News Satire Roundup: July 1st

Sunday, July 1 – No surprise, we looked at Justice Kennedy’s resignation and all that goes along with that.  John particularly mentioned the Democrats’ very limited options, most likely going to their typical game plan of “Hope Susan Collins Flips and Be Disappointed When She Doesn’t!”  Cory Booker’s point about the ongoing Mueller investigation, which could very well involve the Supreme Court after its conclusion, was extremely valid.  Amusing And Now This of Canadian curlers politely discussing strategy with each other, and then it was onto the main story:  gene editing.  John emphasized that the field has room for both stunning breakthroughs and catastrophic mistakes, and he also highlighted that research doesn’t move nearly as fast as the general public thinks.  Bonus points for the cautionary tale on Australia’s invasive cane toads and the documentary on a guy who makes it his life’s mission to run over as many as he can.

The Daily Show is off this week and next week – I’m sure Trevor will be bummed to have missed covering the “second Civil War,” and I can only imagine all that might happen before the show comes back, as we’re way past the days where a quick recap of recent news is possible.

So, I just want to take a little time to commend Trevor’s Trump impression.  Every comedian and late-night host out there has one, of course, and Trevor’s is far from accurate in terms of what Trump physically sounds like.  And yet, I love it, first for its general humor and second because it does actually capture something innately Trumpian.

Trevor’s Trump impression often casts Trump as an angry/clueless toddler, with Mike Pence, his cabinet, and members of Congress variously playing his beleaguered parents.  There’s something satisfying about this, both because it exemplifies how petty Trump frequently is and because we all know Trump throws tantrums when he feels he’s being laughed at.  However, at the same time, this childish impression doesn’t dismiss the threat Trump poses.  After all, this toddler a) is super racist, b) has access to nuclear codes, and c) has millions of supporters who believe anything he tells them.  And that’s scary.

And even though I’ve heard other impressions that do a better job with Trump’s accent and tone of voice, Trevor does a nice job mimicking the cadence and vocal dynamics of Trump’s speech.  The way he’ll rapidly crescendo in a middle of a sentence – “…SO MANY MUSLIMS!” – or repeat little tags to his audience – “wait’ll you see it, folks.”  Despite the imperfections in imitating his voice, this is very recognizably Trump.

As a little mini-commendation, I’ll also add my love for Trevor’s “truth Trump,” his impression of the moments when Trump seemingly tells the truth by accident.  It’s such an odd quirk of the president (although, one which makes the whole “millions of supporters who believe anything he tells them” part even scarier,) and I like that Trevor notices and highlights it.