If one sole force in this farce of a universe can bring down the campaign of presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who speaks as if he has a perpetually-thwarted O-face, it won’t be the hacker group Anonymous, nor Ben Sasse, nor John Oliver’s #Drumpf hashtag activism. No, dear readers: it will be at the hands of Ayesha Ali Trump, his illegitimate, Muslim—and very fictional—daughter.
Created by Fawzia Mirza, a queer Muslim performer and writer based out of Chicago, The Muslim Trump takes a look at the GOP primary candidate’s decidedly racist and xenophobic beef with Muslim-Americans, utilizing a mockumentary take on the subject. It’s darkly satirical, dry approach to comedy is thoroughly digestible—and simultaneously terrifying, considering the source material it’s based on.
In an email to Jezebel, Mirza explained how she came up with the idea for The Muslim Trump, which was fueled by his simultaneous rising popularity and abject, unapologetic racism.
“After Donald Trump publicly said he [wanted] to ban Muslims from entering the country, I felt appalled...[with] him, and with how people gobbled it up. [...] Even comedians didn’t like satirizing him or mocking him or putting them in their monologues or putting ‘Trump’ in a punch line, because Donald Trump was embracing the mockery. He loved it. He still loves it. No matter who speaks out against him.”
Mirza also added that she felt compelled to “do something” the only way she knew how: “What can a little brown girl do? Well, I can make something. I can do comedy.”
The full video, which has recently been released, was preempted by a string of trailers teasing the full project, each of which promised (and delivered) a full Trump-centric exposé on his “illegitimate daughter.” The deadpan style of the trailer videos don’t necessarily make The Muslim Trump’s comedic bent obvious, but particular one-liners, like Ayesha’s description of her “father” as “a rattlesnake wearing a shark suit” juxtaposed with some absurd imagery helps put the point across.
More importantly, it’s clear that The Muslim Trump delivers an unconventional study on intersectionality, multiculturalism, and what it means to be American—which is something we desperately need now, more than ever.
Other supplementary aspects of The Muslim Trump include a Twitter account curated by Mirza, which gives us hints at a more laugh-out-loud approach to her creation.
Mirza’s other projects include a web series about Kam Kardashian, the long-lost lesbian Kardashian sister, so you might want to click on that immediately. Just saying.
Contact the author at [email protected].
Image via Facebook.