Sarah Cooper, the Trump Needler-in-Chief

Before this year, Cooper was known for her office humor. She wrote cartoon books titled 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings and How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings. In April, wearing a blue blazer, she lip-synced Trump addressing medical professionals at a news conference: “We hit the body with a tremendous—whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light—and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re gonna test it,” she began. Then she shared the video on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Soon, Cooper—eyes wide, brow furrowed, hair unkempt—was adding more under-a-minute lip syncs with titles such as How to Mask and How to Immigration Policy, creating a new kind of political commentary by highlighting Trump’s logorrhea through her facial expressions. The videos force audiences to confront whether they would tolerate anyone else saying what he says, and they double as cultural commentary, with Cooper making the subtle point that a Black woman could never get away with Trumpian rhetoric. Now Cooper is trying to prove that she has range. Her first comedy sketch show, Everything’s Fine, hit Netflix in late October.