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Jim Gaffigan Doubles Down on His Anti-Trump Rant

Here's why he's still mad.

by Cameron LeBlanc
Getty

Three days after he launched a profane political rant for the ages, previously wholesome comedian Jim Gaffigan wants you to know that he’s not sorry.

“I’d much rather be making jokes about some strange food I ate in Estonia,” he writes in a lengthy Facebook note titled “What I’ve Learned Since I Lost My Mind.” Instead, he describes the aftermath of his thread, which heavily criticized Trump and the forces, from Fox News to Jared and Ivanka, that enable him.

“To be clear upfront I don’t think anyone is going to let an actor or a comedian tell them who to vote for despite the fact that the current President is essentially both and actor and a comedian,” Gaffigan writes. “However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I want to change some minds.”

“So if I believe I won’t sway any voters, why speak out like I did?” he continued. “Honestly, I feel I had no choice at this point. I think Trump is ruining and possibly has already ruined my country.”

There’s a good deal of evidence or this claim, from the worst COVID-19 crisis on the planet (by far) to the naked corruption of the executive branch. But the bulk of Gaffigan’s missive is less about Trump and more about the reactions to what he calls “My Thursday Night Tweet Storm.”

After mentioning how liberating the experience was, Gaffigan cataloged the insane reactions, including plenty of threats, he received. He was promptly targeted by lots of bots and even made the mistake of responding earnestly to one. There were those who thought he’d committed career suicide and those who thought he’d only posted to help his career.

Gaffigan also found that conspiratorial thinking was alive and well, Plenty of replies accused Democrats and Hollywood of engaging in a massive pedophilia ring. Similarly, Gaffigan observed that the insane theories directly encouraged by Trump are believed by lots of people. And it’s all about Trump.

“It doesn’t matter that Trump and his folks are breaking laws…to Trump voters he is THEIR guy. More importantly he’s ‘THEIR president’ and disagreeing with them is a personal insult. For many Trump voters this isn’t about any other issue except Trump himself. To me that is not only weird but kind of scary.”

Gaffigan might be known as America’s Dad because he’s the rare comedian who doesn’t curse in his act, but this Gaffigan — swearing profusely, complaining about the world, and spending a lot of time on Facebook — is more like America’s dads than he’s ever been.