For many in the media, it seems as though words are lacking to adequately communicate their over-encompassing contempt for President Trump -- at least words in English. Thus, some have resorted to formulating their own terms in foreign languages. One of those individuals being New Yorker columnist Susan Glasser, who paid a visit to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night.
The adulation cascaded as Colbert kicked off the segment by lauding Glasser’s Trump-loathing works:
I personally requested to have you on because I have read just about every column you have written for The New Yorker. They are all called Letter from Washington, right?... What I really like about them is, I don't think there is anybody else out there who is- a. has the breath of journalistic experience, who had the knowledge of what happens underneath a burgeoning autocratic regime because you were one of the bureau chiefs, the Moscow bureau chiefs for The Washington Post when Putin was rising to power in the early 2000s. And who also understands the norms that we're losing in our government than you.
Following his not-so-subtle dig at President Trump, in effect likening him to Vladimir Putin, Colbert (the epitome of Trump derangement syndrome), inquired to Glasser about her newfound anti-Trump slang:
But you said you needed a term for the Trump effect, the thing we're all feeling but have trouble naming. And you asked a friend to help you -- who helped you come up with this term?
Glasser responded with her rationale for embarking on such a linguistic quest:
Okay, so I have this wonderful friend, Casanza, who is German. And you know how people are always joking, there ought to be some kind of long German word for that, you know…Right. So, I said, "Is there a long German word for this sort of Trump soul sickness?" And she said, "No, but I'll make one up." So she made one up.
Colbert then attempted to pronounce the peculiar hodgepodge: "And it's Trumpregierungsschlamasselschmerz."
Once the long-winded regurgitation ceased, the late night host called on Glasser to expound upon the origins of the concoction:
Trump, you got that. Regnorran is government. Schlamassle is what it sounds like, craziness. And then schmirtz, is like soul sickness. So it's like Trump government craziness soul sickness.
Never one to fret about a gimmick growing hackneyed, Colbert felt it necessary to once again compare President Trump to Putin while declaring the country to be stupefied under his tenure:
What I like about that is that I get a constant feeling in the sort of gas lighting of America that the President is taking place and along with the people sort of aiding and abetting him, it's like some sort of spell is trying to be cast on us. Like some sort of weird- somewhat abusive spells being cast on us so we don't see reality anymore. We're being dragged into his insanity. When you were seeing the rise of Putin from 2000 to 2004 while you were in Moscow, was this happening then?
Glasser accorded with his analysis:
Trump seems to have the instincts of a natural-minded authoritarian, even though, of course, we have a very different history and institutions and culture, thank goodness.
The media may be in search of a term to capture their ardent disdain for President Trump, though they need not look further than one -- unhinged.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
3/3/2020
12:27:52 AM
STEPHEN COLBERT: I personally requested to have you on because I have read just about every column you have written for The New Yorker. They are all called Letter from Washington, right?
SUSAN GLASSER: Yes, I'm sorry I know it's a lot to take in.
COLBERT: No, it's great. What I really like about them is, I don't think there is anybody else out there who is- a. has the breath of journalistic experience, who had the knowledge of what happens underneath a burgeoning autocratic regime because you were one of the bureau chiefs, the Moscow bureau chiefs for The Washington Post when Putin was rising to power in the early 2000s. And who also understands the norms that we're losing in our government than you. Every week- I'm not going to say it's a cheerful column, you know. It's mildly refreshing. It's 90% water, 10% hemlock, it's not too bad. But you said you needed a term for the Trump effect, the thing we're all feeling but have trouble naming. And you asked a friend to help you- who helped you come up with this term?
GLASSER: Okay, so I have this wonderful friend, Casanza, who is German. And you know how people are always joking, there ought to be some kind of long German word for that, you know.
COLBERT: Yeah. There usually is.
GLASSER: Right. So, I said, "Is there a long German word for this sort of Trump soul sickness?" And she said, "No, but I'll make one up." So she made one up.
COLBERT: And it's Trumpregierungsschlamasselschmerz.
(...)
COLBERT: What does it mean?
GLASSER: Well, again, I don't actually speak German. Trump, you got that. Regnorran is government. Schlamassle is what it sounds like, craziness. And then schmirtz, is like soul sickness. So it's like Trump government craziness soul sickness.
COLBERT: What I like about that is that I get a constant feeling in the sort of gas lighting of America that the President is taking place and along with the people sort of aiding and abetting him, it's like some sort of spell is trying to be cast on us. Like some sort of weird- somewhat abusive spells being cast on us so we don't see reality anymore. We're being dragged into his insanity. When you were seeing the rise of Putin from 2000 to 2004 while you were in Moscow, was this happening then?
GLASSER: Well, you know, it's interesting. You wouldn't think that there would be an overlapping expertise between being in Russia and being in Washington, and then throw in a Clinton Impeachment-- these things aren't supposed to go together in the same sentence, right. Vladimir Putin, the first four years, he did what all aspiring authoritarians do, what Erdogan did in Turkey, consolidate power. First, what do you do, you go after the journalists. They took over the independent television. You go after the Parliament, and you make sure that it's a pocket Parliament. You go after this-- and, you know, there are some uncanny parallels. Trump seems to have the instincts of a natural-minded authoritarian, even though, of course, we have a very different history and institutions and culture, thank goodness.
