Andy Borowitz Talks to David Remnick About the R.N.C.

Summary

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode: Andy Borowitz Talks to David Remnick About the R.N.C.
Date: July 25, 2016

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Episode Overview

In this episode, The New Yorker’s editor David Remnick calls up Andy Borowitz, the satirist behind The Borowitz Report, to dissect the just-concluded 2016 Republican National Convention (R.N.C.) that ultimately nominated Donald Trump. With trademark wit and sharp commentary, Borowitz reflects on the spectacle, unexpected moments, and theatricality of the week in Cleveland. The conversation blends humor with sharp, insightful analysis of political performance, the Trump family’s presence, and what all of it means in the broader context of American politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Upside-Down R.N.C. Expectations

(01:34–02:26)

• Borowitz begins by admitting his prediction was completely off. He expected that Trump would use his final speech to become more subdued and presidential, providing a stark contrast to the chaos of earlier convention moments.

  "I thought … we would see a Donald Trump who was subdued and presidential and would seem so much more normal than everything we had seen up to that point. Boy, was I wrong."
  — Andy Borowitz (01:54)

2. The All-American Myth Reboot

(02:26–03:36)

• Borowitz highlights the use of a quasi-Ken Burns documentary segment that mythologized Trump as a transformative American hero, humorously exaggerating his achievements.
• Ivanka Trump’s speech is noted for rebranding her father as a proto-feminist figure, which Borowitz finds absurdly at odds with public perception.
• Borowitz pinpoints a telling rhetorical shift in Trump's language:

  “Somebody did like a find replace on his text of the speech and took out all the I's and put in we's … He seemed so uncomfortable with this pronoun...”
  — Andy Borowitz (03:09)

• Audience reactions expose the true mood of the convention:

  “He said, ‘We must be a country of generosity and warmth, but we must also be a country of law and order.’ And you know when he said generosity and warmth? He got crickets from the audience. No one was into generosity and warmth. And then law and order, people roared.”
  — Andy Borowitz (03:28)

• Borowitz draws on Molly Ivins' famous quip:

  "The speech must have sounded great in the original German."
  — Andy Borowitz quoting Molly Ivins (04:03)

3. Showbiz (Or Lack Thereof) at the R.N.C.

(04:12–04:59)

• Remnick and Borowitz discuss the promise of a “showbiz” convention. Instead, it felt more like a B-list TV marathon, populated by soap stars, underwear models, and lesser-known figures.
• Borowitz’s satire spotlights who the R.N.C. did and didn’t platform:

  “Underwear models, very well represented. Not just Melania, but also this guy, Antonio Sabato.”
  — Andy Borowitz (04:43) "It’s an immigrant story that Trump really likes—immigrants who come over here with nothing but the underwear on their ass and turn that into a great American success story… I think his real view is immigrants are okay if they’re hot."
  — Andy Borowitz (05:01)

4. The Surreal Parade of Trump Children

(05:24–06:31)

• Remnick asks about the disproportionate presence of Trump’s children at the event. Borowitz suggests there were simply too many:

  “There were too many Trump kids. They could have lost a few. We could have lost maybe Tiffany and Eric, sort of the marginal ones, just get them out of the picture."
  — Andy Borowitz (05:33)

• Borowitz singles out Donald Trump Jr. as his "favorite," humorously highlighting the burden of inheriting the Trump name:

  "Can you imagine growing up with the name Donald Trump and the pressure on him to be as odious as his dad someday?"
  — Andy Borowitz (05:42)

  • He pokes fun at Trump Jr.’s bungling of construction terms, suggesting he “should stick to tanning.”

5. The Ted Cruz "Hero" Moment

(06:31–07:16)

• The interview zeroes in on Ted Cruz’s dramatic non-endorsement and booing, which Borowitz calls “the greatest moment of all.”

  “Ted Cruz, from my point of view, was the hero of the convention because it was late Wednesday night, and I was really getting sick of watching the whole thing. And then Ted Cruz got booed off stage and completely restored the entertainment value of the RNC. It was must-see TV.”
  — Andy Borowitz (06:36)

• Borowitz dubs Cruz’s knack for alienating a crowd as a “superpower.”

