No laughing matter

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Exactly one week after the United States presidential election, a photograph flashed around the world of two very elderly men seated in comfortable chairs beside a fireplace, with roaring hearth and extensive garlands on the mantle.

It could have been an advert for a ‘Hallmark Hall of Fame’ Christmas movie, but with portraits of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington hanging on each side of the fireplace, it was in fact the president-elect Donald Trump meeting outgoing president Joe Biden in the Oval Office. These political adversaries had been going at each other hammer and tongs incessantly for almost a decade, with really nasty and personal verbal attacks from both proponents. Yet, the serene picture was posed for media photographers who were briefly in the room, followed by a two-hour private meeting with only chiefs of staff present.

Afterwards, it was reported how cordial, gracious and substantive the meeting had been. The divisive and disruptive election campaign ended with a decisive win for Donald Trump, who somehow survived two assassination attempts, countless controversies and two Democratic nominees, despite a large segment of the mainstream media very clearly backing Kamala Harris right up until election day. Prominent Hollywood glitterati appeared at Harris’ campaign events to proudly show their Democratic Party affiliation, and alongside various television talk show hosts.

I have been watching some of these late night talk show hosts immediately after the election, and their presentations were nowhere near as cordial, gracious and substantive as the mood described in the White House. With one notable exception, they all appeared very upset about the result, with commentaries reflecting their bitterness; there was very little in the way of comedy in their shtick. The notable exception was Bill Maher, whose long-running show on HBO has always been a cut above the others, in my humble opinion. He never hides his Democratic Party support, donating US$1 million to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, but frequently criticises the party for going way too far with their woke policies.

Bill’s shows always ridicule political correctness, always highlighting the extremes of wokery or wokeness in today’s Democratic Party. The other comedic hosts have yet to realise that their favoured candidate was part of the woke problem; quite simply, woke is broke. Rather than address the electorate’s concerns about inflation, crime, border security and other issues, Harris recruited the likes of Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and many other celebrities to bolster her campaign.

Sadly, the ticket prices to shows featuring artistes who appeared at campaign events and on talk shows are far out of reach for so many voters, and that’s no laughing matter.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada