TRUMP

102 ANATOMY OF A MONSTROSITY
This same dynamic affects satire about Donald Trump. Trump is an
easy target, because of his many outlandish and offensive qualities.
But those who mock Trump seldom realize that they are frequently
helping him. Helping him because while satire doesn’t actually undermine
his power, it certainly contributes to the further inflation of his
image. (Again, imagine Trump as a wrestling villain.)
During the late 80’s and early 90’s, Spy magazine, the now-defunct
satirical monthly, loved tormenting Trump in their pages. They are
the ones who called Trump a “short-fingered vulgarian” after noticing
Trump was afflicted with stubbiness of the digits. Trump would then
send them photographs of himself with the fingers circled in gold
Sharpie, alongside the words “See? Not so short.” 374 To the editors,
this was hilarious. Trump’s ludicrous vanity makes him a figure of fun.
But Spy helped to build Trump up even as it tore him down. Trump
has essentially posed for the caricature artists. He is happy to play
the most larger-than-life version of himself, even as he is relentlessly
mocked for it, because as Trump became a “character” (even a grotesque
one) he simultaneously became a celebrity.
It’s hard to know, then, how much Trump’s anger at people’s jokes
about his tiny fingers is an act. He is a narcissist, certainly, and so
could conceivably care deeply. But he also knows that every burst of
petty Trump-rage means an accompanying round of press coverage.
He therefore has every incentive to appear as childish and vain as possible,
because he knows that, for whatever else it does, it keeps attention
focused squarely on Donald Trump.
Thus, while they are slow to realize it, the joke is almost always on
those making fun of Trump rather than on Trump himself. It’s difficult
to resist the temptation. After all, Trump is one of the most absurd
people on earth. Steve Martin has noted that “ego with nothing to
back it up” makes for the funniest comedic characters (Think Inspector
Clouseau, Anchorman, etc.) Bombastic and egotistical characters
make great comedy. This is why Alec Baldwin’s Trump impersonation