Why would a man worth 10 BILLION DOLLARS care about a few jokes about his bank account? Comedy writer Aaron Lee left us with that puzzle after he took to Li.st to share a story/joke about writing for Trump’s 2011 Comedy Central roast.
“Each year, the ‘roastee’ has certain topics they declare off-limits,” wrote Lee, who has written for the network’s roasts since 2005 ― including those for Pamela Anderson, Bob Saget and Roseanne Barr. On the app, he revealed the subject matter that was “not allowed,” per Trump’s request, at the roast: nothing suggesting he is not actually super-rich. Since Trump evidently made no other demands, Lee deduced that the other (some far more cringeworthy) subjects actually covered during the roast were “allowed” in Trump’s book.
The full list:
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump’s hair
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump’s wife Melania (and his two previous marriages)
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump having sex with models
- ALLOWED: Jokes about the failure of Trump Steaks, Trump Water, Trump Cologne and other Trump products
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump’s failed casinos
- ALLOWED: Jokes about how Trump only became successful thanks to his wealthy father
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump’s weight
- ALLOWED: Jokes about Trump being attracted to his daughter Ivanka
- NOT ALLOWED: Any joke that suggests Trump is not actually as wealthy as he claims to be
“This is NOT a list that came from Donald Trump,” Lee later wrote to clarify. “The only thing we got from Trump was the request not to say he exaggerates his wealth. This is my own list of topics that performers made jokes about on the show, which were allowed.”
True to the spirit of the evening, celebrities and comedians went in on Trump. Comic Jeff Ross quipped that he and the reality TV star had a lot in common: “We both live in New York, we both play golf, we both fantasize about his daughter.” Larry King called him a “New York landmark,” explaining, “It’s only a matter of time before you bulldoze yourself to build some gaudy, tacky monstrosity and put your name on it.” Seth MacFarlane ragged on his pronunciation of “huge” (”’uge”) and added another tip: “It’s pronounced ‘I am fucking delusional,’ not ‘I am running for president.’” (Yep, this was 2011.)
Trump’s aversion to wealth jokes seems oddly prescient now, as the Republican presidential nominee’s personal worth has become a subject of hot debate.
A financial disclosure that Donald Trump filed in 2015 claimed his personal wealth to be, emphasis his, “10 BILLION DOLLARS.” However, Forbes estimates his net wealth, gained from real estate dealings and reality TV, lies more closely to $4.5 billion and other financial experts have offered similar estimates.
Questions over Trump’s finances extend to his presidential campaign, too. After initially chipping in $1.8 million of his own funds, Trump’s campaign has consistently raised far less than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and was bested by Clinton again in July.
But wealth aside, this isn’t the only time Trump couldn’t take a joke.
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.
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