If America must always come first, as president Donald Trump repeatedly bellowed in his inaugural address, then the Netherlands would very much like to come second.
That’s the message—”America first, the Netherlands second”—that the country is sending the new US president in a clever fake tourism video going viral this week. It comes from Zondag met Lubach (“Sunday with Lubach”), a satirical weekly TV show in which host Arjen Lubach comments on the latest in news and politics—much like the British comedian John Oliver does on his HBO show Last Week Tonight.
In the clip, a man imitating Trump’s cadence and clipped sentence structure introduces the new president to the Netherlands. Using the same bombastic language as Trump, the voiceover tells a victory-filled version of the country’s history, and brags about some popular local attractions, including “the best tax evasion system god ever created,” and “a disabled politician for you to make fun of.”
“We’ve got Ponypark Slagharen, which has got to be the best pony park in the world,” the impersonator boasts. “It’s true. They’re the best ponies, they are. You can ride them. You can date them. You can grab ’em by the pony, it’s fantastic.”
The video also acknowledges some of the Netherlands’ real problems: ”In December we’ve got this scandalous tradition of Black Pete,” the voiceover tells Trump at one point. “It’s the most offensive, the most racist thing you’ve ever seen. You’ll love it. It’s great.”
And it ends up at a more serious point: “We’ve got a great, great, great dependency on the United States,” he says. “It’s huge. If you screw NATO, you’re gonna make our problems great again. They’re gonna be huge, they’re gonna be enormous. It’s true. Please don’t.”
Since it was released online two days ago, the video has already accumulated over 5 million views on YouTube. Most other Zondag met Lubach videos only have a few thousand views.
With its own political satirists, from Jon Stewart to Oliver to Samantha Bee, Americans are already well-versed in this type of political comedy (and the jury is still out on how much impact they really have on things like elections). But Trump’s US opponents (who outnumber his supporters) seem particularly delighted to see that trolling the new president has become an international sport.
As of today, Trump has yet to respond to the Dutch parody on Twitter, as he’s often done when actor Alec Baldwin impersonates him on Saturday Night Live.