'Weird Al' takes a rare foray into political humor with his hilarious new election song

If there's anything Americans need right now, it's a good laugh. In these divided times, if there is anyone who can provide one, it's "Weird Al" Yankovic.
The good news is he's back with a video that's a rare foray into American politics. Yankovic has avoided the topic throughout his career, although he did some non-partisan lampooning of the 2016 presidential debates with "Bad Hombres, Nasty Women."
In 2015, he told the Washington Times that he stays away from "sensitive" issues like "political topics. "And I don't want to divide my fan base if I can help it," he said.
"The other reason I don't do a lot of political humor is it dates pretty poorly," Yankovic said. "Things that are topical in the political arena this week would be old news a month from now, so that's probably not the kind of thing I want to have as part of my catalog."
Yankovic's new song, "We're All Doomed" was created with The Gregory Brothers who are known for their online series in which they "Songify the News." In the video, Yankovic plays debate moderator and sings about the hellscape that is 2020 with interjections from Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Even though the song is about the current political moment, Yankovic couldn't deny himself one of his trademark food jokes. "If the Supreme Court is truly Supreme, where's the guac, ground beef, and sour cream?"
WE'RE ALL DOOMED - Trump vs. Biden ft. "Weird Al" Yankovicwww.youtube.com
Lyrics to "We're All Doomed":
Weird Al: 2020's a raging Hellscape!
Any ideas on how to stop a worldwide plague?
Biden: We should be providing people the help they need
He knew back in February it was a deadly disease. What did he do? He's on tape acknowledging he knew
Weird Al: Really?
Biden: He waited and waited and waited. And he didn't even tell you
Trump: President Trump did a phenomenal job. People said that
Weird Al: Well
Trump: We got the gowns. We made the ventilators we got the masks. I don't wear masks like him---every time you see him he's got a mask---the biggest mask I've ever seen. (the biggest mask I've ever seen.)
Weird Al: Will we get back all the jobs we lost?
Or should we set up eleven million Etsy shops?
Biden: My economic plan would create one trillion dollars in economic growth
He has no intention of making it better for you all at home
Trump: I brought back football! It was me! (me!)
Weird Al: What?
Trump: Big 10 Football - and I'm very happy
Weird Al: Who's it gonna be.?
Trump: They wanna take out the cows... (the cows!)
Weird Al: In the West Wing?
Biden: Now here's the deal:
He has no idea what he's talking about
Weird Al: We're living in the Apocalypse!
I'm begging you to put a stop to this!
Pretty please?
Biden: You say he can inject some bleach
Trump: They cheat!
Weird Al: If the Supreme Court
Is truly Supreme
Where's the guac, ground beef, and sour cream?
Biden: The American people have a right to say
Who is the Supreme Court nominee
Trump: Her biggest endorsers are from Notre Dame
We have a phenomenal nominee
Weird Al: I ran out of questions
But still got a while
It's time to drop some bars
Let's see how you freestyle!
Trump: In Europe they live there
Forest cities!
They're called forest cities
It's a forest city
Biden: You know
He talks about the art of the deal
China's perfected the art of the steal
Trump: Bad things happen in Philadelphia
Bad things
Biden: He's just afraid
Trump: Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by
Biden: He's said there are very fine people on both sides
He said maybe you should drop a nuclear weapon on hurricanes
Trump: The cars have computers all over the place
Weird Al: Who is it gonna be?
Trump: They want to take out the cows, the cows!
Weird Al: in the West Wing?
Biden: Now here's the deal
He has no idea what he's talking about
Weird Al: We're living in the Apocalypse
I'm begging you to put a stop to this!
Pretty please?
Biden: Keep yapping, man
Trump: The People understand
Biden: He doesn't have a plan
Weird Al: Exploding trees, COVID-19
Hurricanes with names past the letter Z
Conspiracy theories about vaccines
Murder Hornets coming from across the sea
Too many memes about World War III
Can't tell what's Hell or reality
Earthquakes ruining my whole week
'Cause I dropped my keys in the crack between the cup holder and my car seat!
Who is it gonna be?
Trump: They want to take out the cows, the cows!
Weird Al: in the West Wing?
Biden: Now here's the deal
He has no idea what he's talking about
Weird Al: We're living in the Apocalypse!
I'm begging you to put a stop to this!
Pretty please?
Biden: You say---he can inject some bleach?
Trump: They cheat!
Weird Al: Who is it gonna be?
Biden: That was really a productive segment, wasn't it?
Keep yapping, man
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.