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Donald Trump's one rule for his 2011 Comedy Central roast revealed

Helena Andrews-Dyer
Thursday 04 August 2016 09:37 BST
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The apology has never been a campaign tactic for Mr Trump - until now
The apology has never been a campaign tactic for Mr Trump - until now (REUTERS)

Hillary Clinton's opinion of Donald Trump's "very thin skin" is on record. It's dangerous, according to the Democratic presidential nominee, and could potentially lead the country to war. But according to the comedians who roasted the GOP presidential nominee back in 2011, Trump is actually a good sport. Or at least he's good at pretending to be a good sport.

Today, comedy writer and "Family Guy" producer Aaron Lee posted a list of "Jokes that were and were not allowed at the roast of Donald Trump." On the approved punchline menu, Lee's personal analysis of all the jokes told at the televised roast, are laughs about Trump's hair, all of his three wives, his penchant for models, his failed product endorsements, his failed casinos, his status as a business legacy, his weight and his relationship with daughter Ivanka.

According to Lee, who's written for more than a half-dozen such roasts, the only wisecrack Trump didn't want told was "any joke that suggests Trump is not actually as wealthy as he claims to be."

Lee's list confirms an earlier account by roast comedian Anthony Jeselnik, who told the Hollywood Reporter in June, "Trump's one rule was 'don't say I have less money then I say I do.' "

"His kids were fair game. His wife was fair game. And I remember one of my jokes was about his casino business failing, and I could feel that hurt coming off of him," continued Jeselnik, who said Trump didn't like that last one.

"I called him a douchebag to his face," the comedian recalled, "and that wasn't as harsh as saying 'you don't know how to run a casino.' "

But everything else? He was all smiles.

Jeselnik thought those smiles were fake though, a calculated way for Trump to get more camera time. But comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who also took shots at Trump that night, including a joke comparing his business acumen to a child with a development disorder, thought Trump could take anything.

"At no point did I think he was actually enjoying himself," explained Jeselnik, who added that even back then Trump had a "game plan" for the night. "He volunteered for it and it seemed smart in a way. Like, 'let's get the pros out here and really tear me a new one and then in five years when I start to run [for president], these things will kind of punch themselves out.' "

Copyright Washington Post

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