Jonathan Chait, a left-wing writer for New York Magazine, joked that Barron Trump should be the President’s chief of staff, in part because he’s not old enough to be tried as an adult. The insult prompted a backlash on social media, including a scolding by another famous First Child: Chelsea Clinton.
Chait responded to an article in which Nick Ayers, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, turned down the offer of accepting the same role for the President.
The write-up included mention of selling points for Ayers, which Chait then shared and offered up his own points as to why the job should go to Barron instead.
The columnist couldn’t resist the urge to suggest that while the younger Mr. Trump might commit a crime in the role, he’d still go unscathed due to his age.
My darkhorse chief of staff pick: Barron Trump
1. Looks like Trump
2. Will not make Trump work
3. Cannot be tried as an adult https://t.co/wNigDQMx89— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 10, 2018
First Daughter Chelsea Clinton stands up for Barron
I may not agree with her a good portion of the time, but former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton was even dismayed by Chait’s joke at Barron’s expense, and let him know about it.
Clinton reminded the lefty journalist that Barron, at the age of 12, is still just a kid and “deserves to be left alone.”
Please leave Barron Trump out of “jokes” & analyses. He’s a kid and private citizen and deserves to be left alone. Thank you. https://t.co/wDvfMo59vV
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) December 10, 2018
Chait responded by going into a lengthy explanation as to why the joke is actually about Donald Trump.
They say if you have to explain the joke, then it really wasn’t all that funny to begin with. If you have the time to read his explanation, proceed below.
1. They say humor, like a frog, can be dissected but it tends to die in the process.
Several people have objected to this joke, on the grounds that it supposedly makes fun of Barron Trump. https://t.co/U7UeiZESa5— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 10, 2018
If you don’t have time to read that drivel, you’re in luck. Chait also provided a handy synopsis of why his joke about Barron Trump isn’t really about Barron Trump.
This is not a joke about Barron Trump. It is a joke about Donald Trump.
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 10, 2018
Barron is a perpetual target of the left
The left has been unceasingly attacking Barron Trump, and Chelsea’s insistence that they stop isn’t going to put an end to it any time soon. Some of the attacks have been incredibly vile.
Recall, if you will, actor Peter Fonda threatening to kidnap Barron Trump and “put him in a cage with pedophiles.”
Or Rosie O’Donnell and acclaimed Hollywood director Danny Zuker teaming up on social media to mock Barron’s reaction to Kathy Griffin’s beheading gag.
Then there was the time former Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings mocked the First Son for being upset over Griffin’s stunt.
Chait, like the others, will face no repercussions for their comments or jokes. This is the norm in the era of Trump.
Actors, media members, and lib trivia masters acknowledging their inferiority by mocking a young man just to make themselves feel better, and it takes Chelsea Clinton to set them straight.
