THE JOKE’S ON US
Why political humour so often falls flat.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a late New Year’s resolution this week: to abstain from telling jokes in public.
Now, this is one promise I’m not sure we want any politician to keep.
For those who missed it, Trudeau’s new, no-humour policy is a result of an encounter at an Edmonton town-hall session, when he ( jokingly) corrected one of his questioners — a woman who used the word “mankind.” The prime minister waved her off: “We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind. It’s more inclusive.”
Reaction was viral, even global, and in some cases, hilarious. Lisa Raitt, deputy leader of the Conservatives, exhorted Trudeau to “people up” while she was lambasting him in the Commons. There were also suggestions to change the names of provinces (Peopletoba) or former CBC-TV anchors.
“So I should stay with MANSbridge?” Peter Mansbridge asked on Twitter after Trudeau apologized — because, yes, the prime minister had to eat those words.
“I made a dumb joke a few days ago that seems to have gone a little viral in the room, on the peoplekind comment,” Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday. “It played well in the room and in context. Out of context, it doesn’t play so well and it’s a little reminder that I shouldn’t be making jokes even when I think they’re funny.”
Trudeau said he should have known better, since he has an unfortunate track record with jokes made in public. I had to ask his office this week for a little reminder of Trudeau humour that bombed — and the reply came swiftly (and humbly). Two cases in particular were cited. One was his off-the-cuff remark in 2014 about why Canada should be focused more on humanitarian aid, rather than always favouring a military option, or, as he put it: “trying to whip out our CF-18s and show them how big they are.” The other was one uttered almost exactly four years ago, in fact, right around the time of the last Winter Olympics. Remember it? Appearing on the popular Quebec TV show Tout le monde en parle, Trudeau suggested that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine might be related to its bad showing in hockey during the Sochi Olympics.
Yes, well, those two examples are a pretty strong argument against Trudeau committing humour in public in future. So is the “peoplekind” remark, come to think of it.
But I can’t help but feel a little regret for yet another move to strip more life out of politics. It can be a grim, earnest business, as most know, and a little bit of comedy here and there is often welcome.
It’s also risky, though, which is why most politicians are more funny in private than they are in public. Stephen Harper, believe it or not, was exactly one of those people. Trudeau is more funny and sarcastic than his public appearances (or those unfortunate jokes) would suggest. Very few prime ministers have made jokes successfully — it’s just far too easy for someone to take offence. Jean Chrétien seemed to get away with more humour than others; I’m not entirely sure I know why.
Daniel Litt, a former joke-writer for Barack Obama, released a book last year and did some interviews and articles about the nature of humour — not just as it was practised by his old boss but by the current occupant of the White House, too. Litt noticed something interesting:
“Donald Trump almost never laughs,” he wrote in a New York Times piece headlined: “Is Nothing Funny, Mr. President?” As Litt explained: “The leader of the free world frequently displays a tight-lipped smile, but mirth-wise, that is as far as he will go.”
Lots of politicians use safe, even lame jokes to build bridges, Litt said, but as he saw it, Trump uses humour to establish his dominance over his listeners or rivals: “He jeers. He mocks. His goal is to insult, rather than to entertain,” Litt wrote.
I worry that this is the only kind of humour that may be safe in the current political climate — nasty stuff, which ultimately will just blow up any kind of bridges between citizens and politicians.
Oddly enough, Trump’s brand of politics has reenergized the political-satire business, notably on Saturday Night Live, but all over the internet, too. Trump may be no comedian, but the people who play him on TV are pretty funny. American political cartoons seem to be enjoying a revival, too.
That’s where we’re at, I guess. Political comedy, in 2018, has to be left to the professionals, while the politicians themselves play the straight man. Or is that straight “people?” sdelacourt@bell.net