The insufferably sanctimonious Jimmy Kimmel, the former “Man Show” co-host whose trouser pockets women were frequently asked to fondle in exchange for time on camera, delights in descending into politics — or I guess ascending into politics, depending on how you view his style of comedy.
On Monday night’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the host introduced a video comparing the way former President Barack Obama announced the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden with the way President Donald Trump announced the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Doubtless meant to mock Trump by contrasting his free-wheeling speaking style with Obama’s far more measured, restrained style, the video backfired.
Instead of depicting a refined Obama in comparison with an uncouth Trump, the video showcased a morally resolute, passionately engaged Trump who was thrilled to have bagged an evil mastermind and contrasted that image against a pathologically disengaged, preeningly anodyne Obama who seemed ambivalent to the death of America’s top enemy.
What’s even better is that the Kimmel clip is legitimately funny — thanks 100 percent to Trump’s personality and speaking style — so people want to watch the entire video and pass it around as well.
The mashup (as the kids call these things) begins with Obama announcing in a somber tone, “The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden.”
It then quickly cuts to Trump elongating al-Baghdadi’s name as he bluntly proclaims the terrorist leader’s demise. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”
Cutting back to his predecessor, we hear a potentially somnambulant Obama say, “The United States launched a targeted operation against that compound.”
Trump immediately follows, saying, “They did a lot of shooting, and they did a lot of blasting, even not going through the front door. You know, you would think you go through the door. If you’re a normal person, you say, ‘Knock, knock. May I come in?’”
The audience howls.
Back to Obama (now sounding like he’s resting comfortably on a Serta Perfect mattress): “After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”
“He died like a dog,” Trump pronounces.
Bigger howls from the audience.
“Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort,” Obama says.
“A beautiful dog, a talented dog,” Trumps says, now talking about war dog Conan, who was injured helping take down al-Baghdadi.
Obama again: “We give thanks to the men who carried out this operation.”
“And I don’t get any credit for this, but that’s OK. I never do. But here we are,” Trump says.
Obama then finally says, “May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America,” after which Trump says, “And I’m writing a book! I think I wrote 12 books. All did very well.”
And the video wraps as the audience tries to recover its composure.
Kimmel and company surely hoped the piece would show Trump to be a buffoon and Obama a statesman. But they miscalculated.
Instead, Trump came off as a confident, unapologetic protector of the republic who’s also probably pretty fun to trade stories with at a bar.
Obama, on the other hand, didn’t sound presidential so much as he sounded like he could be lip-syncing to a recording made under the influence of some primo Colorado medical marijuana (probably a Hawaiian sativa hybrid). He was aloof. Reserving judgment. Too superior to cheer.
Not only did Trump come out of the clip looking markedly better than Obama, but everything Trump said would resonate with traditional Americans, while everything Obama said would utterly fail to engage those same people.
Trump’s blunt pronunciation about al-Baghdadi’s death, followed by his enthusiastic description of the firefight, followed by his New York accented “like a dog” description of al-Bagdhadi’s death — all resonated with the American people on a visceral level.
He came across as an American who loves a winner, won’t tolerate a loser and finds the thought of losing hateful (thanks, George S. Patton).
Obama came across as little more than a functionary, pronouncing the death of an evil man whose fate hardly concerns him. Walter Cronkite would have had more discernible emotion in his voice than Obama.
All of that is to say that Kimmel’s clip inadvertently highlighted the extreme differences between Trump and Obama and did so in a way that will resonate with Americans everywhere in the current president’s favor.
Kimmel accidentally reminded us what it felt like to have a president leading from behind and to live in a world where America was on the decline. That’s a feeling everyone needs to recall going into the 2020 presidential election.
No comments:
Post a Comment