Tim Walz Was Just Kidding
Get it?
A joke is a delicate thing.
Let’s say you write a joke and then tell it to some people. The joke might “kill” (get a big laugh) with one audience, but then it might “die” (be met with stony silence or outright anger) with another audience.
Maybe you don’t get the wording quite right: “Why did the chicken cross the street? Wait, no…” Maybe the crowd doesn’t understand a reference you’re making. Maybe it’s just not your day. It can take a lot of work to perfect a joke, and any number of things can still go wrong. You’ll fail at least as often as you succeed, and past performance does not guarantee future results.
I’ve never done stand-up comedy because it would require me to leave the house, but I do have a bit of experience writing jokes for television. And sometimes, a joke I thought was funny when I wrote it in the morning just doesn’t land with that evening’s audience. It’s a crummy feeling, but that’s showbiz.
So, I know just how Tim Walz feels these days!
Last week he made a really funny joke, but a lot of people weren’t smart enough to get it because they’re not Democrats:
“I was saying, on my phone, some of you know this, on the iPhone they’ve got that little stock app? I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day. 225 and dropping!
“And if you own one, we’re not blaming you. You can take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off, you know.”
Ha ha ha ha ha! [SLAP KNEE, BUST GUT, ETC.]
I will now analyze this brilliant joke, using my hard-won comedy experience, and explain why you’re misguided for not laughing.
You’re welcome.
Now, to the uninitiated, it might sound like Tim Walz is celebrating the misfortune of an opponent. “Ha-ha, your stock is dropping. It’s funny because I don’t like you!” The humor of the bully. Trying to out-Trump Trump.
You might think the audience laughed because they hate Elon Musk so much that they’re happy when he fails, even when it hurts a lot of other people. Maybe even themselves.
But here’s the big twist: That’s not it at all!
See, Governor Walz was being self-deprecating.
When he made that really, really good joke, he already knew that his own state holds 1.6 million shares of Tesla stock in its retirement fund. He was well aware that he was celebrating the misfortune of his own constituents.
But his stage persona didn’t know that.
Every comedian has a stage persona. It might be similar to the comedian’s actual, everyday self. Or, as in Walz’s case, it might be much, much dumber.
See? The joke is on the character “Tim Walz,” the imbecilic doofus who always screws everything up. Not the actual Tim Walz, who is only pretending to be a total dipshit for the purposes of humor.
Walz is performing comedy at a very high level. He’s such a master of self-deprecation, he had you believing he’s a complete idiot in real life.
And now he’s taking a victory lap. Watch how cleverly he turns it all around on his critics:
“This guy [Elon Musk] bugs me in a way that is probably unhealthy. But I have to be careful about being a smart-ass. I was making a joke. These people have no sense of humor. They are the most literal people…
“But my point was, they’re all mad, and I, y’know, said something I didn’t, y’know, probably shouldn’t have about a company…
“So I make the case, I make the case, they’re all butt-hurt about the Tesla thing, but they don’t care, the disrespect they have shown to employees at the Minneapolis VA who care for our veterans, and they fire them…” [CROWD ROARS]
See? He shouldn’t have said it, and also, it’s your fault for not laughing when he said it.
Plus, you hate veterans or something? That’s part of the joke too, apparently.
You’re so literal-minded, when you heard a Democrat celebrate a Republican’s misfortune, you thought he actually meant it. That’s the real joke, when you think about it.
Now laugh. Laugh, damn you!
But seriously, folks…
A lot of people want Tim Walz to shut up, but not me. I want him out there every day, reminding America why we rejected him at the polls.
Streaming pick: Take Cover on Hulu.
Scott Adkins is the king of direct-to-video action flicks, and this is an above-average one. The script has some touches of actual wit, and it tries for a “Butch and Sundance” vibe that kinda works. It was obviously shot on a low budget, but they make the most of the location and wring some surprises out of the scenario. Plus, at 48 years young, Adkins is still more limber than most guys half his age. I give it two sniper bullets up!
Today’s newsletter was free, because I felt like giving the leeches a taste. If you liked it but haven’t paid me yet, please stop being a burden on society.
The big joke for Walz is him saying the Reublicans have no sense of humor. Now, Tim Conway playing Tim Walz could probably land a lot of physical, pratfall, "I'm a dumbass" jokes , because he'd have a ton of material to sort through and get the funniest arts. The real Tim Walz is hopeless at comedy, like all Commies.
And did you notice his sour-faced wife and how she's sitting? I think she REALLY wants to "TURN THE PAGE!!"
Well that was maybe perfect.
Definitely killed.
Thank you.