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Tag Archives: debate

Joke About Trump and Covid-19

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Joe Toplyn

The joke:

President Trump is still in the hospital for Covid-19. Doctors say the good news is the virus isn’t making any progress because Trump’s immune system keeps interrupting it.

How I wrote it:

I wanted to write a joke about Trump contracting Covid-19 because it was a huge news story. But, as always, I also wanted to write a joke that could be enjoyed by as many people as possible. That’s a tricky task, because Trump is so polarizing.

So when I used my Punch Line Maker #1–Link two associations of the topic–I only considered associations that I thought most people would have, not just Trump haters and not just Trump supporters.

That meant when I came up with associations of the topic handle “Trump,” I rejected associations like “he deserves to be infected,” because plenty of people might disagree with that.

Instead, I went with an association that I thought everyone would be willing to accept, that in the first Presidential Debate, Trump had interrupted Biden constantly.

Associations of the other topic handle, “Covid-19,” include “immune system fights virus.” So I was able to create a punch line by substituting the idea of interrupting for the idea of fighting.

Because the news about Trump’s condition was so fast-moving at the time I wrote the joke, I crafted a topic that describes his status in general terms, so the joke would have a little longer shelf life.

I worded the angle as “the virus isn’t making any progress” so it would suggest something that someone in a debate might do. A wording like “the virus is being neutralized” wouldn’t have guided the audience from the topic to the punch line quite as smoothly.

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: coronavirus, Covid-19, debate, interrupt, Trump |

Joke About Twitter’s “Like” Tool

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: Twitter to remove ‘like’ tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate

Punch Line: But when are they going to remove all the other tools?

Writer: J.D. Smith

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: debate, like, tool, Twitter |

Joke About Trump’s Debate Microphone

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Joe Toplyn

Setup: Trump Claims He Lost Debate; Blames His Microphone

Punch Line: He was correct in blaming his microphone. It picked up everything that he said.

Writer: Paolo Busignani

Joe’s analysis of the joke

Posted in Joke Writing Workshop | Tags: debate, microphone, Trump |

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