Trump has the last laugh as jokes dry up!

Comedians used to lampooning Donald Trump are now wary of making jokes about the US president -elect fearing it may provoke a hostile reaction, in a sign of a deeply polarised America since the tycoon's win following a bitterly divisive election campaign.
"This election was the most polarising election in the history of our country," said Jody Sloane, a Boston-based comic, adding "to even lightly joke about Trump leads Trump supporters to assume you are a Hillary supporter and the hatred ensues. You run the risk of losing half your audience - actually, less than half, based on popular vote - but it's just not worth it".

"When I was performing leading up to the election, if you mentioned Hillary's name, you alienated half your audience, if you mentioned Trump's name, you alienated half your audience," agreed comedian Jimmy Tingle. "When you mention people's names or political party, that's when people fall into their camps".
"You can't win" when you get political, says Boston-based comedian Will Noonan, whose 26,000 Twitter followers have hassled him for being too harsh on Trump, too harsh on Clinton or not harsh enough on either, the Boston Herald reported.
"It's a shame," he said as he personally finds Trump prime fodder. "He talks about his dead parents the way I talk about my snowplough guy. 'Fantastic people! Did a great job!'".

But it's hard to craft stand-up material when audiences can react to it so divisively.

Comedian Wanda Sykes was booed down during an anti-Trump skit in Boston last month.
"People are kind of on edge," agreed stand-up comedian and Boston Herald Radio host Steve Sweeney. "There's a lot of anger in the emotional climate. We were all looking forward to a sense of relief when this thing was over. But it's not".
"He says 'believe me' like a salesman, after every sentence. The last guy I believe is the guy who keeps saying 'believe me'," said comedian Chris Zito, a radio host who occasionally gives in to the temptation to impersonate Trump's distinctive phrases.

There are ways to tell Trump jokes, even to sensitive audiences, experts say.
Local comedy producer John Tobin said good comics can navigate a Trump joke with a soft hand.
"The good ones are the ones that tell the jokes, and you can't really tell which side of the aisle they're on," he said. "If it's an overly one-sided rant one way or the other, then I think the crowd can turn on you".
"I think Donald Trump is going to be writing our act for us, I think every week is going to be a new sitcom," said comedian and TV co-host Dave Russo adding "as a comedian, no one is off limits".

But not every comedian finds the new president funny.
"I'm an old, fat white guy. On paper, it looks like I won this," said stand-up comic Tony V.
"I've lived through the Cuban missile crisis, the Bay of Pigs, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and both Iraq wars. And this is the most frightened I've ever been," he said.