Best political humor this election season
Election season: yes, it can so very often make us want to cry. But it also provides a treasure trove of potentially hilarious material for comedians, satirists, and writers everywhere. Here's what we've found so far that will (hopefully) make you laugh.
- Have a valentine who's interested in politics? Go to bemycandidate.com for all of your politically-motivated, often inappropriate, Valentine's Day card needs (see above). Their motto? "Make Valentine's Day Great Again."
- NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" released a show Saturday that included some awesomely clever commentary on the presidential candidates. When referring to Trump's recent New Hampshire victory, host Peter Sagal quipped, "We are going to start the show with the Republican primary for the same reason you would start a conversation with the news that the house is on fire. In New Hampshire Donald Trump saw his shadow, and now we have at least eight more weeks of Donald Trump." Sagal later goes on to joke about the primary's results for the D.N.C.: "Bernie Sanders completely dominated the Democratic primary with the overwhelming support of young people while old people went for Hillary Clinton. This is because unlike old people, young people do not know what old people, like Bernie Sanders, are like. Do you know what it's like, guys, to watch your grandfather eat? Imagine that running the country." Yeah, it's worth a listen. The quotes I pulled are from the show's first segment, "Who's Bill This Time." It's also worth checking out NPR's online section "Politics & Pop Culture," which gives us a series of stories that are both informative and amusing.
- Saturday Night Live consistently puts out political material. Donald Trump even hosted the fourth episode of the current season, which came out in November, so that one might be worth the watch. The episode that Larry David hosted a couple of weeks ago features a sketch with Bernie Sanders and, although it's a little outdated, an episode from the fall gives us a highly entertaining, faux Democratic debate.
- The New Yorker runs a fantastic series called The Borowitz Report, where writer Andy Borowitz's coins some hilarious headlines. "Christie Quits Race to Focus on Tormenting Rubio," inspired by the contention between the two politicians during the eighth G.O.P. debate, is one piece that'll give you a chuckle. Borowitz is a pretty prolific writer, so new material comes up regularly; it's not too different from what you might find on The Onion.
- Aaaaaand speaking of that lovely layered vegetable (Q: How is an onion like like an ogre? A: They both have LAYERS.), the well-known site is also putting out funny material in their "Politics" section. This piece, listing partly made-up partly based-in-reality campaign bloopers, is one of my personal favorites.