Hollywood loves to mock the Commander in Chief, some leaders more than others.
The industry takes a different approach to the First Lady. It’s either hands off completely, an occasional joke lobbed in her direction or a more collaborative connection.
Remember when Michelle Obama dropped by Sesame Street to talk nutrition?
What about when First Lady Barbara Bush chatted up Big Bird to spread the joy of reading?
Hardly worth a “sick burn” or “destroys” headline in either case. It didn’t matter what party held the White House at the time. The First Lady stood above politics as usual.
hat’s how it should be. First Ladies support their spouses but ultimately aren’t political by nature. Even a more proactive First Lady, like Hillary Clinton failing to overhaul the nation’s health care system, didn’t serve as an “attack dog” for her husband or his party.
It’s not how the position operates.
First Lady Melania Trump behaves based on that time-tested model. She doesn’t attack her husband’s opponents. Her new “Be Best” initiative seeks to clamp down on social media attacks. It’s fine to compare her efforts to President Trump’s Twitter name calling.
Certainly.
It still doesn’t require an all-out assault on the current First Lady.
Yet Hollywood isn’t merely noting how Melania Trump’s program clashes with her husband’s cyber stances. Key players are hell bent on attacking the First Lady while weaponizing her against her husband.
To liberal Hollywood, the current First Lady must be used as a cudgel to batter her husband as often as needed.
Jimmy Kimmel: Melania Hates Her Husband
This is one of the most common themes heard on late night TV. Never mind what Melania Trump says, she not so secretly despises her husband according to their narrative.
Jimmy Kimmel Live does the dishonor here, using a news hook to bang that particular drum.
“According to her director of communications, the first lady is skipping her trip due to ‘scheduling and logistical issues,’” the host said. “And because she hates him.”
“So instead of going to Davos, I guess her plan was to stay back in the White House to keep digging the escape tunnel she has hidden behind a poster of Tom Selleck,” Kimmel joked.
Michelle Wolf: Melania Is a ‘Bad First Lady’
The host Netflix vowed would have no agenda is proving as far-left as any talk show host today. She does struggle, though, with blending her seething hate for the GOP with actual jokes. Maybe that will improve over time.
“And finally, after not being seen for 25 days, Melania has reappeared following her kidney surgery,” Wolf said, gesturing air quotes while saying kidney surgery. “Some people are saying this is Melania’s cover for plastic surgery but, I don’t buy that. Her husband obviously loves her for who she is.”
“Whatever really happened with Melania, I genuinely hope it doesn’t come out that Donald hurt her,” Wolf said, adding, “because that’s bad” and “then we couldn’t make fun of her anymore.”
“We’d have to make her into this brave, feminist icon and I don’t want to do that!” Wolf screamed. “I like making fun of Melania because she’s a bad first lady. She’s one of the worst we’ve ever had. I haven’t seen someone phone in this whole First Lady thing since Betty Ford was still drinking.”
Stephen Colbert: We Must Save Sad Sack Melania
Feminism typically means women can make their own decisions. Not Melania Trump, according to The Late Show host. Stephen Colbert weighed in on her marriage and happiness without a second’s thought as to where the First Lady actually stands on those issues.
“The state of our union is strong,” the Late Show host said Wednesday night. “The state of their union? It’s complicated.”
Colbert then trotted out actress Laura Benanti who regularly mocks the First Lady.
“My life is ocean of loneliness,” she said, before explaining that she was just promoting her new fragrance, “Ocean of Loneliness,” a “decadent bouquet of gardenia blossoms with a hint of ‘I live in a prison of my own making.’”
SNL: Melania Looks Like a Man
Modern comedy rules say it’s sexist to degrade a woman based on her appearance. There’s an asterisk here, of course. It’s perfectly fine to do so if the woman is connected to the GOP. Then it’s game on, as we see here from this Saturday Night Live moment.
“First Lady Melania Trump — or as I’ve been calling her, sexy-ass Michael Jackson — launched a campaign to stop cyberbullying called ‘Be Best’—as in, it would ‘be best’ if you got a divorce,” Che said to some groans and delayed applause and laughs during the show’s “Weekend Update” segment.
Trevor Noah Cheers on Trump Divorce
The Daily Show host’s imagination went into overdrive earlier year, spinning off accusations the President slept with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Naturally, he connected his fever dream directly to the president’s marriage.
“I think it would be amazing if in some world Melania divorces Trump because of the porn star, and then gets the White House in the divorce … it would be the most amazing thing, ever, i can see the movie in my head now,” he said.
Would Noah offer a similar “amazing” scenario where Hillary Clinton leaves serial cheater Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky scandal?
Conan Attacks and Attacks and Attacks…
Conan O’Brien’s low-rated TBS talker doesn’t get a fraction of the headlines his peers get these days. That’s partially because O’Brien isn’t as mean-spirited as the other late night talkers. He still tries to hang with the big kids, witness this video montage of him attacking the First Lady as well as her marriage.
Jimmy Kimmel Quasi-Apologies for Mocking Melania’s Accent
Melania Trump speaks five languages. Her English reflects her Slovenian roots all the same. That, apparently, was enough for a high-larious insult from the “Jimmy Kimmel LIve” star.
[Kimmel] rolled footage of the first lady reading a children’s book, and the audience laughed at her accent. When she read, “… ask lots of questions about this and that,” the audience laughed louder. For further comic effect, Kimmel repeated, “About dees and dat.”
Only Fox News’ Sean Hannity fought back, squeezing a limp mea culpa from the increasingly liberal talker.
‘The Opposition’ – Melania’s Gone Already
“What do you get for the woman who already has one foot out the door?” Jordan Klepper asked on his hard-left Comedy Central show “The Opposition.” Why? It was the First Lady’s birthday, and that’s how he chose to honor the day.
He wasn’t done.
Klepper mocked President Trump for saying he only got her a card for her big day. Here’s how the comedian spun it: “He got Melania the most romantic gift you can ever get for the third love of your life,” mocking the president’s past marriages. “He didn’t sign in. Michael Cohen did.”
Next, he said the First Lady flew a Slovenian flag out her window. It’s actually a series of bed sheets so she can escape from her husband.
[cross-posted from Hollywood in Toto.]
