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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Once again, we see the difference in regimes.
Obama used to attend these dinners, and he used them as opportunities to join in the fun. He roasted everybody. Everybody. Democrats, Republicans, and the press alike. Nobody emerged unscathed from the annual routine from the Comedian-in-Chief.
In fact, according to one of Trump's own campaign spokespeople during his Presidential campaign, seeking revenge for being on the receiving end of one of Obama's roasts was his entire motivation for pursuing the Presidency.
Obama's routine never failed to win the crowd, and he always walked away from those dinners looking like he's on top of the world. This is because he played along, took the barbs, and made several of his own. He played the game.
Trump has a much thinner skin, and his party has followed suit. Trump's solution to the prospect of the Correspondent's Dinner is to take his ball and go home because they're making fun of him. It says a lot for how things have changed that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is being considered noteworthy and commendable merely for not throwing a piss-baby tantrum and storming out when Michelle Wolf made fun of her.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I've been called an elite because I go to grad school.
I remember that - Obama was making fun of Trump over his racist birther conspiracy theories. Of course Trump couldn't take the joke.
That's a thing with bullies. They like making fun of and insulting other people, but can't stand jokes aimed at them.
edited 29th Apr '18 11:10:42 AM by Raptorslash
Republican ideology is closely linked with many tenets of Toxic Masculinity, where a man's pride and ego must constantly be proven and every interaction is taken as a challenge to your manhood.
To a Republican, a Trigger Warning is a subject matter that might literally get you shot for the sake of preserving someone's ego.
edited 29th Apr '18 11:35:15 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Comedy is also, by nature, subversive. The basic setup of a joke, is to take expectations and completely subvert them in some way.
This guy's reddit response
to a similar question puts it better than I can.
That's why 99% of conservative comedy, from youtube to twitter to Rush Limbaugh, is just about making fun of liberals as people. Look at how they dress, what they eat, the words they use. That's low-hanging fruit, but if you try to ridicule progressive causes it comes off as just a defense of the power structures. Which by definition is not subversive.
edited 29th Apr '18 12:06:53 PM by megaeliz
The irony inherent in this is that Obama's approach is a much more effective way of protecting one's ego and pride- to be unfazed by mockery, and respond to it with a smile projects considerably more confidence and than visibly letting it get to you.
Letting something like that provoke a sincere emotional reaction serves as evidence that the criticism is valid, while shrugging it off suggests that it's so off-base that it's not even worth taking seriously.
Trump is also a walking stereotype of what Old Money families think New Money families are like.
Here's the thing. There are two types of rich people: Old Money and New Money. And they are not equal.
Trump is the worst New Money stereotypes that both ordinary people and Old Money people have. He is not accepted by the Old Money elite and never will be. He knows this; that's why he rants about tearing down the 'elite' and 'draining the swamp' so much. He's lashing out at all those rich people who look down on him.
I heard that before, but I'm not convinced. The reason why is because the roast in question (2011, I think) was when Obama said Trump would never, ever be president. The reason Obama said that is because everyone knew that Trump was planning to run for president. Nobody was certain which election he'd run in, but it was common knowledge by then that Trump desperately wanted to run for president.
What the Obama roasting probably did was solidify a hatred of Obama and solidify which year Trump would run for president in. What it's very unlikely to have done is made Trump want to run for president. If that was true, Obama would have had no reason to roast him for it in the first place because there would have been no existing knowledge of Trump's desire to mock.
edited 29th Apr '18 12:38:51 PM by Wyldchyld
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.So, who would qualify as "Old Money" in America, I wonder?
I know during the Victorian Age, the Old Money, tended to look down on the newly wealthy industrialists and Oil Barons, for their ostentatious displays of wealth and tasteless, but I'm not sure what that would look like today.
edited 29th Apr '18 12:42:45 PM by megaeliz
@Gilphon I totally agree, but I think to many conservatives seeing someone NOT fighting back is a sign of weakness and acting too nice. Even if Obama was unfazed, it could be taken as him acting like a doormat and just taking the abuse.
Honestly, I think Trumps base would like him less if he actually did have thick skin.

> if you're being regularly mocked, there's probably a reason
Outside of people be dicks yeah
have a listen and have a link to my discord server