President Trump said he was being sarcastic in response to a question that wasn’t asked. It wasn’t sarcasm. The tone was entirely wrong. His tone was that of wonder. He was momentarily in awe of his own thought process. It was much like a young child saying, “We could take a hammer and we could smash the virus. That would work, wouldn’t it?”

Charming in a young child. Not so much in a President.

And really – Sarcasm has no place in a news conference.

Seth Godin – one of my favourite thought leaders – said, “The problem with sarcasm is that the level of displeasure is hidden. You might come across as snarky when you don’t mean to, or the snarkiness you were sending might not land.” Or, might I add, you just end up looking stupid.

Godin concluded by saying: “It’s hard to imagine a situation where sarcasm is the most effective way to make your point.”

Well said.

You can read more from Seth Godin here. https://www.sethgodin.com/