To do his part, Larry David has penned a long values hoax essay for The New York Times. Specifically, he sets his sights on Bill Maher’s glowing retelling of his dinner with then-President Donald Trump at the White House. This short documentary forges some very incisive satire as an antidote to Maher’s fawning remarks on the former president. He aired those comments on a recent episode of his show, “Real Time.”
The dinner was held on March 31, and a (very) long list of observers expected a possibly disastrous encounter between Trump and his interviewer, Maher. Maher came away from the night portraying Trump as “gracious” and “a lot more self-aware than he pretends to be.” David, to be sure, drew on his immense admiration for Maher the comedian, but decided to focus his comedic talent on this disparagement.
As I mentioned above, in his essay, David takes great care to not draw one-to-one comparisons between Trump and Hitler. Yet, many of his jokes are no-holds-barred incendiary. He is no stranger to writing similar satire pieces on Trump for The New York Times. This reflects his deep and abiding interest in political satire. David’s comedic exploration includes a humorous anecdote where he recounts how one of his own jokes “amused him to no end, and I realized I’d never seen him laugh before.”
The essay opens with a Hitler joke that is completely unexpected and super hilarious. As David expansively recalls, Yet a smiling Hitler declared, ‘If I can kill Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals, I can definitely kill a dog! On the one hand, this shows David’s tendency toward morbid humor, but on another this mocks the ridiculousness of our political conversations about people like Trump.
Patrick Healy, the deputy opinion editor at The New York Times, heroic for this essay being born. It is derived from David’s own response to Maher’s remarks. Healy noted how much David’s response to Maher’s piece doggedly mirrors David’s tone. Through their contrasting perspectives, they conduct a spirited and insightful critique of the dinner and what it represents.
David’s relationship with Maher is complex. While they may disagree on various issues, he emphasizes that such differences do not necessitate animosity. He wrote in the essay, “We can disagree on everything. But that doesn’t mean we have to wish death upon each other.” This yearning is understandable and suggests a noble yearning for civility in an ever-polarized political environment.
The comedic nuances of David’s writing point to a deeper reflection on the nature of political interactions and public perception. His unique voice has shone through in multiple guest appearances on “Saturday Night Live” as Bernie Sanders, a character with whom he shares a distant familial connection.