Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep showrunner mock Trump’s Axios interview: ‘He’s stupider than the best comedy writers’

‘I wish this was just a dumb show like ours’

Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the comedy’s showrunner have both mocked Donald Trump’s interview with Axios, after it attracted comparisons with the satire show.

Trump’s conversation with journalist Jonathan Swan aired on Monday and has been making headlines since.

During the chat, Trump, among other things, refused to discuss the coronavirus death rate in the US, played down John Lewis’s legacy, and reiterated that he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell “well”.

Louis-Dreyfus, who played politician Selina Meyer for Veep‘s seven seasons between 2012 and 2019, retweeted a clip in which the Veep credits theme is superimposed to an excerpt of Trump’s interview.

“God, I wish this was just a dumb show like ours,” the actor commented.

David Mandel, who stepped in as showrunner after creator Armando Iannucci’s departure following season four, spoke to The Washington Post about comparisons between the Axios interview and Veep.

Asked how he feels about people comparing reality with the series, Mandel replied: “The honest answer is at this point, it’s almost a weekly occurrence.

“I’m almost bored by it at this point. Honest to gosh, this was new two years ago, the idea that occasionally they drifted near us.”

He said that having to compete with reality while writing satire is “why we ended the show”, adding: “The stupidest, dumbest, craziest things we could think of to make a president and his staff say and do … I bow to my betters. We’re being outdone regularly.

“He’s stupider than a room full of the best comedy writers in Los Angeles can come up with, and it’s that simple.”