With a record-breaking sixth win for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, Julia Louis-Dreyfus used her Emmy acceptance speech Sunday to draw a connection between her show's political satire and the current reality of politics in America. Time Warner Cable News reporter Kaitlyn Lionti spoke with a political scientist about why this presidential election is different, and what it could mean in November.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A political parody earned actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus her fifth Emmy in a row this year for her performance on HBO's VEEP. And as she accepted her award Sunday, the woman behind ficticious DC politician Selina Meyer apologized for the current state of American politics.
"I think that VEEP has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary. So I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it," said Louis-Dreyfus.
"It is amazing, we have a number of television shows that imagine politics to the level of ridiculousness, but right now, that ridiculousness seems to be coming true," said Peter Yacobucci, associate professor of political science at SUNY Buffalo State.
Yacobucci said he thinks there are a couple aspects of this presidential election that make it unique, starting with candidates who spent decades in the spotlight before starting their campaigns.
"We now have a 24-hour need-to-know media cycle that is ever present and that has made media stars out of individuals, politicians or business people or entertainment stars that never used to be," he siad.
Yacobucci says if you asked him 18 months ago, he'd think the public would tire of the circus and walk away.
"Donald Trump is proving us all wrong, that clearly is not the case. Instead, his support, if not strong it may even be growing and so we're in a new level of politics, a new area of politics in which the media is now almost being driven by what the Trump campaign and the reactions of the Hillary campaign are doing," he said. "Instead of covering the story, the media itself is becoming part of the story."
As for how this new level of politics will impact voters come November, he said some groups will not go to the polls.
"But you may see an increase in turnout in groups that may have been disassociated with politics. The groups that have been the main focus of Donald Trump's campaign may now come out to vote," he said.
Regardless of who wins, Yacobucci said he thinks Trump's model of using the media will continue among politicians in both parties.