6. Anticipating Hillary Clinton’s Response

(07:16–07:49)

• Looking forward, Borowitz imagines a theatrical countermove by Hillary Clinton:

  “Her entrance, I think, should be that she comes in in manacles and she is actually locked up. And then she just grits her teeth and breaks free with her own sheer force of will ... they can try to lock her up, but it ain't gonna work because she's Hillary.”
  — Andy Borowitz (07:22)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I thought ... we would see a Donald Trump who was subdued and presidential ... Boy, was I wrong."
  — Andy Borowitz (01:54)
• “He said, ‘We must be a country of generosity and warmth, but we must also be a country of law and order.’ ... No one was into generosity and warmth. And then law and order, people roared.”
  — Andy Borowitz (03:28)
• “The speech must have sounded great in the original German.”
  — Molly Ivins, quoted by Andy Borowitz (04:03)
• “It’s an immigrant story that Trump really likes—immigrants … who turn that into a great American success story. ... his real view is immigrants are okay if they’re hot.”
  — Andy Borowitz (05:01)
• “Ted Cruz ... is capable of turning the entire room against him. I mean, he almost has a superpower when it comes to making people hate him.”
  — Andy Borowitz (06:56)
• “... they can try to lock her up, but it ain't gonna work because she's Hillary.”
  — Andy Borowitz (07:32)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:34 – Borowitz on predicting a more “presidential” convention outcome for Trump.
• 02:29–03:36 – Deconstructing Trump’s speech tone, style, and audience reactions.
• 04:12–04:59 – The underwhelming “showbiz” and immigrant narratives of the R.N.C.
• 05:24–06:31 – Running commentary on the Trump children’s performances.
• 06:31–07:16 – The drama and fallout from Ted Cruz’s speech.
• 07:16–07:49 – Borowitz’s satirical suggestion for Hillary Clinton’s DNC entrance.

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Conclusion

In this quick-hit, razor-sharp discussion, Andy Borowitz and David Remnick unpack the 2016 R.N.C. as a surprising blend of awkward showmanship, political theater, and moments of unexpected drama. Borowitz’s irreverent satire underscores the tensions, ironies, and absurdities that defined the event, providing listeners with a humorous yet incisive critique of the new era of spectacle-driven politics.

Transcript

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[Lauren Good]

I'm Dorothy Wickenden. On today's Politics and More podcast, David Remnick talks with Andy Borowitz, the writer of the New Yorker's satirical news column, the Borowitz Report. Borowitz is an authority on the outrageous side of the news, but even he was surprised by last week's Republican convention.

[Interviewer]

When all was said and done. Late on Thursday night after Donald Trump's speech, I called up America's leading political commentator, a man of great probity, the author of the Borowitz Report, my colleague and friend, Andy Borowitz.

[Michael Colory]

Well, it completely ruined my theory of the convention that I was starting to assemble. Can I share that with you, please? Well, I had this theory that, you know, while the press was saying that the convention was a train wreck, with Melania quoting Michelle Obama and Rudy Giuliani just seeming to have some sort of chemical imbalance, I thought what they were setting us up for was that tonight we would see a Donald Trump who was subdued and presidential and would seem so much more normal than everything we had seen up to that point. Boy, Was I wrong? I totally got that wrong.

[Interviewer]

And so what did you hear? What did you make of it?

[Michael Colory]

Well, you know, I think it's important to put it in context. I mean, did you see that kind of Ken Burns documentary they did?

[Interviewer]

I did.

[Michael Colory]

It was like he built the railroad, he invented the car, he transformed the skyline. Exactly, all of that. And then Ivanka came up and then she basically reinvented Donald Trump as a proto feminist. He was like Betty Friedan all of a sudd. So then Donald comes out and I would say about 13 seconds into his speech, there was a minor adjustment. I don't know if you noticed this, but he said we did this. He went through somebody did like a find replace on his text of the speech and took out all the I's and then put in we's in the first. And he seemed so uncomfortable with this pronoun and he used the word generous. Well, you noticed that. And I actually have the direct quote. I was scribbling this down, David. He said, we must be a country of generosity and warmth, but we must also be a country of law and order. And you know what he said? Generosity and warmth. He got crickets from the audience. No one was into generosity and warmth. And then law and order, people roared. And that kind of set the tone for what was to come. The late, great Molly Ivins has this unbelievably brilliant quote about a similar speech at a Republican convention given by Patrick Buchanan. You know this quote?

