Trump’s good for a laugh
Life in the White House is providing comic fodder for Stephen Colbert’s new animated series, writes Dominic Corry
IF THERE’S one entertainer whose career has unquestionably benefited from Donald Trump’s presidency, it’s Stephen Colbert.
After leaving behind The Colbert Report to replace David Letterman on The Late Show, Colbert didn’t exactly burst out of the gate, ratings-wise, when the new show premiered in September 2015.
But as the prospect of Donald Trump being elected gathered steam and then came to pass, Colbert began to dominate the conversation and the ratings by adopting the role of Truth Teller In Chief, holding Trump to account with his trademark fearlessness and providing a critical outlet for the bewildered frustration bubbling throughout America, and the world.
Although peers like Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee and John Oliver have all since risen to the standard set by Colbert, he continues to be the most vocal and beloved member of the Resistance.
That status has now led to Colbert co-creating a satirical, animated series about Trump called Our Cartoon President, which premieres on SoHo tomorrow at 10pm.
Colbert is highly cognisant of the fact that the Trump era has been a boon for his comedy — and indeed he often jokes about that very fact — but you very much get the sense that he’d gladly give it all up if that meant no more Trump.
“Here’s the thing: I love my country more than I love a good joke,” he tells TimeOut. “I think the great benefit comedically is how uncontrolled his communication with the world is and that he does it so often that you always have fresh material. But I don’t want to describe that as a good thing. I would happily do with less.”
The infamously lengthy process of animating a TV show means that Our Cartoon President is providing a more character-centric take on life behind the scenes at the White House, and will focus less on the minute-to-minute roller coaster of insanity that informs Colbert’s nightly talk show.
“Many are the day, at 5.15pm, we have to throw away, like, no shit, like, 10 minutes of monologue and just push the show back and rewrite it in the moment,” say Colbert.
“But the purpose of [ Our Cartoon President] is not to respond to the references of today’s news cycle. It’s about what’s going on behind the doors of the most important house in the world with the most important man in the world. The interpersonal relationships of the people. I think Michael Wolff stole all 10 of our episodes to write that damn book of his [ Fire and Fury].”
Our Cartoon President makes a real meal of the various figures that surround Trump in the White House, many of whom are members of his family.
“The great thing about the Trump administration is whatever you imagine, you’re right,” adds Colbert. “So we treat this like it’s a documentary crew that’s able to go into the White House.”
Does Colbert have any concerns that making an animated series about Trump may help normalise the President?
“No,” he says without hesitation. “I don’t think we’re complimenting him by making a cartoon out of him. And I don’t think there’s anything normal about his behaviour as a cartoon. And I think that the subjects we’re picking are dark enough that they reflect the stakes of truly cartoonish behaviour in the actual 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”
Practically the whole world is feeling Trump fatigue at this point, so it’s safe to assume that Colbert must be getting pretty sick of him, considering how Trump-centric his life must be?
“I don’t want to hang out with him. But he’s the President. There’s no escaping him. It’s like having oxygen fatigue. You’re in a democracy, and he’s the President. That’s why I like doing the comedy. It keeps me from being fatigued. People ask me, ‘How do you, like, deal with the news every day? Does it wear on you?’ and I’m, like,‘Yeah, but I have this great thing where I get to go out to the audience and we have this sort of shared catharsis to laugh at it’. If I didn’t get to do the show, I’d be much more tired of the president, but it keeps it fresh to be able to laugh at the devil.”