多年来，民主党一直渲染特朗普带来的威胁，将他描绘成一心在美国建立独裁统治的冷酷暴君。
如今，他们转而使用嘲讽手段，进一步放大这套叙事。
民主党将特朗普刻画成一位怠惰、贪腐、日渐衰老的现代尼禄，沉溺享乐、大肆铺张，正在毁掉一切。
叙事风格转变之际，特朗普支持率跌至历史低位，而他为留下政治遗产大兴土木，也让民众觉得他脱离现实。
佐治亚州参议员乔恩・奥索夫是民主党内崭露头角的新星，带头发起凌厉抨击。这场连任竞选，也被视作他角逐 2028 年民主党总统提名的预演。周二，他进一步激化对立，称特朗普是 “逃避征兵、贪腐成性的总统，鲁莽将国家拖入一场不知如何收场、更无法取胜的战争”。
奥索夫并非首位依靠嘲讽特朗普制造舆论、提升个人全国知名度的民主党人。去年，伊利诺伊州州长 J・B・普利茨克就抨击特朗普，称其 “对妻子不忠，打高尔夫还作弊”;加州州长纽森的社交账号长期戏仿特朗普的发言风格，去年一条推文写道：“很多人都说，他如今连空军一号的宽大台阶都走不稳了。”
这颇有 “既然无法击败对手，就学他的打法” 的意味：借助攻击对手博取政治关注度，本就是特朗普惯用策略。
距离中期选举仅剩不到两个月，民主党全面转向嘲讽战术，风险也随之升高。关键问题在于：不留情面地讥讽特朗普，除了提振本党士气、筹集竞选资金之外，能否真正重创这位任期还剩两年的总统?
突破口之一，便是打破特朗普身上 “强人光环”。
特朗普一直极力塑造强势领导人形象。倘若攻击能够戳破这层外衣，暴露他精力不济、状态衰退，他面临的政治困境将会加剧。而特朗普自身的种种表现，也在授人以柄。他在椭圆形办公室活动上打瞌睡的画面，对战时总司令而言观感极差，也营造出弱势形象，成为民主党攻击的靶子。 奥索夫展现强硬博弈姿态
嘲讽特朗普，对民主党还有另一重作用：尖锐的挖苦，往往会激发出他们想要公之于众的失态回应。例如，周一有人向特朗普问及奥索夫针对其贴身助理娜塔莉・哈普的抨击，特朗普当场情绪失控。他将奥索夫比作 80 年代喜剧角色皮・威・赫尔曼，这番反击早已脱离时代，丝毫看不出壮年领袖的活力。
奥索夫敢于点名哈普，不惜背负牵扯第三方的批评，足以看出他的强硬博弈思路。此番争执引来白宫激烈反击，就连长期容忍特朗普部分厌女言论的保守派评论人士，也纷纷发声谴责。
但仅凭嘲讽，不足以扳倒特朗普。2024 年民主党全国代表大会上，前总统奥巴马痛斥特朗普 “起幼稚外号、传播荒诞阴谋论，还偏执地在意集会人数”;民主党副总统候选人蒂姆・沃尔兹也曾调侃特朗普在麦当劳得来速窗口炸薯条，称 “让美国再次伟大” 阵营一众核心人物行事怪异。只是之后沃尔兹自身争议缠身，相关攻势收效有限。
即便如此，特朗普依旧赢回了白宫。
2024 大选的核心矛盾，并非特朗普的种种荒唐言行，而是年迈的拜登执意参选，以及民主党仓促推出的替代人选哈里斯缺乏说服力。
如今，嘲讽战术或许更有机会牵制特朗普。两年前，他躲过刺杀，上演政坛史上惊人逆袭，看上去不可战胜。
临近中期选举，局势已然变化。不过特朗普二度上任第一年持续集权，反倒印证了民主党此前关于他谋求独裁的警告。在伊朗问题上陷入僵局、无视民众生活成本压力，再加上为打造个人政治遗产大兴土木的种种场面，都留给民主党可乘之机，即便该党向来不擅长把握竞选良机。 与特朗普缠斗，或得不偿失
尽管如此，持续加码嘲讽的民主党人仍需谨慎。
特朗普素来擅长街头式强硬政治，一旦和他陷入低俗缠斗，对手往往会一同受损。而且依靠哗众取宠博取流量的政治时代，或许正在走向尾声。纽森戏仿特朗普夸张的社交发言，固然能让本党支持者解气;可经历多年特朗普带来的喧嚣 —— 奥巴马 2024 年曾比喻他就像邻居那台吵个不停的吹叶机 ——2028 年选民真的会投票选出一个翻版特朗普式民主党人吗?
