I’ve been a huge fan of comedy my entire life. And, for some weird reason, I’ve been a fan of politics from a very young age as well.
This might stem from the fact that, when I was 8 or 9 years old, my Mom let me stay up LAAAAAATE to watch a little bit of Saturday Night Live, where I first watched Chevy Chase lampoon President Ford falling down, based on a real-life incident.
Making fun of the President was a regular thing in comedy, because the best comedy punches UP at power, and nobody is more powerful than the President.
And no President was exempt from it.
After Ford, Jimmy Carter got joked on about his farmer roots and his brother Billy’s battles with alcohol. Reagan got mocked relentlessly for his age, his memory, Iran-Contra, and his highly recognizable voice. Kids went to school trying to imitate him. Johnny Carson joked about him constantly.
George H.W. Bush got roasted for “Read my lips, no new taxes.”
Bill Clinton endured years of blowjob jokes.
Hell, newspapers in the 1700s called John Adams a “hermaphroditical character.” Abraham Lincoln was called “a well-meaning baboon” and “an idiot.”
Mocking Presidents is as American as apple pie.
But you almost never heard those Presidents publicly whine about it.
Not until trump.
Or as I like to call him, trumplethinskin.
He imagines there is some vast conspiracy to unfairly target him for ridicule, and suddenly millions of red-hatted, cult-brained snowflakes forgot about every Reagan joke, every Bush joke, every Clinton joke.
The “fuck your feelings” crowd suddenly got their panties in a bunch because their orange-hued lord and savior got his fee-fees hurt.
The guy who had a cruel nickname for EVERYONE can dish it out all day long, but completely falls apart the second somebody mocks him back.
The guy who mocked cancer-stricken Joe Biden with comments like, “If you feel sorry for him, don’t feel so sorry because he’s vicious,” somehow expects sympathy because Stephen Colbert hurt his feelings?
Give me a fucking break.
After 11 years, many of them spent as the number one late night host, Colbert aired his final episode last night after CBS and Paramount cowardly sacrificed him to appease the perpetually butthurt victim in chief.
And make no mistake, this absolutely matters.
Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. Humor has always been one of the sharpest weapons against authoritarianism because laughter strips these people of their aura of power and legitimacy.
That’s why fascists hate comedians.
And trump REALLY hates comedians.
I’m old enough to remember when he bitched nonstop about Saturday Night Live roasting him and threatened to revoke their license.
Now he’s got FCC Chairman and MAGA cultist Brendan Carr reviewing ABC’s license because Jimmy Kimmel hurt his feelings too.
This is what fragile authoritarianism looks like.
If trump didn’t want to be ridiculed, maybe he should have stayed the fuck out of politics. Or maybe try being less ridiculous.
Maybe stop bragging every five seconds.
Maybe stop insisting that nobody knows more about windmills, trade, military strategy, healthcare, AI, or literally every other subject on Earth than you do.
Maybe stop surrounding yourself with a junk drawer of cabinet officials who praise you like you’re some American Kim Jong Un.
Because let’s be honest: trump is a walking punchline.
The fake hair.
The fake tan.
The accordion hands.
The bizarre dancing.
The nonstop bragging.
The pathological lying.
The windmills-cause-cancer nonsense.
The “you need ID to buy groceries” stupidity.
The man is comedy gold whether comedians write jokes about him or not.
CBS and Paramount should live to regret this weak, short-sighted decision.
Because here’s the thing about appeasing bullies: they are NEVER satisfied.
trump interprets surrender as validation. He thinks Colbert being sacrificed proves he was right all along.
And now every other media company is watching this unfold and asking themselves the same dangerous question:
“Should we cave too?”
Hell no.
In fact, Paramount should lose subscribers immediately.
Seriously, fuck CBS and Paramount.
They already damaged 60 Minutes. They gutted the credibility and independence of CBS News. So honestly, who the hell needs them anymore?
And Stephen Colbert himself is a gem, which probably infuriates trump even more.
Colbert is kind. Courageous. Talented as hell, yet humble about it. He genuinely seems to care about Americans in particular and humanity in general, which is the polar opposite of everything trump represents.
People like Colbert don’t disappear because some weak executives panic and cave to pressure. He’ll land somewhere else, and wherever that is will instantly become must-watch television.
And don’t stop at canceling subscriptions.
Go after the sponsors.
Whichever corporations continue funding networks that surrender to authoritarian pressure should be publicly shamed until they stop.
Because to every corporation, it’s always about the money.
And THAT is no laughing matter.
If you’re tired of watching corporate media cave to bullies and billionaires, support independent voices who refuse to bend the knee.
That’s what this Substack is. No corporate masters. No billionaire owners. Just me, telling the truth exactly the way I see it.
If you value that, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today. Seriously. It helps more than you know.
What comedian or late night host do you think trump fears the most, and why?
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