Since President Donald Trump was reelected, the country has seemingly been thrown into a state of chaos. From a bombardment of executive orders to ICE roundups and attacks on DEI, many Americans feel like they have no guidance and even worse... no hope. But one thing we can depend on is comedians to call out politicians and say what we are thinking.
However, comedian Roy Woods Jr. says not so fast. He spoke with The Root about how he will— as a political satirist and host of CNN’s “Have I Got News For You—’’ handle the next four years of Trump’s term.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do about Trump,” Woods Jr. admitted. But he explained that doesn’t mean nothing can be done to cushion the blow of the MAGA leader (Watch the full interview here). Woods said people have to decide the things they are going to get upset about. The reason why? Well, Woods anticipates the country hasn’t even seen half of the foolishness yet.
“There’s going to be a lot of things that’s going to come down the pipe that’s going to sound really stupid,” he warned The Root. “It’s going to make you upset. But some of that stuff ain’t policy.”
He explained the key to a successful four years is reading through the drama and focusing on policy and a “sense of accountability.” Within the first month of Trump’s term, the president and his republican supporters— notably multi-billionaire Elon Musk— have gouged several government agencies including USAID, the Department of Education, and even the Department of Health and Human Services.
But with key agencies being ripped from the seams of the nation’s foundation— and experts notably advising against this method of “rebuilding” the nation— Woods Jr. says Americans can’t just sit back and talk trash about the president. “I just don’t think that we’re going to effectively use humor as a tool of education if we continue to just call the president dumb,” he said.
Even if the policies are dumb, he said “you got to figure out another entry point and how to create dialogue using humor around these topics.”
Because, according to Woods, bad mouthing Trump is only going to further the stark divide in the country. “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t call out the president’s policies,” he clarified, but he said something different has to happen for real change to begin to exist in our society.
“I just think the approach we’ve had the last eight years... I don’t think have been completely effective at unifying or educating people on the other side.” The saying goes united we stand, divided we fall, and Woods just doesn’t want to see the nation we all love crumble.