US presidential campaign front and centre at Emmys

[LOS ANGELES] The race for the White House took centre stage at the Emmy Awards on Sunday with plenty of jabs at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who was even compared to Adolf Hitler.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won her fifth consecutive statuette for her role as president in HBO's Veep, set the tone for the evening apologising for "the current political climate."

"I think that 'Veep' has torn down the wall between comedy and politics," she said as she accepted her award. "Our show started out as a political satire, but now seems like a documentary.

"So, I certainly do promise to rebuilt that wall and make Mexico pay for it." Host Jimmy Kimmel also pulled no punches, at one point referring to Mr Trump's wife Melania as "Malaria."

"If it wasn't for television, would Donald Trump be running for president?" Kimmel said.

"No. He would be at home quietly rubbing up against his wife Malaria while she pretends to be asleep."

But perhaps the strongest denunciation of Mr Trump came from Transparent creator Jill Soloway, who likened the bombastic billionaire to Hitler.

"He is a complete dangerous monster and any time I can call out Trump for being an inheritor to Hitler, I will," Soloway said.

She went on to blast Mr Trump for "Otherising people with a capital O." "He calls women pigs if they don't look like beauty pageant contestants, he blames Muslims and Mexicans for our problems, he makes fun of disabled people," she said angrily.

Emmy-winning comedian and writer Aziz Ansari took a more humorous line, saying he wanted everyone to know that "after careful consideration, I decided I am going with Trump, which is why I am saying we should get rid of all Hispanic and Muslim actors."

The politically charged show also featured a surprise cameo from ex-presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, who appeared as a limo driver in a pre-taped sketch segment, asking Kimmel what it's like to be nominated.

Mr Bush's brief appearance came at the end of a skit parodying several Emmy-nominated shows including Modern Family, Veep and The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.

Mr Bush appeared in the vignette dressed as a limo driver hailed by Kimmel as he frantically sought a ride to the annual television awards show in downtown Los Angeles.

"I'm in between jobs right now," says Mr Bush, sporting a cap. "You know you can make $12 an hour driving for Uber?" He then asks Kimmel what it's like to be nominated - a self-effacing nod to his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination, which was eventually won by Mr Trump.

Comedian John Oliver, who won an Emmy for outstanding variety series for Last Week Tonight, promoted humour in the current political climate as much-needed.

"Sometimes it can be a soothing balm on an open sore," he said.

AFP