BLOG #8

Pop Culture & Politics

I chose a clip from the Roast of Donald Trump held by Comedy Central that aired on March 8^th, 2011. In the Roast of Donald Trump. How the show works is that Trump selects famous comedians and TV personals to roast, make fun of and crack jokes about him. At the end of the show the guest of honor, Trump, gets a chance to dish back the jokes to the roasters. It is a playful show that Comedy Central sets up at least once a year with different guests like Bob Saget, Justin Bieber and Charlie Sheen. Obviously they select guests who are frequently talked about, have a lot to joke about and can return the burns. At this point in time there were rumors that Trump was possibly running for president. It is obvious that most people are aware of this however the show is not political and still gives an idea of Trumps personality.

This clip from the roast describes the side of Donald Trump that strongly makes up his personality that is not always accepted in the political realm. This side of him shows how he can joke around and be funny with others and take digs. This describes in some part the ways that he acts on his social media accounts or how he jokes around in press conferences.

In this clip and during the entire roast the characteristics of Trump that are mostly exaggerated are the way in which he speaks/ pronounces words, his affiliation with the Miss. Universe pageant and models and his enormous amount of money including his $6 million dollar loan from his father. In this roast Trump is also criticized on running for president and how much of a mistake the roasters think this would be. But in the clip I chose, Trump rebuttals and makes jokes back to why he is overly qualified.

 I think that this roast did not affect Trumps image at all. If anything it just promoted him even more. Nothing said or used against him wasn’t anything that was already known to the general public. Any ideas about his personality, how he thinks of himself or how he became successful are translated differently in this clip. I think if anything it helps promote more of his personality to the people. It shows that he can joke around and play games just like everyone else. Donald Trump is an open book and I don’t think this video changed anyone’s opinions about him.

I will say this was a smart venture on his end to promote himself since he was going to run in the presidential campaign. If anything it allowed him to reach out to a younger audience and get his name even more recognized.