If youâre anything like me, when Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress tonight, it will be very difficult to watch (especially if, like me, you initially thought âjoint session of Congressâ referred to a little-known constitutional amendment that required representatives to pass a blunt around the House chamber).
Luckily for you, we here at The Root have devised a way to keep everyone interested in tonightâs presidential address. We studied every single one of Trumpâs political speeches, looked at his tendencies and came up with a drinking game that requires paying close attention to his every word. There are only 10 simple rules. If any of them happens, you must take the assigned number of shots. The beauty of the game is, all you need is a bottle of your favorite alcohol and a Trump speech. The only con is, you have to actually listen to a Trump speech.
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Here are the rules:
He probably wonât say, âShoutout to my homies in Moscowâ or spout the black church greeting, âGiving honor to God, the members of Congress and Vladimir, who is the head of my life,â but he will definitely acknowledge Russia at least once, according to the terms of the urine-stained blackmail agreement he signed a few years ago.
Because our melon-headed head of state has the attention span of a cocker spaniel puppy, it is very difficult for him to stay on-script for more than two minutes. I know you are asking, âHow do we know if he is ranting or actually reading a teleprompter?â
Because our president reads at a third-grade level, it is easy to tell. When he stops mouthing out the words as if heâs dragging his fingers across the page and starts ending his sentences with the interrogative âOK?â then he is off-script.
Itâs not hard, OK?
This one is hard, because you must be well-versed in the lingo of white nationalism. But any time he talks about âAmerica first,â law and order, âour countryâ or globalism, heâs talking to his white supremacist base.
Of courseâbecause heâs Trumpâhe just might inadvertently drop the n-word. If that happens, thatâs technically not a dog whistle. It only counts as going off-script, so take one shot.
Trust me, you donât have to take license with this one. Drink every time he says something you donât believe, like, âI want unityâ or âIâm a very smart man.â Just down a shot every time he utters anything that is verifiably false, like …
Wait. Do I even need to give examples of Trumpâs lies? I donât think we have enough bandwidth.
Donât worry, this wonât happen. Whether itâs repealing and replacing Obamacare, providing jobs or reducing the deficit, Republicans always make big promises but never provide the specific details of how theyâll do it. The great thing about this rule is, if he actually gives specific, attainable details on how he will give more Americans health insurance, increase employment opportunities or reduce the debt, we all win!
Plus, youâll be drunk!
Every time the camera cuts to Melania Trump and she looks like someone is sitting behind her with a gun pressed against the small of her back, drink. In every psychological thriller, there is always a scene where the protagonist is kidnapped and manages to alert the police. When the cops come, the kidnapper stands behind the door and makes the victim smile nervously and tell the cops that everything is fine.
Thatâs how Melania looks all the time. Take a shot for her.
(Melania, if youâre reading this, just blink once.)
Remember Trumpâs supersecret magical plan to destroy ISIS in the first 30 days of his presidency? How come he doesnât talk about that anymore? During the campaign, he said that he wouldnât reveal how heâd do it because that would have tipped off the enemy. But since heâs been in office for 37 days, Iâm sure that in tonightâs speech heâll announce that ISIS has been eliminated, right?
Right?
If he calls Mexicans âbad hombresâ or refers to the âradical Islamicâ terrorist threat but leaves out the âradical Christianâ one, start drinking. If he talks about immigration as a whole and how he wants to close the borders and round up âillegals,â you must remember that is part of the worldwide white nationalist movement that prompted the United Kingdomâs Brexit and led to two Nazi-like candidates controlling Franceâs conservative movement. That makes all immigration talk an example of rule No. 3 (an âalt-rightâ dog whistle), which requires two shots.
One because he will use Chicago as an example of what ails the entirety of black America (rule No. 8), and two because Chicago represents the âlaw and orderâ that he will use to justify his white nationalist ethnic cleansing goals (rule No. 3).
Take a shot whenever you think about how our last president talked in complete sentences. Take a shot when you wistfully recall how Barack Obama spoke with charisma, veracity and statesmanlike eloquence. Take a shot every time you feel embarrassed knowing that people in other countries are watching this and placing you in the group that voted for this dunderheaded dope.
Dry your eyes. Take one more shot for when we had a president who tried to embrace the other side of the aisle. Stop crying. Take one more for when America was greatâlast month.
Now youâre openly weeping, with a case of the bubble guts. Drink one more for the health care youâll soon lose. One more for the refugees fleeing American-made bombs but who wonât be allowed into America because presidential xenophobia. One more for the Russians who subverted our democracy. One more for the families ripped apart by deportation forces. One for the land of the free. One for the home of the brave.
Wasnât that fun?
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