I still fail to see Donald Trump as a serious candidate for the American presidentship and I feel quite sorry for the people who do. His over-the-top attitude towards Mexicans, his hostility towards women and his blatantly retarded remarks are in no way convincing to me. It really looks like it's all an act, a staged performance where the thin line between fiction and reality is crossed many times without explaining which is which. It reminds me of some of the acts that Andy Kaufman pulled off. Very little people actually knew if the late Kaufman was serious or not and he seemed to enjoy that confusion a lot. In fact, even today people don't really know whether the actor who played Latka in Taxi is actually dead or not.
Both Trump and Kaufman have been active in another sector where the line between reality and fantasy is often crossed: professional wrestling. In the eighties, Kaufman shocked the world by entering a feud with Jerry - The King - Lawler. Being the first inter-gender champion, Kaufman presented a pretty sexist character, fighting dirty with female wrestlers and actresses who are nowadays called 'diva's'. Wrestling is mainly known for that 'what-is-real-and-what-is-not' atmosphere. They even have a name for it: 'Kayfabe'. Very few wrestlers and other personnel from WWE, TNA, ROH or whatever promotion will talk about it, in an attempt to keep the magic real.
Coincidently, Donald Trump has also been active in the world of wrestling. He feuded with Vince McMahon, the owner of WWE, on multiple occasions, even buying Monday Night Raw a couple of years ago. WrestleMania IV and V were presented live from Trump's Atlantic City casino. Trump also entered the ring, only to be bodyslammed by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, but still. The guy has a lot of history with WWE/WWF. Of course, being the billionaires they are, McMahon and Trump are close friends. Every wrestling fan knows that McMahon can come
up with a massive storyline, leaving everyone involved confused about the whole thing.
Of course, I don't see Trump as a comedian, on the contrary. I see Trump as an obnoxious, over-the-top piece of shit, wealthy asshole who combs his hair with used toilet paper because that saves money. No, I don't want him to be the president of the USA but I've got absolutely nothing to say in that, living in Belgium and all. In fact, if he does become president, I think it's safe to declare the USA officially retarded and put a huge wall around that area of the world.
However, I compared his quotes to Kaufman's quotes, his behaviour to Kaufman's and I see a lot of similarities. For both 'think big' was a motto. Both liked to play games, mindgames even. Maybe the most blatant one in this aspect comes from Andy: "What is real? What is not? That's what I do in my act, test how other people deal with reality". Trump has the experience and the connections to do exactly that, test how people deal with reality.
So what if it's an act? What if, on the day of the elections, Trump comes out as winner, climbs to the stage and yells "Are you guys fucking kidding me? You're all idiots to elect a vulgar, braindead moron like me to be your president. This says a lot about this country" and then walks down the stairs with two raised middle fingers, way up in the air. It would definitely cause a standing ovation from Andy Kaufman himself. Even better, what if he actually goes through with it and serves four hilarious years as president? Can you imagine that?
Man, it would be the single best performance act in the history of comedy.
Rik
Both Trump and Kaufman have been active in another sector where the line between reality and fantasy is often crossed: professional wrestling. In the eighties, Kaufman shocked the world by entering a feud with Jerry - The King - Lawler. Being the first inter-gender champion, Kaufman presented a pretty sexist character, fighting dirty with female wrestlers and actresses who are nowadays called 'diva's'. Wrestling is mainly known for that 'what-is-real-and-what-is-not' atmosphere. They even have a name for it: 'Kayfabe'. Very few wrestlers and other personnel from WWE, TNA, ROH or whatever promotion will talk about it, in an attempt to keep the magic real.
Coincidently, Donald Trump has also been active in the world of wrestling. He feuded with Vince McMahon, the owner of WWE, on multiple occasions, even buying Monday Night Raw a couple of years ago. WrestleMania IV and V were presented live from Trump's Atlantic City casino. Trump also entered the ring, only to be bodyslammed by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, but still. The guy has a lot of history with WWE/WWF. Of course, being the billionaires they are, McMahon and Trump are close friends. Every wrestling fan knows that McMahon can come
up with a massive storyline, leaving everyone involved confused about the whole thing.
Of course, I don't see Trump as a comedian, on the contrary. I see Trump as an obnoxious, over-the-top piece of shit, wealthy asshole who combs his hair with used toilet paper because that saves money. No, I don't want him to be the president of the USA but I've got absolutely nothing to say in that, living in Belgium and all. In fact, if he does become president, I think it's safe to declare the USA officially retarded and put a huge wall around that area of the world.
However, I compared his quotes to Kaufman's quotes, his behaviour to Kaufman's and I see a lot of similarities. For both 'think big' was a motto. Both liked to play games, mindgames even. Maybe the most blatant one in this aspect comes from Andy: "What is real? What is not? That's what I do in my act, test how other people deal with reality". Trump has the experience and the connections to do exactly that, test how people deal with reality.
So what if it's an act? What if, on the day of the elections, Trump comes out as winner, climbs to the stage and yells "Are you guys fucking kidding me? You're all idiots to elect a vulgar, braindead moron like me to be your president. This says a lot about this country" and then walks down the stairs with two raised middle fingers, way up in the air. It would definitely cause a standing ovation from Andy Kaufman himself. Even better, what if he actually goes through with it and serves four hilarious years as president? Can you imagine that?
Man, it would be the single best performance act in the history of comedy.
Rik