奥索夫似乎对此有所考量，他将本次连任竞选定义为对不受欢迎总统的公投。一旦竞选顺利，这套叙事还能无缝延续到总统大选之中。
奥索夫能够出圈，不只是因为他擅长嘲讽特朗普。他的讥讽背后，是更深层的批判：这位总统履职缺位、行事荒唐、能力不足，难当大任。与此同时，美国民众仍在为食品、住房和医疗开支发愁，大家愈发担忧美国再度陷入中东战争泥潭。
发声者固然亮眼，但这套主张之所以有力，根源在于特朗普不断用自身行为印证批评所言非虚。
Why Ossoff’s savage lampooning of Trump is taking off
Democrats have spent years stoking fear about President Donald Trump, branding him a ruthless tyrant king bent on building an American dictatorship.
Now, they are turning to ridicule to widen the conceit.
They’re painting him as a lazy, corrupt andagingmodern Nero whose self-indulgence and extravagance are burning everything down.
The metaphor flip comes with Trump’s popularity matching all-time lows and as his legacy-building construction spree fuels perceptions he’s out of touch.
The party’s emerging star,Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, isleading the chargewith steely-eyed takedowns that have turned his reelection race into a potential audition forthe Democratic field in 2028. He escalated the feud on Tuesday, calling Trump “a draft-dodging, crook president who has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win.”
Ossoff is not the first Democrat to mock Trump to ignite clashes that elevate them beyond their states.Illinois Gov. JB Pritzkertweaked the president’s self-image last year by claiming “he cheats on his wives, he cheats at golf.” And California Gov. Gavin Newsom’ssocial media accountsparody Trump’s online persona; one post last, year, for instance, declared that “MANY ARE SAYING HE CAN’T EVEN DO THE ‘BIG STAIRS’ ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE.”
It’s a case of, “If you can’t beat him, join him,” since picking out foils for political gain is a classic Trumpian tactic.
But the stakes are rising as Democrats move to full mockery less than two months from the midterm elections. The question now becomes whether merciless lampooning of Trump can do more than cheer partisans and drum up campaign cash: Can it do true political damage to the president with two years left in office?
One way to do that would be to puncture Trump’s mystique.
The president has incessantly conjured the aura of a strongman. But if attacks can expose him as brittle and diminished, his political woes will escalate. The president is hardly helping himself here. When he seems todoze offat Oval Officeevents, it’s not only a terrible look for a wartime commander in chief; it also creates a perception of weakness that Democrats can attack.
Ossoff shows he can play hardball
Taunting Trump also works in another way for Democrats. Savage mockery can provoke exactly the kind of behavior they hope to highlight. Trump, for instance, erupted at an event on Monday when he was asked about Ossoff’s jab at his closeness withNatalie Harp, a ubiquitous aide. Trump hardly projected youthful vigor by comparing Ossoff to 1980s comedic character Pee Wee Herman — a retaliatory slap 40 years behind the zeitgeist.
Ossoff showed he could play hardball by referencing Harp at the risk of criticism for dragging in a third party. The flap triggered a furious pushback from the White House and condemnation from conservative pundits who’ve long tolerated Trump’s sometimes-misogynistic rhetoric.
But mockery alone won’t undo Trump. At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, former President Barack Obama scorched the president’s “childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.” And Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz gained traction by ridiculing Trump for serving fries at a McDonald’s drive-thru and describing MAGA heavyweights as “weird” before his own vulnerabilities drowned out the message.
Trump won back the White House anyway.
The pivotal issue in 2024 was not Trump’s absurdities but the disastrous decision of a fading President Joe Biden to run for reelection and his unconvincing replacement on the Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Derision may have a better chance of derailing Trump now. Two years ago, he was in the middle of the greatest comeback in political history and projecting invincibility after defying an assassination attempt.
The atmospherics have shifted as the midterms approach, though Trump’s first year back in office saw a relentless accumulation of power that lent more credibility to earlier Democratic warnings about a wannabe dictator. Trump’s struggles against Iran; his rejection of affordability concerns that affect millions; and thespectacleof hislegacy projectsprovide openings that even the often-clumsy Democratic Party might well exploit.
Getting in the gutter with Trump may not pay off
Still, Democrats who pile on need to be careful.
Trump is a feral political street fighter. Those who join him in the gutter usually get roughed up. And the age of stunt politics may be waning. Newsom might have gratified partisan Democrats spoiling for a fight by aping Trump’s social media excesses. But after a decade of Trump’s grating uproar — which Obama in 2024 compared to a neighbor with an annoying leaf blower — will 2028 voters really vote for a Democratic replica?
Ossoff seems to have considered this as he pitches his reelection bid as a referendum on an unpopular president — which, conveniently, will morph seamlessly into a presidential campaign if he takes the plunge.
Ossoff is cutting through not only because he’s unusually good at mocking Trump. His ridicule conveys a deeper condemnation of the president as an absent, absurd and hapless figure who’s not up for the job. Meanwhile, Americans still struggle to pay for food, housing and healthcare, and they’re growing increasingly leery of a new Middle East quagmire.
The messenger is strong. But the message is stronger because Trump keeps validating it.
