevin म्हणाले...

Half the country rushes in to Leftsplain why what Trump just said wasn't funny.

Because everyone knows Trump is racist.

And if you laugh, that makes you racist too.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Trump definitely has a sense of humor...you just don't like being the butt of the jokes...

Dan in Philly म्हणाले...

Rules for radicals states that ridicule is the most powerful force in politics. When Rock did a joke about a GOP presidential candidate it was cool. When Trump does the same joke about a moderate GOP who dislikes Trump, they have to shut him down and insist it isn't funny or it's inappropriate. They can't cede humor to the right, they'll be toast if that happens.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." -Raphael Sabatini

Nonapod म्हणाले...

Jeff Ross believes Trump has a sense of humor.

However, after roasting Trump on numerous occasions throughout the years, including during private events at Mar-a-Lago, Ross politely disagreed with his friend's assessment of the president's sense of humor. "I think he has a pretty robust sense of humor," he says. "Although he's sensitive to certain things, like his finances."

"I think it's part of Trump's schtick to act like he doesn't think it's funny when in fact he'll call me after or hire me for something else and go, 'You were great, that was so much fun.'"

Skeptical Voter म्हणाले...

I caught the punch line the morning after the 2016 election when I learned it was "Not Hillary". Hoo boy did I laugh to learn that.

Narr म्हणाले...

Trump's contempt for the media and Dims--which he expresses with rough humor, is one of the few reasons I can watch him at all.

What he lacks is wit.

Narr
But wit seldom succeeds in American politics

wildswan म्हणाले...

But why was he telling jokes? Shouldn't he have been burning down Portland?

JAORE म्हणाले...

Quick,name a liberal pol that has a great sense of humor.... I'll wait.

Bill Harshaw म्हणाले...

Trump's great sense of humor is shown in his unrivaled ability to laugh at himself.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Trump understands people easily, so he can poke fun at their weaknesses...or not, if you will respect his talents and join in the fun he accepts anyone. The more the merrier.

5M - Eckstine म्हणाले...

The impeachment was all about the dems not seeing the humor in Trump joking Putin should check on Hillary's emails.

J Melcher म्हणाले...

JAORE said...
"Quick,name a liberal pol that has a great sense of humor.... I'll wait."

Ann Richards.

Oh wait. Ann died. She HAD a great sense of humor.

Molly Ivins.

Oh wait. Molly died. And was a journalist rather than a "pol".

Okay, living politician with a great sense of humor ---

Ted Cruz!

Oh wait ...

Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...

“ Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump”

Maybe. But they didn’t do it nearly as frequently. Adams was talking cumulatively, over the last 4-5 years. Theirs were onesies and twosies. Or very short tours.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Trump is 21st century Groucho.

hstad म्हणाले...

Left Bank of the Charles said..."...Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump...." 9/8/20, 8:41 AM

Do you mean combined? That's a joke! But really, your data seems to be lacking, but you beliefs are right up there with the best of Stalin's.

Let's see - Twitter reports President Trump's Twitter audience at 85 million.

If you don't believe those numbers - Wiki posted the following - "...During the campaign [2016], a total of 323 rallies were held: 186 for the primary season and 137 for the general election with total people attendance of around 1.4M+..." Given the short time frame I'll take Wiki's numbers over whatever your 'Bubble Friends' provide to you.

MD Greene म्हणाले...

Might be a good moment for someone who follows this stuff to assemble a list of the disparaging comments made about Trump by his antagonists. These guys don't pull punches, they don't care about the facts and they aren't funny.

1) Trump is like the guy who makes a joke about how you dress.

2) Trump haters -- and they are haters -- are like the guy who wants to hire a hit man to kill him for saying that.

Subtle nuance, that.

rcocean म्हणाले...

Barbara bush labeled Trump derisively as "The Comedian". So even people who dislike trump understand he can be funny.

rcocean म्हणाले...

BTW, George W. Bush, no matter what his faults had a good sense of humor. Plenty of good jokes and waggish remarks.

Kirk Parker म्हणाले...

Temujin,

One not-so-minor correction in your otherwise exemplary post about the Russians. In the correct wording of one sentence should be:


"It was known that Hillary's home server HAD BEEN wide open..."

Anybody who had been following this issue at all knew that her illegal server had long since been taken offline, and wiped like, with a cloth... so one of the hilarious aspects to me was Trump's use of the foregone conclusion that Russia (and heck, Papua New Guinea if they were interested) already had that stuff.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

I am daily astonished at how ignorant of Trump most Trump critics are. They just make stuff up. If it's about Trump and it's bad, it must be true. And they don't care if they're wrong. They'll just move on to the next made-up complaint without ever pausing to recognize that the last one was bunk and debunked.

Rory म्हणाले...

"It was known that Hillary's home server HAD BEEN wide open..."

Comey's own statement was:

"With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail domain, in its various configurations since 2009, was successfully hacked. But, given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess that we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence."

In other words, the system was so open that any decent hacker could go in and out without leaving a trail.

Jim at म्हणाले...

Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart have all performed to much larger audiences than Donald Trump.

