By Bunmi Makinwa
Some American jokes are not funny. Some serious American situations do seem comic though. The same can be said of any society. Biden and Trump are in the “boxing ring” vying for the highest political title of the USA. Some aspects of becoming president of the USA seem like a joke. Many people are laughing. Americans are serious. Frequently, a situation arises where an individual shares a joke, and then proceeds to laugh uncontrollably before even delivering the punchline. Unfortunately, the joke falls flat, yet the individual continues to insist that it is hilarious, unable to contain their laughter. Naturally, this prompts laughter from those around them. Hahahahahahahaha!You share laughter with those you are fond of, including your superiors, even if their sense of humor may come across as somewhat peculiar. When is a joke not funny? On Thursday, June 27, US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump had a debate organized by the Cable News Network, better known as CNN. Presidential candidates from opposing political parties typically engage in debates to showcase their abilities and qualifications to American voters. However, the most recent debate exhibited a number of peculiarities. It was difficult to understand that Trump who has been convicted of 34 counts of criminal offence in court was still the leading and sole presumptive candidate of the Republican Party. It would have been a joke in many countries that a convict is running to be president. If Trump were to be imprisoned, he could still run as the nominee for his party. Furthermore, if he were to win the election in November 2024, he would assume the presidency directly from his place of incarceration. This is within his constitutional rights, and no regulations would be violated. It may seem odd or amusing to many, but Americans maintain that it is no laughing matter. The American sense of humour sets them apart. You might also know that Trump verbally abuses everyone except those who shout his name from their roof tops and call him the best person ever. Trump gave nicknames to all those who contested with him for the Republican Party nomination for presidential candidate in 2016. He called Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey Sloppy Chris Christie; Governor Jeb Bush of Florida was Low Energy Jeb; Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was Little Marco; and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was Lying Ted, to mention but a few. Later, many of the same people were seen laughing with Trump at his jokes.Trump has also called presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Crooked Hillary; and Joe Biden was Sleepy Joe. During his time as president, Trump assigned derogatory nicknames to many journalists who criticized him. Trump made many Americans laugh about it all. They said that Trump was just different, unlike any other political leader. In many parts of the world it was not a funny thing to laugh about. During the past years, some of the closest persons to Trump have been sentenced to jail or convicted of crimes. Some of them are Micheal Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney and trusted aide; Allen Weisselberg, former Chief Operating Officer of the Trump Organization; Steve Bannon, former strategist at the White House for Trump and George Manafort who directed Trump’s first presidential campaign. One of Trump’s closest advisers is the formerly popular New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He has been disbarred from the New York roll for attempting to subvert the 2020 elections and can never practice his legal profession anymore. He did it for Trump. Several of the people who stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021 and screamed for the head of Vice-President Mike Pence are in jail or facing trial. They did it for Trump.These people are not laughing out loud. They will roar with laughter if Trump gets elected in November as the next president because he has promised to pardon everyone. Many of the convicted persons will sit comfortably with him in senior positions in government. And then the rest of the world may laugh. For the Biden-Trump debate, CNN created a lot of fun acts. No audience to watch the two gladiators; neither of them must interrupt the other; each person must not speak beyond the allotted time or the microphone would be turned off and there must not be disruptive behaviour by the two candidates. It was so funny. Elementary school teachers set similar rules for their pupils. The children have to learn proper behaviour. Oh, there was more fun.Trump looked stern, spoke clearly and all analysts say that he told not less than 30 lies without even as much as a wink of one eye. Trump said as president that he was a great debt collector, and he made all NATO members pay their debts, or a huge part of it. By the way, he boasted, no president takes the USA lightly when he steps out on the world stage. Trump, during the debate, claimed victory in his golf games and boasted of being the champion at several golf clubs. What a rare modesty. Trump always declares himself the winner when he plays golf anyways, regardless of his actual performance on the course. It is a well-documented fact. And Biden. Biden looked every year of his 81 years. Curiously, he stared often at Trump as if he was only just discovering the character. Biden’s hoarse voice helped him to look genial, but it did not give his words the punch that was needed. Among many understatements he called Trump a liar, as if it was a news item. Biden looked like he had some more important personal business waiting for him and could not wait for the debate to end. He said that Trump was a friend of Putin and that Trump hated NATO. None of it was startling or new either. In general, Biden did not perform well at the debate, but so what?Well, many Americans laughed through the debate and waved it off. Many others did not laugh though, especially the Democrats and other supporters of Biden. The liberal news media, including the New York Times, that usually support Biden and his Democratic Party blamed Biden for not making them proud during the debate. For this reason, Biden should step down from being the party’s candidate. They argued that Biden’s performance during the debate showed that he was old, diminished and won’t beat Trump at the elections in November. Is it another joke? How can a 90-minute debate wash away all the sins of Trump and turn Biden into a weakling? Following a single television appearance, Biden was perceived solely as an elderly leader. However, hasn’t Biden dedicated 36 years to serving as a Senator, eight years as vice-president, and three and a half years as president, with almost no blemishes? Should a g90-minute television appearance determine the presidency, particularly when the opponent is also widely recognized for unprecedented negative attributes for a presidential candidate?Outside of the USA, people are at a loss about the panic. But it is real. When the USA tells its jokes many people in the rest of the world often laugh. Hahahahahahahaha! Afterwards, the rest of the world may figure out what the joke is.
Bunmi Makinwa is an international consultant and adviser to governments, the United Nations, businesses and not-for-profit organizations.
