Triumph The Insult Comic Dog Is No Match For Trump's Hush Money Trial Circus

By Andrew Sanford | Politics | April 16, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Politics | April 16, 2024 |

Robert Smigel once took Triumph The Insult Comic Dog to a premiere of Star Wars Episode 2: Attack Of The Clones. It is a meeting of fanatics. He comes across people so obsessed with Star Wars that they’re saying they love The Phantom Menace (I have softened on the movie, Attack Of The Clones is worse, but that realization took almost 25 years). Still, the people are good sports, even when Smigel ruthlessly mocks them in a way that hasn’t aged great.

Still, that’s what Triumph does. He is an Insult Comic Dog. The bit is ridiculous, but it requires participants to possess a modicum of self-awareness. Some people are so deeply removed from reality that insults do not affect them, because anyone attacking them is some, shall we say, Phantom Menace out to serve a greater evil. In their eyes, Triumph supports an evil politician who rose to absolute power through dubious means. Again, I am not talking about the friendly nerds waiting to watch the second-worst Star Wars movie.

Smigel took his talents to a New York courthouse to mix it up with Trump Supporters. Presumably, the interactions will be cut together as a segment for someone’s late-night show. For now, we have a video from Deadline, showing Smigel and Triumph getting screamed at by people who lost the thread long ago. There are obscenities, claims that Trump is better for the LGBTQ+ community than Biden, and someone yelling into their phone that “the hood is voting for Trump.” It’s madness.

“I’m with dogs for Michael Vick,” Smigel says to kick things off. The rest of the clip is him attempting to read some prepared jokes and meeting palpable resistance. I’m sure Smigel expected resistance, and I guess that some footage from his time there will be salvageable, but seeing this clip makes it clear that he was facing an uphill battle.

(WATCH) Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (and his handler, Robert Smigel) interviews a “Gays for Trump” supporter

📸 Sean Piccoli/Deadline pic.twitter.com/B63xPslPMP

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) April 15, 2024