WHY AMERICAN POLITICS IS BETTER THAN MOST TV SHOWS
You can say what you like about Donald Trump’s presidency. Truth is, American politics has never been more pull-upyour-seat entertaining. Porn stars, Playboy models, Russian conspiracies and tomato-faced Trump’s constant denials. It’s a smorgasbord of scandal and we can’t wait to gorge ourselves on the juicy details.
Every day is a new episode in a seemingly endless season of power plays, lust and betrayals. How can our favourite television dramas compete?
Things reach an, ahem, climax with the upcoming US midterms. On Nov. 6, American voters will be asked to choose 35 senators, 36 state governors and the 435 members of the House of Representatives. History says the Republicans will lose a bunch of seats – possibly as many as 30. The Democrats only need 24 to take control of the House of Reps – and if that happens, Trump will struggle to get much done during the two remaining years of his presidency. It’s potentially a massive game-changing shift to rival even the twistiest of TV series.
For those who eat up anything Trump like it’s a big bag of saltedcaramel popcorn, you’re in luck. There are two tasty Trump-flavoured shows which will have you drooling like Homer Simpson in anticipation. Mmm … scandalicious.
First up, is Season 3B of cracking political documentary The Circus, which launches on Sept. 17 on Stan. Political experts John Heilemann, Mark Mckinnon (the dude in the cowboy hat) and Alex Wagner chew the fat about American politics like it’s a sport. And for them, I guess it is. Earlier in the season, they hit Moscow to investigate all things Trump and Russia, and they later reported on the Stormy Daniels lawsuit. This time, they’re all over the midterms. Then there is The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, which stars Tom Arnold and lands Sept. 19 on SBS Viceland. You might remember Arnold from Roseanne, True Lies and for lasting two weeks on I’m a Celebrity…get Me Out of Here! Arnold goes full conspiracy theorist in search of outtakes from Trump’s The Apprentice days, which reportedly show him using the n-word. Will he find them? This is likely a case of the journey being better than the destination. But like Trump’s presidency itself, we can’t help but buckle up and go along for the ride.
“American politics has never been more entertaining”