The Halfway Post's Approach to "Dadaist" Political Satire, Explained
Why I write graffiti news every day mocking the authoritarian impulses of the Trump Administration
Maybe “Dadaist” is an obscure reference when I call myself that, but, because I love Wikipedia, here’s the Wiki on it!
Dada was a brief 1910s and 20s art movement for which the pompous failures of monarchies, the horrors of trench warfare in WWI, and the shattering of nationalistic empires inspired a bunch of pacifist absurdists who fled their warring nations to neutral Switzerland to agree that the only reasonable reaction to such catastrophe was insurrectionary nonsense.
They created what I think might poetically describe as “revolutionary gibberish art,” which was a clear break from the rationalism, romanticism, and nationalism of the Belle Époque/Victorian era. It led eventually to more well known and longer lasting movements like surrealism, expressionism, and, some argue, most modern art.
Fundamentally, Dadaism was an aesthetic of absurdity for absurdity’s sake. Some famous early Dadaist masterpieces include recitations of literal gibberish poetry in a lobster costume and Duchamp’s signed urinal. Dadaists also kind of revolutionized the artform of collage doing things like cutting up newly affordable and convenient photography of aristocrats and political leaders, and putting their heads on the bodies of obese men in bathing suits at the beach. That was somewhat artistically unthinkable and imperially illegal until WWI obliterated many of the last major monarchies in Europe, and is the kind of political disrespect for authoritarians that inspires The Halfway Post!
I feel like, in this fascist era of Trumpian tyranny in the ancient Greek sense, if the Trump Administration is attempting to compel us to accept absurd democratic backsliding, the democratic and American thing to do is to tell him to fuck off with unrelenting disrespect of which the Dadaists would approve. “#NoKings” isn’t a suggestion, and my graffiti news headlines are an act of comedic resistance.
Frankly, I’m not sure my Dadaist journalism is silly enough for the civic insults to government of the people, by the people, for the people Trump represents while trying to copy what Putin has done to Russia, and what Orban has done to Hungary. These autocratic efforts are offensively unAmerican, and graffiti news is a fair, opposite reaction to his interest in invading our cities with the military, trashing several amendments of civic rights. Not to mention his hijacking of our public bureaucracy and turning it into a giant grift operation constantly launching pump & dump crypto scams, and parking hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto coin bribes from around the world. He really is psychologically incapable of separating his personal interests from the national interest.
Which is why I don’t report the facts, I improve them. My best headlines dance right on the line between believability and absurdity, and the punchline is kind of how it takes a moment to guess whether what you’re reading is real or satire. Is it my fault my cartoonish headlines fool people who don’t know my brand when a post of mine goes viral, or is it Trump’s fault for being such a cartoon of a human being?
Plenty of people have said Trump “ruined satire” by being too outrageous to parody. I disagree. He just picked up the pace, and I intend to keep up. Democracy is a marathon with new demagogues popping up every generation trying to sprint past us, and we would be letting down 250 years of Americans who kept this race going to give up, especially to such a clown as Donald Trump.
So that’s my Dadaist approach to satire and political comedy. I feel like The Halfway Post on Substack, Twitter, and Threads is a cartoon show where I exaggerate all of the Trumpists’ worst character traits to satirize their bad faith governance of us and regrettable stewardship of the country. Maybe my headlines didn’t really happen — but… they could have happened. And, in some cases, they even should happen. So that, maybe by posting my little, liberal fibs, I am actually manifesting them into existence. Halfway real news, baby!
Call it Dadaist journalism, or graffiti news, what happens when liberals refuse to repeat the lie that the emperor has beautiful robes. The Halfway Post will always point out that his face is caked in an orange that doesn’t at all match his ears and neck, that he clearly doesn’t read anything, that his superlative vocabulary is a blatant tell he doesn’t know anything about anything—if you can’t explain stuff, you don’t know stuff… he’s the poster boy of the Dunning-Kruger complex!—and he picks just terrible people for his administration because his only criteria is they look good on TV, and his decaying body smells like rotten roast beef.
Maybe this Dadaist branding is silly, and I’ll be the first to admit it’s often juvenile, but occasionally I think some of my Trumpian headlines are zeitgeist-surfing home runs of Dadaist hilarity.
They say write what you want to read, and that’s 100% what I do. And I suppose it cracks you too because you’re a reader or subscriber of my work!
Cheers, my fellow Dadaists! 🥃
My Comedy Is Rebellion Against Trumpian Fascism
If I’ve ever made you laugh out loud, do a spit-take of your morning coffee, or feel a tinge of optimism that Trumpian fascism is too ridiculous to succeed in its mission of democracy backsliding, here’s my ask:
☕️ I’m trying to be the most relentless satirist of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement on the Internet, so if you like my graffiti news comedy here’s a 50% discount on paid subscriptions to help support me, for just $2.50 a month, write full-time and tirelessly mock Trump’s fascism with comedy.
And help me grow by sharing my comedy with your liberal friends and family, and your conservative enemies!
If you think Donald Trump is a joke, I published two books for you: Satire In The Trump Years and Satire In The Biden Years, available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kobo. Or, better yet, request your local library order a copy on their website.
I’ve also published three existentialist poetry books, Cabaret No Stare, Moon Goon, and Hotel Golden Hours available in print and on Kindle.
Because our social media platforms are being scrambled up by oligarchs, if you like my humor, diversify where you follow me so you never miss my jokes to interrupt your doomscrolling: Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, Spoutible, Medium, and Substack.
Browse my comedy portfolio, my graffiti news portfolio, and my poetry portfolio.
Or buy me a coffee if you want to help keep me caffeinated and amped to think up jokes about MAGA world!
This is exactly the kind of sanctified nonsense our era requires. If the ruling class is going to serve us crypto-laced grift wrapped in golden toilets, then yes, we respond with urinals signed by Duchamp and headlines that straddle reality like a drunk tightrope walker. You're not just writing satire—you’re baptizing absurdity in the font of civic resistance. May your graffiti journalism continue to be the banana taped to the fascist museum wall.
And you're doing a mighty fine job. You're articles have "pause for cause" moments. I love reading comments when someone new responds.