On the "Thanks, Putin" "joke," can somebody explain the joke?

[alcibiades_mystery]

So, we've been told now by pretty much every GOP-leaning and/or Trumpy pundit that Trump's bizarre and shocking comments yesterday were "a joke." He was kidding around, you see, when he "thanked" Putin for expelling 755 US diplomatic staff. He was joking when he said Putin had "let them go," and that it would save the US money because we're "reducing our payroll."

That was all a joke, we're told. Get a sense of humor!

Let's play the believing game here and assume it was, in fact, a joke. Sake of argument.

Can somebody help me understand the joke? It's not just that I don't get what's funny about it (I found his comments appalling, of course). It's that I don't even understand what's supposed to be funny even if I agree that he was kidding. Is it sarcasm? Like "Thanks for helping us reduce our payroll, Vlad!" I don't get it. And before somebody goes with "It's New York sarcasm," I should say that I grew up less than five miles from where Trump did, in Queens, and I still don't get it.

We might all agree that his comments were not funny. But what was even supposed to be funny if it was a joke? What do conservatives or Trumpies find funny that they can even call it a joke. I'm truly mystified.

[Whiskeytide]

1. It's only a "joke" ...

... to anti big government conservatives. Sort of in the vein of $600 toilet seats. That's how I read their re-write.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. I've seen a few very weak attempts by the Trumpies

1. It was "obviously a joke and trolling," but it doesn't matter. (No explanation how)
2. He's showing Putin the expulsions don't faze him by yucking about it.
3. This is New Yawkah ball-busting (as I said, I grew up in New York, and it would be particularly poor quality New Yawk ballbusting even if I were to believe that).

But you're saying that the joke is "State Department personnel are actually unnecessary" ha ha ha?

[jberryhill]

2. Here...

[Sunlei]

3. because about 700? of those people are russian citizens we pay to work for our Dips IN russia.

not a joke to the American people or rest of the world for any president to pretend they play a game.

[Control-Z]

7. Is that true?

Mostly Russian citizens lost jobs?

[pnwmom]

5. It may have been a joke in this sense:

"When he expelled all those diplomats, Putin was trying to hurt us, but HA HA, I needed to slash our budget anyway, so HA HA, thanks, Putin, you actually did us a favor. So there! I win!"

In other words: "Neener neener neener!"

So it was an 8 year old's version of a joke, which is why it doesn't seem funny to most adults.

[cwydro]

6. Bingo. nt

[bluepen]

9. That's exactly it.

[Frustratedlady]

10. Stupid statement by a whiny, spoiled 3rd grader. A savings to our budget? Really?

The US citizens involved would still have to be moved back to the US at our expense and would continue to draw a salary, I should think. You can't fire them because they got kicked out due to the POTUS' remarks/actions/lack of actions/blackmail.

How many authors would it have taken to make up this entire election/reign? How many of us have tried to guess what Trump will come up with next? Perhaps his supporters, since their brains must work in sync with his.

When he succumbs, an autopsy should be performed to see how his brain was wired.

[Orsino]

11. Yep. Pretend to defy Putin without actually defying him.

That's right in Trump's vague, wishy-washy wheelhouse.

[maxsolomon]

8. Yes. I can explain it. I've been observing this for a fucking year now.

Last edited Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:51 PM - Edit history (1)

At his core, Trump is a NYC Bullshitter. He's Crackin' Wise, Bustin' Chops, Breakin' Balls. He thinks he's fucking hilarious, and the sycophants who've kissed his ass his entire life have never given him cause to think otherwise.

That "joke" was meant to demonstrate that the expulsions are NBD, Water Off a Duck, When life gives you lemons make lemonade, etc.

This is why his campaign rallies were like Stand Up - laughing and laughing from the audience, Don Rickles-like shots at HRC, Bernie, any Dem. He played to their prejudices and hate with his "humor" - coarse jokes that betray his utter lack of empathy for anyone but himself.

I still contend that every follow-up question at a Presser should be "Was that supposed to be funny?". He wouldn't like that. At all.

[jberryhill]

12. .

[maxsolomon]

13. Precisely

later in the movie, when he executes Spider for backtalking him? that's Trump's Id.

[gratuitous]

14. President Trump has to do that a lot, doesn't he?

It's almost like he doesn't think before he starts talking.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. He says something stupid and/or offensive; then, when he gets called out,

he or one of his spokesmutants says it was just a joke.