Opinion | Is the Trump Threat Too Serious for Humor? – The New York Times
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To the Editor:
Re “I’ve Told My Last Trump Joke,” by David Kamp (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 24):
I encourage Mr. Kamp to keep telling Donald Trump jokes. Mr. Trump is a serious threat to American democracy and the institutions of a pluralistic society, so I understand Mr. Kamp’s fear that jokes make the danger seem trivial.
However, alongside every joke aimed at deflating Mr. Trump stands the fact that 74 million American citizens voted for him in 2020, and even more may vote for him and autocracy in 2024. Sobering facts, yes, but humor can bring comfort to those who oppose Mr. Trump and unite us in opposition as it reminds us not only of the danger of handing such a self-absorbed mediocrity power but also that he can be brought low and defeated.
Certainly, Mr. Kamp needs better jokes than the sophomoric epithet “short-fingered vulgarian,” which merely places the comic on the same immature level as Mr. Trump. But jokes that remind us of his disdain for democracy, pluralism and decency can be a powerful weapon against Mr. Trump’s campaign.
No joke will turn MAGA supporters against their messiah, but good ones will remind the rest of us why we need to vote and work for the re-election of President Biden.
Tony Speranza
Washington
To the Editor:
Just after watching the “Saturday Night Live” cold open with James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump impression and not laughing once, I read David Kamp’s essay. He expressed my feelings in his eloquent words.
It is definitely time to stop making Trump jokes. There is no place for humor about him as we face what lies ahead in these next months.
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