Ann Althouse at her blog has over the years considered Trump as being funny, humorous, tongue-in-cheek. I could never see it. In the wake of Rush Limbaugh's death some of the remembrances on the left have noted his comedy. Never listened to him, didn't like what was reported about what he said (i.e., AIDs, McNabb, etc.).
I've always thought humor was one of the virtues, but I dislike Trump and Limbaugh's politics, so how do I reconcile the two?
I'll assume for the sake of argument that both men were quite funny. Typically the humor I appreciate is directed at the establishment, from the position of an outsider. The other category is self-mocking; a liberal mocking liberals, etc. (Wife and I enjoy "The Good Fight" TV series which does both. ) What I don't enjoy is jokes aimed at outsiders.
That seems a fairly defensible position. But then there's the category of blue jokes. Those can be defended as mocking the human body, so again self-mocking.
Perhaps what I'm struggling with is a matter of power. As a liberal I see Trump and Limbaugh as using humor from a position of power, to attack and denigrate those weaker than they are. A conservative who perhaps firmly believes she's living in a world dominated by liberals who have all the power can find them funny because they're compatriots in the great rebellion against liberal hegemony?
