'There are two parallel universes in the Disunited States'

DW: What's your reaction to the election results until now? 

Gayle Tufts: My reaction is a great sense of disappointment that it wasn't a blue wave. Especially at a moment where there's over 225,000 COVID deaths, 17 million unemployed, 28 million people without health insurance — I can't understand… 

You see the split in the country; there are two parallel universes living in the Disunited States of America, and what one believes, the other doesn't believe. And I just cannot believe that it is so close. 

When Trump was elected four years ago, the surprise was really strong; does the shock feel different this time around?

Ha! I think I hear it in your voice — I hear it in everybody's voice — it's kind of, "of course we knew that would happen." Also, I mean: 2020, just stop it! It's just one piece of bad news after the other.

I had a little tiny ray of hope. I went to bed at 1 a.m., and when I woke up at 4 o'clock, it was a little like Christmas morning, I thought, "you know what, maybe there's some good in the world; maybe this will turn around." And it was like: No, no… It's going to be the same way 2020 has been for the entire year, so, what do you expect! 

As a comedian, do you still manage to find things to laugh about in American politics? 

Well, maybe it's not in the politics, maybe it's just in real life. Luckily I have very funny friends, and I've had three messages already asking if I have an extra bedroom that's available... People want to move over here. Because of the lockdown I can't play in the theater at the moment, so I could just open a B&B for disgruntled Americans!

Another friend googled the words "how" and "can" and the first articles that he got were "how can I emigrate to Canada" and "can I move to Europe"..  I love that my friends see at least some kind of humor in it!

And you know, it's not over yet. It ain't over til it's over. We knew this was going to be tricky. Trump has said this from the beginning. I mean look at what he did to the Supreme Court, and he said he would go to the highest court to fight this if he doesn't win… Of course he'll do that, he's a reality TV star, he wants to win! It doesn't really matter policy-wise, he has to win. So I'm not surprised by that.

I'm only very definitely surprised that it is so neck and neck. And issues that I care about — maybe I've been living in Europe for too long — but no one's talking about climate change, very few people are talking about COVID where you would think his COVID response is so disastrous; don't people care?

And it's very distressing to me to see that big ballot issues, or women's right to choose, or what just happened in the Supreme Court, these issues don't seem to be uppermost in everyone's minds. As long as taxes get cut, and I don't have to pay so much money and I have a job. I understand that, I understand wanting to have work — I'm out of work right now, but still, I don't understand the cult of personality, I don't understand the hate, I don't understand the division. And I can't understand that people are supporting that. 

So are you glad to be a German citizen now?

I am so glad to be a German citizen! I've been saying for months: I'm very very happy to live in a country that is run by a scientist and not a reality TV star.

 

Often described as "Germany's best-known American," Gayle Tufts is a critically acclaimed entertainer, author and intercultural contributor whose works often play on combining German and English, or "Denglish." In her 2017 book, American Woman: How I Lost My Heimat and Found My Zuhause, she humorously describes the process of becoming a German citizen after Donald Trump's election in 2016.