Martin Short has had a long career in show business. Part of the comic actor’s success has been his general likeability: He’s largely stayed out of political quarrels that have turned other actors into polarizing figures.
His latest production is no different. Martin Short teamed up with Steve Martin recently for a two-man comedy special for Netflix, “An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life.”
In the special, two of the “¡Three Amigos!” — sans Chevy Chase — trade barbs and mainly steer clear of cheap and hysterical anti-Trump jokes.
The actor, however, in a recent interview with The Daily Beast, shares what he really thinks about President Donald Trump and his supporters.
“So you barely mention Donald Trump in the special, but you do include some material about his administration and have joked about him in various talk-show appearances,” The Daily Beast’s Matt Willstein asked. “Do you feel like the Trump presidency has pushed your comedy in a more political direction?”
“First of all, Steve [Martin] and I have great respect for the fact that we don’t just want a liberal audience,” Short replied. “So you want the audience to feel that this is, in a way, a safe zone. A zone where they’re not going to be made to feel like a jerk because they voted one way. So that’s why we deliberately do not mention Donald Trump.”
This sort of measured response shows why audiences can expect a certain amount of comedic professionalism from both Short and Martin. But Short wasn’t finished — and let his personal feelings show through.
“But as far as the Trump presidency, I wouldn’t even call it a presidency,” he continued. “It’s an asterisk. It’s a typo. I mean, every day it’s worse and 10 years from now the history books will be having a field day with it and the shame of the people who supported him, if they’re still around, in the sense of being in the public eye, will be like the people who supported [Joseph] McCarthy.”
This is a politically loaded accusation from an actor who just a moment before that declared he didn’t want only a “liberal audience” for his show.
It’s telling that Short separates his personal feelings on politics from his stagecraft in a subsequent comment on his famously oafish character, Jiminy Glick.
“Even in the Jiminy Glick thing, we kind of go back and forth. We deliberately try to mix it up for both sides. Our agenda is not to do a political show. I do not want half the audience to feel unwelcome,” he continued.
Related: ‘Roseanne’ Canceled: TV Queen Apologizes for Shot at Valerie Jarrett, Is Fired Anyway
Short shared an anecdote about talking to his son that is illustrative of his desire to keep politics out of show business.
“I was talking to my son Oliver, and he was saying he was amazed at how some of his friends were ragging on the Prince Harry wedding. ‘What a waste of money, it’s so stupid.’ Can we not have one afternoon of frivolous joy? Does it all have to all be about impeachment and the Mueller probe? So I’d like to say the same thing about people coming to see our show. It’s a safe zone from 24 hours a day of politics.”
The personal is political, and the political is personal.
Unfortunately for Short, his extremely pointed slam of the supporters of President Donald Trump is about as far off-message as it gets. It’s a reminder that when it comes to public commentary, the personal is political, and the political is personal.
Kyle Becker is a content writer and producer with LifeZette. Follow him on Twitter.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.