How far is too far with Melania jokes?
First lady will not be immune to hosts’ barbs
Any president provides endless material to late-night television hosts — but president-elect Donald Trump is already a special case. All bets are off for any boundaries, from the straightforward (Seth Meyers called him “a racist and a liar”) to the creative (Samantha Bee dubbed him a “crotch-fondling slab of rancid meat loaf.”)
Since the election, late-night comedians have doubled down on their Trump content, which included many jokes tinged with actual concern for America. Some hosts also appear to be ramping up their shots at Trump’s wife, Melania. While comedians often incorporate presidential spouses in their material, will the vitriol toward Trump also extend to the first lady? Just how far will late-night hosts go with Melania jokes?
Generally, comedians tread carefully around the first family, especially if it’s clear they didn’t sign up for life in the spotlight. “I don’t like Barbara Bush jokes,” former Tonight Show host Jay Leno told The Deseret News in 1992, in the last year of George H.W. Bush’s presidency. “She just happens to be a nice woman married to someone in the public eye.” Leno added that his predecessor, Johnny Carson, also would never target an elected official’s wife — “unless it’s Nancy Reagan, who’s running the government.”
Melania couldn’t be further from a political spouse, as she mostly stayed off the campaign trail to stay home with her 10-year-old son, Barron. But she provided fodder for comedy at her most significant appearance: her controversial speech at the Republican National Convention in July, when it was revealed several passages were cribbed from a Michelle Obama speech.
(The incident prompted Stephen Colbert to invite actress Laura Benanti on his show to impersonate Melania.)
The Melania late-night jokes were plentiful this past week, and mostly fall into three categories: The plagiarism incident; how her immense wealth makes her out of touch; and the speculation that she is repulsed by her husband. A sample:
Jimmy Kimmel: “Poor Melania, I’ve been thinking about her a lot today. She had it made. Except for the part where Donald Trump climbed on top of her between four and seven times a month, she had it made.”
Meyers: “According to new research, with a guided meditation process called erotic hypnosis, it may be possible to experience a ‘touch-free’ orgasm. ‘Let’s try it,’ said Melania.”
Bee, on Trump’s speech in which he said hairspray in a sealed apartment couldn’t affect the ozone layer: “I don’t know what’s more disturbing, that he believes what he’s saying or that his apartment is sealed. Probably because he caught Melania trying to escape.”
Four hosts — Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden and Trevor Noah — all did virtually the same bit about Melania and Michelle Obama’s meeting at the White House last week, with Melania repeating the first lady’s phrases. (Kimmel: “It went something like this: Michelle said, ‘Welcome to the White House, Mrs. Trump,’ and Melania said, ‘Welcome to the White House, Mrs. Trump.’”)
It’s a stark contrast to some of the mild jabs over the years about Michelle Obama, (Fallon: “A year ago, Michelle Obama started her campaign to end childhood obesity called ‘Let’s Move.’ I think Americans have been very clear in their answer: ‘No.’”) Similarly, in early 2000s, comedians made fun of George W. Bush through his wife, Laura Bush. Jay Leno: “First Lady Laura Bush will deliver a speech about the joys of reading. And then, President Bush will give the rebuttal.”
The first lady who received harshest jokes was, as it happens, Hillary Clinton. Throughout Bill Clinton’s years in the 1990s, topics ranged from the Whitewater real estate scandal (Letterman: “[Hillary] made a beautiful holiday wreath out of shredded Whitewater documents.”), to her husband’s infidelity (Leno: “She said Bill and her had a long stretch in their marriage where he was faithful. I think it was called the honeymoon.”), to their relationship (O’Brien: “Hillary Clinton testified before Ken Starr ... reportedly, this time she broke down and admitted to having a sexual relationship with President Clinton.”)
Which way will Melania fall? Although the late-night hosts might be a bit preoccupied with jokes about Donald Trump, it’s clear they won’t hold back on her, regardless of how they treated other first ladies.
As Leno said in 2002 when The Washington Post asked him why he went after Hillary Clinton but held back on Laura Bush, he explained it in a simple phrase: “They’re two different people.”