'It's not hard to be a political humorist when you have the whole government working for you'

Photo by Katrina Berban on Unsplash

In his new book, humorist Andy Borowitz has a quote from satirist Will Rogers. There’s no trick to being a political humorist when you have the whole government working for you, Rogers once said.

Now, Rogers has been dead some 90 years. But it’s fair to say those who have followed in his wake, including Mr Borowitz, enjoy much the same advantage.

For, politicians often take absurdity to crazy limits, thereby offering rich material to humorists.

And it’s not just America’s humorists who are so privileged in their pickings. Britain’s new government is giving the country’s humorists a wealth of material even as it makes the country poorer.

Bear in mind that today’s humorists go beyond the traditional definition of humorous writer, performer, or artist, someone who makes their living from trading in verbal dexterity, puns, sharp takes and one-liners.

Today, there are professional comedians and then there are the Twitterati, people who don’t necessarily use hu…