By Philkon Phil Konstantin - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7869158
Comedian Paula Poundstone told the Baltimore Sun that her Donald Trump-focused videos aren't likely changing any minds but that she was inspired to share her perspective
"I started doing them because I am an enormous fan of historian Heather Cox Richardson’s daily podcast, 'Letters from an American," Poundstone said to the Sun. "I listen every day, and one of the questions she often gets is 'What can we do to help when we’re watching this slow car wreck?' She said: 'Put your voice out there. Post on social media. Make videos.' So I do."
In her latest video, Poundstone jokes about her kittens being spayed and neutered and the pain pills that the vet gave her to use "as needed." She said she kept them in case she needed them for herself, because U.S. healthcare has reached that level of absurdity. She speaks directly to Trump in her videos asking questions like what his co-pay was for being rushed to Walter Reed in the helicopter during the pandemic.
Poundstone even went so far as to needle White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about her comments on Trump.
"It's not what Karoline Leavitt says," she said, referencing the bruise on Trump's hand. "Almost nothing is what Karoline Leavitt says."
Ahead of a Dec. 19th show in Annapolis, Poundstone said that comedy has the unique ability to explain things without confrontation or fear.
“Really great comedy can bring a certain clarity to the awful times we’re going through,” Poundstone said. “I’m hoping what I do can inspire other people not to be afraid.”
She said that she agrees with former Vice President Kamala Harris who was shocked to see "the capitulation" to Trump from some of America's top institutions and influencers
"Not everyone has caved. Some people know right from wrong and there have been instances of great bravery," Poundstone continued. "But there has been this avalanche of capitulation and it has been really upsetting. And it’s not over. I will not be surprised if Trump burns the damn White House down. He is a trapped rat and he will do anything to save himself and vindictively punish people who aren’t supporting him, which at the moment is the majority of the American people."
She admits to having a fear about becoming a Trump target in the way that Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have become.
In a note to lawyer and Slate journalist Dahlia Lithwick, Poundstone recalled asking, “If I go to jail, will you be in the same cell with me?”
Lithwick agreed. "So at least I’d be guaranteed great conversation," Poundstone said.
She cited the comedy duo “Frangela," which said, “You’re going to cry now or you’re going to cry later.”
"Later," Poundstone said, "is not going to help us once a dictatorship is firmly in place. Knowing that I could become a target doesn’t change what I need to do."
The frequent "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" panelist even waxed poetic on her upbringing as a born-again Christian.
"I could never get past the idea that people could say on their deathbeds 'I accept Jesus Christ as my savior' and they’d be saved despite all the horrible things they’d done," she said after confessing she thinks about the afterlife. "Hitler could have said 'I accept Jesus Christ as my savior' right before he offed himself in his bunker. So, we get to heaven and Hitler is there? I’m not comfortable with that. Besides, the music is better in hell anyway."
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