Donald Trump has been called a lot of things during his decade in American politics.
President.
Businessman.
Reality television star.
Convicted felon.
But Fox News commentator Jessica Tarlov recently offered another description:
“Not a normal human being.”
Apparently, that struck a nerve.
The Mirror asked more than 4,500 of its readers whether they agreed with Tarlov's assessment.
The result?
Ninety-seven percent said yes.
Only 3 percent apparently looked at everything Donald Trump has done over the past decade and thought:
Yep. Perfectly normal.
Let's Be Clear About That Poll
Before anyone starts printing “97% OF AMERICANS THINK TRUMP IS ABNORMAL” bumper stickers, that's not what happened.
This was an online poll of Mirror readers, not a scientifically selected sample of the American population.
It doesn't tell us that 97 percent of Americans think Trump isn't normal.
It tells us that 97 percent of the more than 4,500 Mirror readers who answered the question agreed with Jessica Tarlov.
That's still pretty funny.
Especially because the comment that inspired the poll happened on Fox News.
It Started With Greenland
Tarlov was appearing on The Five with Jesse Watters when the conversation turned to Trump's latest agreement involving Greenland.
Watters wanted Tarlov to give Trump credit.
She wasn't interested.
Tarlov argued that Trump could have pursued essentially the same arrangement without creating an enormous international spectacle first.
Her point was that other countries had simply learned how to manage Trump.
Then she delivered the line:
“I do know he's not a normal human being!”
And somewhere, apparently, thousands of Mirror readers nodded simultaneously.
What Exactly Is “Normal” Anymore?
Obviously, “normal human being” isn't a category measured by psychologists or presidential historians.
There's no Normal Human Being Index.
Gallup doesn't call people and ask:
“On a scale from one to ten, how much does the president behave like someone you'd willingly sit next to at Thanksgiving?”
But Tarlov's comment resonates because Trump's behavior has spent years obliterating the boundaries Americans once associated with presidential conduct.
This is a president who routinely insults political opponents.
Who attacks journalists.
Who lashes out at judges.
Who publicly attacks members of his own party when they disagree with him.
Who has repeatedly promoted extraordinary claims without evidence.
Who has spent enormous amounts of presidential attention on buildings, monuments, names and personal recognition.
And who can transform almost any political disagreement into a discussion about Donald Trump.
None of that requires diagnosing him.
You don't need a psychiatrist.
You just need a television.
The Real Polls Aren't Exactly Wonderful Either
The Mirror poll is entertainment.
Scientific polling is another matter.
And lately, that polling hasn't been particularly encouraging for Trump either.
Recent national polling has shown Trump's job approval deep underwater, with considerably more Americans disapproving than approving of his performance.
Other polling has found substantial numbers of voters willing to describe him using words including “corrupt,” “dangerous,” “out-of-touch” and “cruel.”
Those are actual political warning signs.
Americans don't have to agree about whether Donald Trump qualifies as a “normal human being.”
They are increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with what he's doing as president.
Maybe That's Why the Joke Works
The funniest political jokes usually contain something recognizable underneath them.
Tarlov wasn't conducting a psychological evaluation.
She was expressing exasperation.
Trump had once again taken something that could have been handled through ordinary diplomacy and transformed it into an enormous public confrontation centered largely around himself.
That has become such a familiar feature of American politics that people barely react anymore.
Something happens.
Trump makes it about Trump.
There is an insult.
There is a threat.
There is a social-media post.
Someone gets fired.
Someone gets called incompetent.
Someone who praised Trump yesterday becomes a traitor today.
Then everyone wakes up and does it again.
We've been living inside this cycle for so long that perhaps we've forgotten how strange it actually is.
Ninety-Seven Percent
Again, let's be fair.
This isn't 97 percent of America.
It's 97 percent of the Mirror readers who participated in an online poll.
Trump supporters would undoubtedly produce a very different result.
But more than 4,500 people were presented with one wonderfully simple question:
Do you agree with Jessica Tarlov that Donald Trump is “not a normal human being”?
Ninety-seven percent clicked yes.
It may not belong in a political-science textbook.
But as an unofficial national eye roll?
It's pretty spectacular.