Fran Lebowitz — who honed her acerbic wit and observations on life while growing up in Morristown before becoming a world renowned author and humorist — is trying to explain Trumpism and incendiary American politics to the rest of the globe.
During her current tour, Liebowitz gave an interview to ABC News of Australia, and, in just 23 minutes, torched supporters of Donald Trump and the Republican Party — before roasting Democrat Bernie Sanders and Robert Kennedy Jr., too.
Lebowitz, 73, a liberal Democrat who lives in New York, also said she wishes President Biden hadn’t run for re-election, but a binary choice of Biden vs. Trump would leave no room for voters to be picky.
Lebowitz was just hitting her stride in the interview when host Sarah Ferguson asked if, in eight years, the Democrats had learned anything about the MAGA supporters, who were called “Deplorables” by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I think that it’s very hard for people who are reasonable to understand these Republicans,” Lebowitz said. “So I always say to people, ‘It’s very easy.’ First of all, they’re not Republicans. They’re anarchists. … They’re destroyers of government, destroyers of democracy.
“The Democrats are always trying to analyze them: ‘Why do they think this way? Why do they think that?’ You know, a 6-year-old could tell you what’s wrong with these people. They’re mean, and they’re stupid. And it’s as simple as that.
Former Trump insider makes landslide election prediction: ‘Mark my words’
UPDATE: Trump-backing trucker, after backing down, has warning for NYC: ‘Start stocking up!’
Trump’s week gets worse! Experts rank Presidents Obama, Biden, Trump & others | Full list
MSNBC’s Katy Tur asked a question about Trump … and she’s (still) getting roasted for it
Trump — desperate for money — unveils a new fund-raising racket: ‘Hair Jordans’
“And they pride themselves on their stupidity, their ignorance … you know, and their meanness. They’re really mean. … We have something in the United States called food stamps, which is if you don’t make enough money to buy food, the government can give you the stamps, which you can use to buy food. This is something that they’re very much against, you know, at the same time that they’re very much proclaiming their Christianity.
“I always say, ‘Look, I’m not an expert in Jesus, OK? But I feel like food stamps — Jesus might have had that idea himself.”
When the host informs Lebowitz that Bernie Sanders said in an interview that most MAGA supporters are not racist, but instead are Americans who have been economically wronged by their country, Lebowitz disagrees — although she says she opposed trade deals that hurt American manufacturing.
“He’s wrong. He’s just wrong. He’s often wrong, Bernie Sanders, by the way,” she said. … “Racism is the central appeal of Trump. There’s misogyny and racism — racism first, and then misogyny. So Bernie Sanders is just wrong about that.”
Eventually, the discussion came around to Robert Kennedy Jr., a third-party candidate and Lebowitz’s former friend. Will RFK Jr. — an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist who has made anti-Semitic comments, but a member of an iconic Democratic family — drain votes from Biden, she was asked.
“I don’t think so,” Lebowitz said. “I think that whatever the attraction … is more from the right. I don’t know what happened. I used to be friends with Bobby. He’s gone literally crazy. People use the word ‘crazy’ all the time. You don’t really mean it. But I mean, look at what happened to him. … But he seems to have gone nuts.”
Lebowitz recently said the ideal age for president is around 50, so she was asked: Does that mean that Biden shouldn’t run?
“I wish that he had not decided to run, I really do,” she said. “You know, because he is too old. … But since he’s running, and since the other candidate is going to be Trump … Lots of kids say they’re not going to vote for Biden: ‘I don’t like his policy on this, his policy on that,’ but they’re not going to vote for Trump either.
“And I would say, you know, life is not a menu. You know, there’s no other choice. … You can go into a restaurant say, ‘Yes, I’d like to have the salmon, but no cilantro.’ That’s not a voting booth.
“Yes, I think [Biden is] too old. Trump’s also old. You know, the thing is that Trump is so horrible that the old [age] is meaningless.”
So, why is Biden running?
“It must be as very hard to be the president,” Lebowitz said. “But it must also be fun.”
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
News Related-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich until end of January
-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges
-
Israel's economy recovered from previous wars with Hamas, but this one might go longer, hit harder
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data
-
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Sister Wives' star Christine Brown says her kids' happy marriages inspired her leave Kody Brown
-
NBA fans roast Clippers for losing to Nuggets without Jokic, Murray, Gordon
-
Panthers-Senators brawl ends in 10-minute penalty for all players on ice
-
CNBC Daily Open: Is record Black Friday sales spike a false dawn?
-
Freed Israeli hostage describes deteriorating conditions while being held by Hamas
-
High stakes and glitz mark the vote in Paris for the 2030 World Expo host
-
Biden’s unworkable nursing rule will harm seniors
-
Jalen Hurts: We did what we needed to do when it mattered the most
-
LeBron James takes NBA all-time minutes lead in career-worst loss
-
Vikings' Kevin O'Connell to evaluate Josh Dobbs, path forward at QB