Comedian Milton Jones has said that Donald Trump poses a threat to the comedy industry – because his one-line gaffes are funnier than jokes crafted professionally.
He told how comedy is more important than ever to cope with the current political climate, but said that the jokes seem to be writing themselves.
His comments came in the lead-up to his upcoming UK tour, Milton Jones Is Out There, where he plans to present audiences with a “manifesto of nonsense” as he explores his own chances of running for government.
“The bar is very low across the Atlantic,” he said.
“The problem we have as comedians is that all you have to do is quote something Trump has said and it’s funny there and then.
“I joke that I don’t want to make a Trump mistake by reading somewhere that Mexicans make good fighters, then realise it’s pronounced ‘fajitas’.”
Commenting on his own potential policies, the father-of-three suggested countering cyber-terrorism by forcing culprits to “do something useful” with their technology skills, such as helping to fix internet services.
those chalk and cheese crisps are different
— Milton Jones (@themiltonjones) May 5, 2017
“If I was going into politics, my manifesto would be entertainment,” he said.“If a reality TV star can become the most powerful man in the world, it’s not such a big jump to think that a comedian can do it too.”Kicking off in September and covering everywhere from Cornwall to Scotland and Ireland, he admitted that his political jokes may need tweaking along the way.For one particular gag, which sees him dress up as a map of Britain with Scotland as a detachable head, he joked: “I may have to change the material a bit for that, especially the accent, and I’ll definitely have to wing the referendum argument.”But Milton expressed the importance of finding the funny side when it comes to hard-hitting matters, describing comedy as a safety valve that lets out the tension.
have a theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a damp cloth
— Milton Jones (@themiltonjones) May 11, 2017
His tour will include an event at The Lowry Theatre in Salford in October, near the scene of this week’s Manchester terror attack that led to the deaths of 22 people.As he considered how to make a fitting tribute, he continued: “It is difficult to gauge what will happen in between now and then, but I know people have continued to perform there and you certainly have to address it.“You can cancel the show out of respect, or see that actually this is what people want.“You can only come at it with empathy for the people who have lost.”Describing comedians as especially well versed in empathy, he told how he will be joining a line-up of well-known UK stand-ups, including Harry Hill, Alan Davies and Jo Brand, for a gig in support of Harry Potter actor Jim Tavare, who suffered serious injuries in a car crash earlier this year.
All star Comedy show in London's West End! Monday June 12th, 2017. pic.twitter.com/XAkdf8zm0s
— Dave Thompson (@davethompsonha) May 25, 2017
“All of us do thousands of miles of driving every year and we have all had close calls,” he said, “so it was simply a matter of statistical time before someone had an accident.“Comedians are quite good at putting themselves in other people’s shoes and mucking in, so I am very happy to do what I can to help him back on the road to recovery.“He is going to be on the mend for a long time and that sort of trauma is difficult to come out of.“So we want to give him the money to help him out in the short term as he deals with that…or maybe he will just have one big party at a Malibu beach house.”Tickets for the Spring 2018 extension of Milton Jones Is Out There will be available from 10am on Friday.