Any particular reason you only listed black comedians?

eddie willers म्हणाले...

Pollack explained that when Trump spoke to mass audiences, he did ramble, but he communicated with the audiences effectively by means of "call and response". Trump would make statements, and then the audience would cheer and laugh. Such communication was very effective.

I was watching one (just before Covid shut them down) where Trump was telling a story of an old buddy who went to see him in the Oval Office who started with, "Mr. President..." and Trump goes, "Bill...we've known each other for thirty years...call me Donald".

"I just can't, Mr. Present".

And Trumps says to the crowd."Nobody calls me Donald anymore.I'd like to hear 'Donald' once in awhile".

And the crowd starts chanting, "Donald, Donald, Donald..."

I almost fell down laughing. So did Donald.

eddie willers म्हणाले...

Pollack explained that when Trump spoke to mass audiences, he did ramble, but he communicated with the audiences effectively by means of "call and response". Trump would make statements, and then the audience would cheer and laugh. Such communication was very effective.

I was watching one (just before Covid shut them down) where Trump was telling a story of an old buddy who went to see him in the Oval Office who started with, "Mr. President..." and Trump goes, "Bill...we've known each other for thirty years...call me Donald".

"I just can't, Mr. Present".

And Trumps says to the crowd."Nobody calls me Donald anymore.I'd like to hear 'Donald' once in awhile".

And the crowd starts chanting, "Donald, Donald, Donald..."

I almost fell down laughing. So did Donald.

gadfly म्हणाले...

So Scott Adams continues to search for Trump excuses. In front of the cameras, Trump supposedly told a Chris Rock joke about John McCain with nary a chuckle and never admitted he told a joke. Even after McCain's death, Trump continued to badmouth the Senator and war hero.

If Adams thinks that makes Trump the greatest comedian ever, his grasp of reality starts and ends with Dilbert.

bbkingfish म्हणाले...

Any great communicator understands his audience, and Trump understands his audience better than they understand themselves.

He learned this act/audience at the feet of Vince McMahon in the '80s. His work with WWF/Wrestlemania was probably Trump's most unalloyed success, and his audience today (and his act) is the same as it was then. Of course, that demographic has grown substantially over three+ decades.

Trump has brought the aura of professional wrestling to politics by playing the role known as "The Heel" in wrestling. There is no denying that his interpretation of the role has been a big success with a certain sub-set of voters.

However, I don't see Trump as a stand-up comedian in the manner of a George Carlin, Richard Prior and the like. To be really successful with that gig, you have to update your material continuously, or your popularity declines.

If you consider Trump's act as a stand-up gig, I think you'd have to compare him to folks like Andrew "Dice" Clay, Professor Irwin Corey, or Judy Tenuta. Funny acts, but they stagnated, and their popularity declined.

Drago म्हणाले...

When I want to understand who is and isn't a great communicator and the reasons behind the success or lack of success, I usually turn to The Poor Man's LLR-lefty ***** gadfly who copies and pastes the thoughts of others on Althouse blog as if they were his/her/xer own and couldn't even get a blog off the ground as well as bbkingfish whose accomplishments include......nothing of note.

It's like listening to LLR-lefty ***** opine on legal matters.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

Night said...
The impeachment was all about the dems not seeing the humor in Trump joking Putin should check on Hillary's emails.
--------------=============
and the ba da bing c/would have been : Putin - here you go tovarisch - здесь вы идете tovarisch

The Godfather म्हणाले...

This is why the Trump campaign, in the last three weeks before Election Day, should run the Ricky Rebel M-A-G-A video, and nothing else, in every major market in every swing State. Hell, run it in California, too! Miracles happen.

I bet even Biden will be dreaming of "M-A-G-A!"

narciso म्हणाले...

more like don rickles,

stevew म्हणाले...

A humorless scold states, demands really, that Trump is not capable of telling a joke. Irony?

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Trump does stand up comedy, with laughtrack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lijzoKtlzSM&feature=youtu.be

Narayanan म्हणाले...

serious flaw in calling Trump a comedian -
comedians only have to perform vocatively -
Trump has to be perform materially -
and he does it with a smile on his face to appreciative watchful audience and beneficiaries

Char Char Binks, Esq. म्हणाले...

"In front of the cameras, Trump supposedly told a Chris Rock joke about John McCain with nary a chuckle and never admitted he told a joke."

A real comedian finishes every joke with "Please laugh."

Michael K म्हणाले...

Drago, I haver to agree on bbkingfish and gadfly.

Not very smart and unawAre of that problem.

boatbuilder म्हणाले...

Trump on those CFC fluorescent lightbulbs that they came up with when they tried to outlaw the incandescent bulb: “I never liked them. They make me look ...orange.”
I don’t care who you are. That’s funny.

RichAndSceptical म्हणाले...

There are 2 comedians that make me laugh out loud: Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Narr said...
Trump's contempt for the media and Dims--which he expresses with rough humor, is one of the few reasons I can watch him at all.

What he lacks is wit.

Narr
But wit seldom succeeds in American politics


That's an interesting point of view. Can you define wit for us, then?