Can politics be fun?

On humor in serious times.

(Donald Trump, laughing)

Of all the pieces I wrote when I was at CNN, the one that people hated the most was this one:

I thought, at the time, it was a fun piece. We were two episodes away from the finale of “Game of Thrones” — what a disaster that finale would turn out to be! — and the show was (and is) a cultural touchstone.

I loved the show. And loved politics. So I thought combining the two would surely work!

I also thought — if I am being candid — that writing a piece that combined politics and pop culture would perform well from an Internet traffic perspective, and be the sort of thing the homepage editors would be drawn to.

Um, no. The Internet did not like the piece. At all. Here’s how Fox News covered it (because of course they covered it):

“CNN editor-at-large Chris Cillizza was the subject of ridicule over his ‘analysis’ that paired the Democratic candidates running for president in 2020 to characters from the HBO hit series ‘Game of Thrones.’”

“Analysis”! OUCH!

The basic criticism was that I was treating politics like entertainment. And that reporters like me were responsible for the fact that reality star Donald Trump had been elected to the White House.

Here’s how then deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes reacted to the piece:

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of fun (and entertainment) in relation to covering and writing about politics lately. Particularly because when people send me notes about this Substack, one of the main things they mention that they like is that I bring a sense of humor to the political world and to my coverage of it. (Thank you for the nice notes, by the way.)

All of which begs the question: With a Republican presidential frontrunner who openly contested a free and fair election, fomented a riot to protest that election and is promising a series of authoritarian-adjacent moves if he is elected again, is it irresponsible to, well, joke sometimes about the political world? Or is the threat posed by Donald Trump such that humor should be off limits?

Let me first say this — by way of a round-about-ish answer: The “Game of Thrones” piece didn’t work not because people hate fun but because it wasn’t very good. I have a LOT of ideas in a day (as you can tell by my output). Not all of these ideas are good. Usually someone steps in and says: This isn’t a good idea, let’s not do it. Or I say that to myself! Every once in a while, a bad idea slips through the system. This was a bad idea. I take the blame for that.

But, having spent some time thinking about all of this, I have also concluded that, for me, humor is something I deploy in difficult moments or situations. (Only child here!) I’ve found real truth in this line from Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest): “I really can’t say/I guess I laugh to keep from crying/So much going on people killing people dying.”

I don’t always do it well. I do sometimes try to make a joke — as my wife regularly reminds me — when the situation doesn’t warrant it. This has happened before. It will happen again.

But, I also don’t think I am alone in using humor to cope with difficult and challenging moments and circumstances.

Yes, there is NO doubt that Donald Trump represents a threat to American norms and values. Period. But Donald Trump also said in his victory speech in Iowa, and I quote: “My impression -- the -- see this gentleman? We built -- he's dressed like a wall. I love this guy. He goes to...He's been at 150 rallies, probably, right? He has the most beautiful outfit I've ever seen. It's all beautiful brick.”

I mean…what the hell are you supposed to do with that other than laugh?

My broader point here is not — and I repeat NOT — to defend the “Game of Thrones” piece or the others like it I have written. Sometimes what I think is fun or funny, well, isn’t.

What I DO think though is that if we are going to get through this next year (and whatever comes next) we are going to have to keep our sense of humor intact. That doesn’t mean laughing off Trump and the very real threat he poses. But it does mean that we have to be able to laugh together sometimes. To joke. To poke a little fun.

I was searching around the Internet for research about the need to laugh in serious time and found this book: “Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is a Superpower at Work and in Life.” One of the authors, in a 2020 interview with the Guardian, had a quote that really resonated with me:

“Some people believe this is too serious a time to laugh. But this is when we need humor more than ever. With this global pandemic, the shift to remote working, loneliness and depression rising precipitously, many of us have never felt so disconnected. When we laugh with someone – whether through a screen or 2m apart – we get this cocktail of hormones that strengthens our emotional bonds in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Studies show it makes us more resilient, creative and resourceful.”

Exactly that. Laughing together is a form of communion, a way to, even in dark times, throw up your hands and say “Can you believe this?”

This does not mean I am going to write a post entitled “Ranking the 8 ways Donald Trump could overthrow democracy.” Or even “The Definitive Rankings of Donald Trump’s nicknames for his political enemies.”(Yes, I really wrote that.). I have learned my lesson.

But, I will try to, occasionally, make you laugh. Even about serious topics — and none is more serious than the possible re-election of Donald Trump. I hope you will know that this humor (or attempt at humor) is coming from a good place. A place desirous of finding common ground. Of making connections. And in hopes of making you smile — even for a second! — amidst what is going to be a very tough year.

Thanks for reading. And understanding.