For being a Canadian who doesn’t know much about politics, comedian Norm Macdonald sure does have a lot of opinions on the 2016 election.
On Thursday morning, the Saturday Night Live alumnus cooked up a Twitterstorm, taking to task everything from the media’s treatment of President-elect Donald Trump, to shortcomings made by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (particularly those pertaining to her husband, Bill).
Several times throughout the disconnected thread, Macdonald acknowledges his blind spots of being Canadian and having no knowledge of or power in U.S. politics. But that doesn’t stop him from riding a few exhausted narratives pertaining to Trump’s likability and the media’s role in his successful campaign.
While Macdonald unpacked several ideas over the course of nearly 50 tweets, his take isn’t necessarily hot, and is absolutely nowhere near scalding. But you may want to let it simmer a few minutes before digging in, for good measure.
Been a hell of a time in these United States of late. Big election.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Some people are happy, I'm sure, but there also is a lot of alarmism over this President-Elect.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Alarmism, genuine concern for women and minority groups. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
Now, I'm Canadian and I've never had any idea how things are run, how things are done by those in power. Even in Canada!!!
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I know the press is breathless with Trump's victory because Trump brings the TV networks and newspapers lots of money.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
And, furthermore, Trump has made media stars out of nobodies, and some of those nobodies revile him.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Imagine if you're a journalist following the guy and you genuinely think he's a bad man and a threat to the country and he's made you famous
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
So, now, you're a journalist who would never be known otherwise and you are writing a book for 7 figures. How do you feel about the guy.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
You’re searching for the word “grateful,” but many of these nobodies would beg to differ.
How can you be unbiased as a member of the press when one of the candidates wants to curtail the freedom of the press.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
By reporting that one of the candidates wants to limit those freedoms—that’s how.
I don't know why Trump won. One reason was KellyAnne Conway, who is one of the most charming and lovable people I've ever seen.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
From where I was sitting, not knowing a thing about policy, I noticed a couple of things.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
“This is my uninformed opinion” backpedal no. 1.
Both candidates had very high unfavorables but one, Trump, was lighthearted and charming, the other strident.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
It became clear Hillary was trying to run out the clock but I think the American people were on to that and didn't like it.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Then there was the rhetoric. Hillary called Trump supporters both deplorable and irredeemable.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Ahh, yes. That is the rhetoric a majority of Americans took issue with.
Most Americans believe most people are redeemable, so that did Hillary no good.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I don't think Hillary was a good candidate for her party and this shows another problem. Why was she coronated?
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
She had held no elected office at the beginning of the primary. If any persons in the position of being coronated it would be VP Biden.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
The Republicans have been making this mistake for a long time. It was Dole's turn, he had the political chits, and so he ran.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
For the record, neither candidate was deemed “good” for their respective party.
And of course he was crushed by the younger, more charismatic Bill Clinton.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
The culture has grown increasingly more coarsened, and so even Trump's deplorable comments on the bus were overlooked.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
“Coarsened.” Is that what the kids are calling prevailing sexism these days?
A minor affair crushed Gary Hart's hopes, but it was Bill Clinton, ironically, who paved the way for Trump.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Should we care about the sexual lives of our leaders. We don't care about those of athlete's and entertainers. Why should we?
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I don't know. I care about Trump's sexual past and Bill Clinton's too, but I don't vote. I'm Canadian.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
For those of you just now tuning in, Macdonald is Canadian.
To me, the polls being wrong was easy to see coming. Trump was pretty well demonized, and nobody asked if he's voting for a demon says yes.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I don't know what happened to the Tea Party in this election? No one ever mentioned them in the media. They must be around.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Instead we heard about the KKK and David Duke and neo-nazis and I don't think reasonable people think these are large constituencies.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
At least he used the term “neo-nazis!”
I don't know anything about why people vote the way they do, but I have a theory on this one.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Aren’t you the repetitive type?
The conventional wisdom is that Trump bullied his way to the white house but I don't think that's how a lot of people saw it.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
They saw a guy being laughed at by the media throughout, his every victory minimized.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
At the Republican debates 16 politicians all took their turns attacking Trump and he swatted back, and people had never seen that.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Optics: Trump, ahead in the polls early, stood in the middle, a giant in the center of a pyramid of nervous politicians.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
So Trump. although appearing to be a bully among the press, began to look like he was being ganged up upon. This is natural since he led.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
This is what keeping someone accountable looks like nowadays, folks.
A lot of people say how could such a rich man be a voice for the poor man. Of course, the Clintons are also very rich.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Apples to oranges, perhaps.
But, I believe if you are a guy working on a construction site and you saw Trump, you might say, " Hey, thats how I'd be if I hit it rich."
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
So, now he's President-elect. And, so far, the only thing we've seen is the lines of politicians at Trump Tower waiting to see him.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
This is not exactly the only thing we’ve seen, but OK.
They line up at the elevators and the folks look through the windows. There's transparency.Literal transparency.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
So I think the American people, or a great deal of them, still see Trump as an underdog, someone the elite laughed off.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Hillary could not be more stupid than to refer to his followers as deplorable, galvanizing them to their candidate.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
And , then, to call half the country racist sealed the deal. Trump was not getting a fair share, many thought, and voted him in.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
This “rhetoric” double standard may be a little more indicative of the vote than the Americans taking pity on Trump, but also OK.
The idea that he shouldn't have the nuclear codes is an old argument that worked on Goldwater but not Reagan.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
If a President wanted to start nuclear war, he can't do it by picking up a big red phone.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
Macdonald is much more informed than he claims himself to be, huh!
And we've been so scared for so long by our media from Zica and Avian Flu and Pig Flu and Ebola and….. that we no longer are scared.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I don't vote because I can't because Im a Canadian, but if I could I wouldn't cause I know nothing about important things.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
So I guess the extent of Macdonald’s political knowledge is just that bit about the red phone, after all.
We have to hope we have a Republic that is bulletproof to any of the more alarming things some think Trump has in store for us.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
I believe there is a good chance that Trump will become a beloved President and I will tell you why.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
And the grand finale…
Trump wanted money. He got it. Women. Got them.Power. Got it. And it is clear what Trump wants now. Love. Don't bet against him getting it.
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) December 29, 2016
You heard it from Macdonald here, folks. All Trump wants is love.