[Video Description: Jimmy Fallon, dressed as and doing an impression of Donald Trump, is pictured on the left side of a split-screen. He's sitting in an office bedecked with ostentatious adornments, with a portrait of Donald Trump on the wall behind him, and speaking into a mobile phone. Ted Cruz, as himself, is pictured on the right side of the split-screen, wearing a grey suit and white shirt, sans tie. You know, to look "casual." He is also speaking into a mobile phone. They have a conversation, the pretense of which is Trump giving Cruz advice on how to nail his Tonight Show interview. It's a series of silly jokes, and Cruz's timing, delivery, and expressions are absolutely dreadful. He looks like he wants to be at home eating a bowl of chunky soup.]
Ughhhhhh! So awkward. Just painful.
This isn't the first time Fallon has enlisted a presidential candidate to participate in this set-up. Last September, Hillary Clinton appeared in a virtually identical skit, and the results were, ah, significantly better.
[Video Description: Fallon, dressed as and doing an impression of Trump, is pictured on the left side of a split-screen. He's sitting on the same set as above described, and speaking into a gold phone. Hillary Clinton, as herself, is pictured on the right side of the split-screen, wearing a bright pink tunic accented with nice jewelry. She is speaking into a mobile phone. They have a conversation, with the same pretense of advice-giving. It's a similar series of silly jokes, but Clinton's timing, delivery, and expressions are delightful. She laughs a lot and looks like she's having a good time.]
I would tell Ted Cruz to stick to his day job, but I don't really want him doing that any more than I want him attempting comedy.
And, listen, not everyone is great at comedy, and being good at comedy isn't a requirement of the presidency. But I will say that having a robust sense of humor about oneself is a trait that seems to match well with being a good leader. So there's that.
It's also interesting to me, looking at the juxtaposition of these two videos, that it's Hillary Clinton among the presidential contenders who has the seemingly intractable reputation as an icy, humorless robot who is sooooo boring and unlikeable and doesn't know how to have any fun.
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