Comedy writer unleashes ‘Trump Leaks’ on Twitter

Presidential campaigns are always juicy fodder for satire, but 2016 has been a comedy writer’s dream.

{mosads}One of the more recent examples is the Twitter feed of Owen Ellickson, a writer and producer on NBC’s “Superstore,” who has also worked on shows including “The Office” and “The King of Queens.”

His personal Twitter, @onlxn, has developed a cult following as a fictional account of “leaked” conversations among Republican nominee Donald Trump, his campaign team and other political figures.

“Trump is the rare public figure that acts as impulsively and lunges as much as a sitcom character does,” Ellickson told The Hill in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

The feed features interweaving, reoccurring storylines and distinctly developed (and often vulgar) characters. 

It is a fictional transcript of the “leaked” talks Trump has had with, among others, his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Ann Coulter, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

BLITZER: Would you call David Duke “deplorable?”
PENCE: I’m not in the name-calling business. If I was, I’d probably just call him “Dave”

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) September 12, 2016

“The main reason I started doing it is Trump himself. He is a figure that I’ve been amused by forever,” Ellickson said. He began the tweets in the primary season, but began to ramp them up around June.

“I’m a big pro-wresting fan, which I can’t defend,” he joked. “But if you’re a wrestling fan, you’ve been familiar with Donald Trump for a long time. I wouldn’t say that I liked him in the sense that I thought he was a good or worthwhile guy, but I always found his bluster to be an incredibly entertaining thing.”

TRUMP: “I’m keeping these illegals guessing. Will I kick ’em out? Let ’em stay? Make ’em touch the border then run back? I’m in their HEADS”

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) August 27, 2016 

Ellickson says the tweets started as something he was idly doing in his free time, but became more and more fun to write. He plans to keep it going through Election Day.

“It’s always an interesting challenge to try and stay 5 percent crazier than him,” he said.

TRUMP: For you not being President is free. For me it should cost hundreds of dollars? Makes no sense. Not doing it.
RYAN: “Hundreds?”

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) September 2, 2016

Another recurring character in the Twitter saga is Roger Ailes, who began advising Trump last month after being ousted as the CEO of Fox News over allegations of decades of sexual harassment.

Ellickson reimagines him as some kind of shapeshifting squid-like creature.

RYAN: What IS Roger Ailes?
TRUMP: A dark beast. From, y’know. Whatever it’s called. The depths.
RYAN: My whole belief system is-
TRUMP: YAWN

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) September 8, 2016

“I wanted to introduce him as a character, but I basically didn’t know how to write another old asshole,” Ellickson said with a laugh. “I think that Roger Ailes is such a repellant figure that I felt like I should kind of go over the top with it.”

“He’s also somebody who’s never in public, so I knew I had a little more flexibility with what I did with him,” Ellickson added. “It felt like an interesting use of Twitter to do stage directions and sound effects. I sort of like that aspect of written humor.”

RYAN: The hastening? Hell’s Gate?
AILES: (dueling kettle whistles)
RYAN: I won’t help. I’m not like you.
AILES: (rising plop)
RYAN: I’m NOT!

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) September 8, 2016

Ellickson even turned a throwaway line in a New York Times story into a hashtag that eventually became a trending topic last week, #TrumpCantSwim.

In March, the Times released a piece with insights from one of Trump’s longtime butlers. The GOP presidential candidate “rarely appears in bathing trunks… and does not like to swim,” the article says.

“I just thought not liking to swim is a funny detail,” Ellickson said. “It’s sort of unfalsifiable in a funny way. Not that it was realistically ever was going to catch on, to the point that he had to respond, but to say ‘Of course Mr. Trump can swim’ would be such a silly-sounding defense.”

“So, I had [former Speaker] John Boehner come up with that theory while he was drunk in the desert,” he adds.

RYAN: You’re right. You’re 100% right.
BOEHNER: Imagine it. (chuckling) He’s stabbing at the water…
RYAN: (laughing) Calling it pathetic

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) September 4, 2016

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein even used the hashtag as evidence that she and Libertarian presidential contender Gary Johnson should be allowed into the debates.

Top trends #HackingHillary & #TrumpCantSwim show level of discourse to expect in debates if @GovGaryJohnson & I are locked out. #OpenDebates

— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) September 5, 2016

Republican strategist Rick Wilson, who is advising independent presidential candidate Evan McMillan and once called Trump “Cheeto Jesus” also deployed the hashtag on Twitter.

“If you read the stuff I’ve been doing, you probably pretty clearly get the sense that I’m a liberal. But there are some conservatives reading, and I like that they’re reading. I don’t want it to be so myopic that there’s nothing there for them to enjoy,” Ellickson said.

He considers himself “left-of-center” and says he voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in California’s presidential primary. He also penned an episode of “Superstore” called “Labor” — a thinly veiled allusion to Walmart’s efforts to discourage labor unions for its store workers.

His account has almost 53,000 followers, and his fan base is growing. It includes celebrities such as Megan Mullally, Andy Richter, Patton Oswalt, Kumail Nanjiani and Sarah Silverman — in addition to political types such as former Bush White House spokesman Tony Fratto, former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau and Clinton spokesman Jesse Lehrich.

“Ultimately, I’m not trying to not indict Trump and the people complicit in his rise. I think it’s a pretty bad thing that has happened,” Ellickson says. “Just as a sort of creative endeavor, I want to mix it up. When you read Twitter itself, it’s just a monotonous drumbeat of awfulness these days.” 

PENCE: What’s a Fish Delight?
CHRISTIE: ‘Scuse me?
PENCE: I drove all night — can’t find McDonald’s that has it.
CHRISTIE: OK, grab a pen

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) August 14, 2016

CHRISTIE: It’s not on the menu, he just thinks it is. I made it up.
PENCE: Why?
CHRISTIE: I thought being his best McD’s guy would get me VP

— Owen Ellickson (@onlxn) August 14, 2016

“Overall, just a shift in energy, I feel like, makes it a little more fun,” he said.

There’s even a storyline planned that peaks on Election Day. “So, stay tuned, as they say,” Ellickson said.

— This post was updated at 2:48 p.m.