While glorifying Hillary Clinton, entertainment media have directly attacked Trump in over twenty TV shows, as well as through social media, late night comedy, film and music. Now, Trump opponents are taking to the stage.
Created by the liberal Super PAC Jewish Council for Education and Research (JCER), “Chump” the musical “aims to be the 2016 version of ‘The Great Dictator,’ Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire of Adolf Hitler – with elements of the musical ‘Hamilton’ and the Scroll of Esther mixed in.”
JCER apparently doesn’t trust people to think correctly without a huge dose of agitprop. According to Mik Moore, one of JCER’s co-founders, “It is a mistake that we make [thinking] that the news is enough, that the facts are enough, and that we don’t need to tell stories, that we don’t need to connect emotionally with people.”
Thus, in “Chump,” Moore and his fellow producers exaggerate Trump’s person and views to drive their points home, particularly highlighting the relationships of the candidate with his Hispanic maid, Jewish future daughter-in-law and Muslim bodyguard.
Predictably, the musical “doesn’t shy away from lampooning Trump’s fans,” wrote Ben Sales for Haaretz, an Israeli News Service. In fact, the “Trumpanzees” – who are characterized as angry white guys – sing about violence toward minorities, xenophobia and their “All Lives Matter” t-shirts.
Lyrics to “Chump Time” include: “If you’ve got a feeling of inferiority, come to a rally, punch a minority,” “We love when Chump debates because he might pull out his dick” and “We’re so close to winning with this third-Reich-like endeavor.”
With such clever, clever material, it’s surprising that Moore has struggled to find willing funders. As of now, he plans to send the script and music to community and campus theatre groups in swing states. He will not charge a licensing fee for performances, but will instead stipulate that voter registration tables be set up at the venues.
Moore’s approach to activism has been successful in past presidential campaigns. In 2008, JCER produced “The Great Schlep,” a comedic PSA starring Sarah Silverman, who crassly urged millennial Jewish Americans to convince their grandparents to vote for Obama. The group also ran “Wake the F—k Up,” another effective expletive-filled video with Samuel Jackson that encouraged involvement in the Obama campaign.
Think we’ll ever see the musical “Hillbilly” about the Clintons? Probably not.
