Donald Trump Vs Comedy: His Biggest Fights With Funny People
It's a bit fish-in-a-barrel at this stage, but Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump impression has wound up the president again to the extent that Trump has wondered aloud whether there isn't some kind of "retribution" which could be meted out to these awful, awful people.
"You all see why I gotta fake this emergency, right? I have to because I want to," Baldwin's Trump said. "It’s really simple. We have a problem. Drugs are coming into this country through no wall. Wall works, wall makes safe. You don’t have to be smart to understand that - in fact it’s even easier to understand if you’re not that smart."
Trump did not find that funny.
Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC! Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2019
This isn't the first time Trump has kicked off at Saturday Night Live. In his estimation it's "no longer funny, [with] no talent or charm" since it started sticking the boot into him and his administration, and it's spread to the rest of his family too: see that that tweet in which Don Jr appeared to suggest he thought the 'n' in SNL meant 'and'.
In fact, Trump has a massive problem with comedians per se. He mourned the death of Robin Williams in 2014, and noted that he was "one of the only comedians to make me laugh" - that's despite Williams describing Trump as "a man who plays Monopoly with real buildings... a scary man" and comparing his ownership of beauty pageants to American footballer and convicted animal abuser and dogfight-organiser Michael Vick owning pet stores in a 2012 stand-up routine - but generally he's not a fan. Here are his biggest bust-ups with comedians.
Michelle Wolf
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a failure last year, but this year was an embarrassment to everyone associated with it. The filthy “comedian” totally bombed (couldn’t even deliver her lines-much like the Seth Meyers weak performance). Put Dinner to rest, or start over!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018
So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
Wolf's monologue at the 2018 White House correspondents' dinner took particular aim at Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders. "I think she's very resourceful," Wolf said. "She burns facts, and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like maybe she's born with it, maybe it's lies. It's probably lies." Trump hit the roof, and declared the correspondents' dinner, "DEAD as we know it".
Jerry Seinfeld
"@kanikagahlaut: Can anyone explain why @JerrySeinfeld is so unfunny on twitter and @realDonaldTrump is so funny?" Jerry is highly overrated
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2013
Trump does seem like more of a Home Improvement kind of guy.
Jay Leno
"@JesseGunPlayJay: @realDonaldTrump You're a pussy shut up and stop crying @jayleno show is funny" No, Jay is dumb as a rock-gets outplayed
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2013
To be fair, he's not wrong.
Rosie O'Donnell
#badratings @Rosie you will never make it. You are not funny or talented.
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2011
This is another one with a big backstory. The nub of it is that back in 2006, O'Donnell criticised Trump as being "not a self-made man" and a "snake oil salesman" who had gone bankrupt. Trump said that she was, "a woman out of control". "I'll most likely sue her for making those false statements, and it'll be fun," Trump went on. "Rosie's a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie."
Barack Obama
The 2011 White House correspondents' dinner, at which Obama gave Trump a roasting over the racist 'birther' conspiracy theory Trump pushed claiming Obama was born in Kenya, is popularly credited with inspiring Trump's run to the presidency. "I’m fine with this stuff," Trump told reporters as he arrived at the party, and he was fairly sanguine about the jabs Obama made about the birther movement's dissipation: "[Trump] can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter - like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?" Trump said afterwards that he had "a great time". "I was actually so honoured. And honestly, he delivered them well."
Seth Meyers
Meyers followed Obama that night, and didn't go down quite as well with Trump after a string of one-liners, the best of which being: "Donald Trump said recently he's got a great relationship with 'the blacks'. Unless the Blacks are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken." Trump said he put in a "weak performance" and suggested he stuttered. He didn't stutter.
Jon Stewart
Just watched Jon Stewart(?) jumping up and down and screaming like a madman - nothing funny or smart, just loud and obnoxious, a pushy dope!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2013
This one has a long tail, and started when Trump suddenly started referring to Stewart as Jonathan Leibowitz, a name Stewart stopped using after his parents' divorce and his estrangement from his dad. "I promise you, I’m much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz, I mean Jon Stewart, who by the way is totally overrated," Trump began in a 2013 tweet-blizzard, before calling Stewart "overrated" and "a phony", and suggesting he "should be proud of his heritage".
Stewart immediately saw what Trump meant. "Oh, I think this guy is trying to let people know I’m a Jew... It would be funny if it wasn’t so toxically f***ing crude and horrible," Stewart recalled in a 2016 stand-up bit. So, he tweeted back that Trump's real name was F***face Von Clownstick. Trump replied a few days later: "Little Jon Stewart is a pussy."
F***face Von Clownstick
What’s funny about the name “F**kface Von Clownstick” -- it was not coined by Jon Leibowitz-- he stole it from some moron on twitter.
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2013
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