[Interviewer]

No.

[Michael Colory]

It said the speech must have sounded great in the original German. And I mean, it was like this was a speech that would make Laura Ingraham stand up and salute.

[Interviewer]

And yet, Andy, this was supposed to be a week in which the convention was going to be a transformed event. It was going to have show business. Did you think they delivered on that?

[Michael Colory]

Well, that really depends on whether or not you were a fan of the TV series Joanie Loves Chachi. Are you familiar with the Eurovision Song Contest? I sort of felt. I sort of felt like that was the level. It was a series of people who, you didn't really know who they were. A lot of them were former soap opera stars or, you know, interestingly, underwear models very well represented. Not just Melania, but also this guy, Antonio Sabato.

[Interviewer]

I did see him and. But I should say that underwear models are people too. So there might not have been many African Americans in the hall and Hispanics, but underwear models, you got them and.

[Michael Colory]

It was really, you know, it's interesting. That's an immigrant story that Trump really likes he likes immigrants who come over here with nothing but the underwear on their ass and who turned that into a great American success story. And I guess his view, you know, he's seen as being anti immigrant, but I think his real view is immigrants are okay if they're hot. I'm down with that. It's cool.

[Interviewer]

Now, it was amazing that the Trump kids got up one after the other. What did you make of the Trump kids, and did you have a favorite?

[Michael Colory]

Well, okay, well, first of all, there were too many Trump kids. They could have lost a few. We could have lost maybe Tiffany and Eric, sort of the marginal ones, Just get them out of the picture. But I would say of the ones remaining, despite all the hype for Ivanka, my favorite by far was Donald Trump Jr. Why is that? Well, can you imagine growing up with the name Donald Trump and the pressure on him to be as odious as his dad someday? And I think he is coming along in that direction really well. He had one really bad moment. He was trying to establish his father's construction site credit, and at one point he said, you know, my dad was at the construction site pouring Sheetrock and hanging concrete. And then he realized, oh, wait, that's not exactly what you do with those two things. And he got kind of flummoxed. But I think maybe on the campaign trail, he should stick to things he knows about, like tanning. He really knows a lot about that. Just stick with that kind of stuff.

[Interviewer]

But we're leaving out the greatest moment of all, and it's the one I almost missed, is the Ted Cruz moment.

[Michael Colory]

Well, you know, I think Ted Cruz, from my point of view, was the hero of the convention because it was late Wednesday night, and I was really getting sick of watching the whole thing. And then Ted Cruz got booed off stage and completely restored the entertainment value of the rnc. I was right back in. It was Must see tv. I think Ted Cruz is really a remarkable guy because in the space of a few minutes in a room filled with 10,000 Republicans, he's capable of turning the entire room against him. I mean, he almost has a superpower when it comes to making people hate him. He really is amazing.

[Interviewer]

What do you think Hillary Clinton will do in reaction to this spectacular in Cleveland?

[Michael Colory]

Well, what I would do if I were Hillary Clinton, her entrance, I think, should be that she comes in in manacles and she is actually locked up. And then she just grits her teeth and breaks free with her own sheer force of will and just proves sort of like Hulk, you know, and he just sort of proves that, you know, they can try to lock her up, but it ain't gonna work because she's Hillary. That's what I would do.

[Lauren Good]

That was David Remnick talking to Andy Borowitz.

[Katie Drummond]

I'm Katie Drummond. I'm Wired's global Editorial director.

[Michael Colory]

I'm Michael Colory, Wired's Director of consumer Tech and Culture.

[Lauren Good]

And I'm Lauren Good. I'm a senior correspondent at Wired. And our show Uncanny Val is about the people, power and influence of Silicon Valley.

[Katie Drummond]

And right now, Silicon Valley and Washington have never been more intertwined. So each week we get together to talk about a big story, often at the intersection of tech and politics.

[Michael Colory]

Right. So whether we're talking about Trump, Coin Doge or Elon Musk, we will always explain how these Silicon Valley forces are.

[Lauren Good]

Affecting Washington and how they affect you.

[Katie Drummond]

Make sure you're following Uncanny Valley in your podcast app of choice so you don't miss an episode.

[Interviewer]

From prx.