Jim Gaffigan’s charmingly self-deprecating humor has made him a staple of comedy for decades. He tends to avoid politics and is known as a “clean” comedian, so any mention of the government or use of profanity catches the public’s attention. Last night, following an unexpected tweetstorm attacking the president, Gaffigan tore into a literal Karen who dared go after him for his political views.
Gaffigan’s tweetstorm began just as the Republican National Convention was wrapping up. Donald Trump had accepted the Republican nomination for president in an hourlong speech riddled with aggressive language and boasting. A subtweet from Gaffigan could almost have been mistaken as disconnected to the event.
“RIP Truth,” the 54-year-old comic wrote. The simple sentiment inspired a wave of criticism from Gaffigan’s right-leaning fans, who derided him for getting political.
Gaffigan simply couldn’t let it rest. The wave of anger he received from Trump supporters set the normally tame comedian off on an hourslong rant tearing into the administration, the future of our country, and Fox News.
Over the course of the next three hours, Gaffigan tweeted against the Trump presidency and its supporters. “If Trump gets elected, the economy will never come back,” he wrote.
He even dropped the F-word. For many comedians, this may not seem like a big deal, but Gaffigan is known for his clean approach to comedy.
One Gaffigan fan noted that in the 13 years Gaffigan has been on Twitter he has “tweeted 19.4K times and used the word ‘fuck’ exactly three times” before last night’s thread.
Gaffigan’s stream of tweets gave voice to millions of frustrated Americans around the nation. It also immensely irritated Trump supporters, who were quick to inform him that he’d lost fans due to his vocal opinions. Gaffigan was apparently unconcerned.
When an actual Karen told him to “stick to comedy,” Gaffigan lobbed the F-word with efficacy. “Hey fuck you Karen,” he shot back.
Unsurprisingly, many right-leaning fans are now on a quest to “cancel” Gaffigan.