MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: Comedy is serious
Why satire scares authoritarians, why America is bailing out Argentina, and a song for difficult times
THE GIST: Entang(o)ling alliances
Back in February, Argentine President Javier Milei was the toast of CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. He presented his ally Elon Musk with a gilded edition of his signature chainsaw, and told the crowd all about his “anarcho-capitalist” slash-and-burn libertarian economic reboot, a strategy that the Trump White House saw as a model for the United States.
Seven months later, Milei is a role model no longer. His party is being punished at the polls, Argentina’s economy is collapsing, and the U.S. is stepping in to loan him $20 billion, with an equal amount of likely worthless Argentine pesos as collateral. Why, asks Paul Krugman, would the transactional Trump administration get back into the foreign aid business…for this?
As far as I can tell, the political theory behind Milei’s economic strategy was that he could deliver an economic miracle before the backlash against his policies had time to consolidate. I claim no special insight into Argentine politics, but to an outsider it looks as if that plan has already failed…
What I can say is that I can see no legitimate reason for the U.S. government to risk billions in American taxpayer dollars in an almost surely doomed effort to bail Milei out. Above and beyond the economics, it is an outrage that we are doing this while condemning African children to die to save a similar amount of money. But in Trump’s petty world view, humanity and reason, much less America’s interests, don’t count.
The handling of the Argentine crisis may seem like a bit of foreign policy wonkery — but it’s a preview of the future of Trumponomics, and reveals a deeper issue. As Krugman suggests, it exposes the reality that the Trump regime doesn’t seem to have actual economic or policy goals — just raw ideological ones. You can see the same dynamic at work in Trump’s proposal this week to bail out farmers hurt by tariffs — with tariff revenue. There’s simply nothing there, beyond Trump’s own interest in amassing a fortune and building a legacy by any means necessary.
BIGGER PICTURE: Why Trump really fears Kimmel
Yesterday, we talked with Trump White House staffer-turned-Trump critic Miles Taylor — much of it about how critics so far have failed to stop the rise of American authoritarianism, but also about something critically important to the pro-democracy opposition: Trump has no sense of humor and fears being made fun of. And we’re getting ample evidence this week. Public pressure put Jimmy Kimmel back on the air, with a bigger platform and a louder critical voice than ever. And there’s more: Activists installed a statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands on the National Mall. The Onion has followed that up with a damning mockumentary about Epstein. South Park has been ratcheting up the pressure all season, with this week’s episode piling shame (and more) on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
And while puzzling over Trump’s change of heart over aiding Ukraine, you can’t forget that Volodymyr Zelensky might have a law degree, but he made his name as a comedian. As Taylor told us of Trump, “You can write a PhD dissertation on how this man is an autocrat, or you can tell one joke that gives someone the same feeling…that is powerful…that is the way to start undermining the authority of people like this.”
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: How to be American and brave
Composer and multimedia artist Laurie Anderson has been breaking new ground and upending expectations since she emerged from the New York City avant-garde scene with her surprise international hit “O Superman.” As busy as ever, in her latest work (captured live in the video below at the Chapelle Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc in Paris), she’s still grappling with the big questions that have been on her mind since major 1980s works like United States and Home of the Brave: What is America? What is it like to live as an American in the world? What can an artist do?
The Ink is powered by readers like you. Help us stand up for independent media that isn’t afraid to tell the truth by joining us today.
Your support is how we keep the lights on, pay our writers and editors a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people. Join us today, or if you are already a member, give a gift or group subscription.
Comedy is the truth wrapped in a laugh.
Keep writing, keep painting, keep singing …