Hi All,
Taking a day or two off to do some research on two new articles, but I thought I’d leave you all with an exchange I had from a reader. I think he raised a valid concern, and I wanted to address it for two reasons. One, I want people to know I do think about some of the things I write that might seem a bit off color. Second, now more than ever, I think those of us who write satire about politics or share opinions that are not always popular need to keep speaking up.
Nicholas from Substack wrote posted about a piece I wrote on Tiffany Trump:
“I think it should be possible to write a reasoned criticism of the corruption around the Trump family without mocking a woman’s physical appearance.”
You can read that article by clicking here. I will be sure to move it off the paywall for a couple of days.
Here is my response:
You're absolutely right—and I won't waste breath arguing otherwise. But (and there's always a "but" lurking, isn't there?) let me paint you a picture.
Have you been watching "Hacks" on Max? Pure television gold, really. It chronicles the combustible relationship between Deborah Vance—a razor-sharp Vegas comedian with decades of scar tissue—and Ava Daniels, the millennial writer thrust upon her like an unwanted Christmas sweater. Their dynamic? Absolutely savage. They eviscerate each other's appearances with the casual brutality of seasoned gladiators.
For Deborah, cruelty is currency—the hard-earned privilege of someone who's survived the comedy trenches. When she compares Ava's hands to "catcher's mitts" and Ava protests it's "cheap" to mock appearances, Deborah delivers the killing blow: "Yeah, ugly people say that."
Here's the thing: satire isn't meant to be comfortable. In today's attention economy—where writers battle TikTok clips, podcast soundbites, and those ghastly "stories" that represent the absolute nadir of digital discourse—breaking through requires calculated audacity. You must meet your audience in their natural habitat: the shallow end of the cultural pool.
Now, about Tiffany Trump. The moment she chose to summer on a Libyan oil baron's Mediterranean super-yacht with her grifter husband, she forfeited any claim to privacy. When she glided into that State dinner with the King, she entered the public arena—and in that arena, friend, everyone's fair game.
Our appearance shapes our narrative, whether we like it or not. Tiffany shares her father's features and, I suspect, certain familial traits that extend beyond genetics. If the Trump men are legitimate targets—and they absolutely are—then consistency demands equal treatment across the dynasty.
I'm channeling my inner Deborah Vance, and I'm not apologizing for it. This is the language of public discourse now, particularly when lampooning figures who've chosen the spotlight. But I hear you, I respect your position, and I reserve this particular theatrical cruelty for public figures when it serves the story's darker purposes.
Thank you for the thoughtful pushback.
JDP
If you’re not watching Hack’s – well, you should be. You can find it here. Sign up for a free Max trial account and binge it.
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