You know how you sometimes look at a person and think, naked mole rat? Well, this episode is kinda mostly about those kinda moments. These moments seem to exist because we, as humans, can’t help but attribute animal characteristics to things. This can be based on the way something acts, but seems to be more related to the way something looks. This is also the case for the American political parties, what with the Democrats using a donkey, and the Republicans using an elephant. We shamelessly wanted to use the international interest in the 2020 American elections and use the spectacle as moment for cultural exploration. We ask several Iranians to tell what kind of animals they think Trump and Biden resemble, and were not disappointed with the results. So, what animal will lead the US? Listen to this episode to find out.
Questions we get answers to in this episode
- What kinda animals are Trump and Biden?
- What does the Iranian Supreme Leader think about the US election outcome?
- Do Iranians support Trump? (answered in episode 05)
- Do Iranians have daddy issues? (answered in episode 09)
- Do Iranians like dogs or hate them?
- What do Iranians think of the English?
Thanks to all those that contributed to the show
We’d like to thank all those that helped out by sending us feedback for this episode: “what animal will lead the US?”. To find the section of the show where we discuss the contributions by our Iranian friends, skip to around the 40th minute of the episode.
- Mehryar: Biden is a turtle, Trump is a monkey
- Bantam: Biden is a miniature poodle, Trump is a naked mole rat
- Sepehr: Biden is an old turtle, Trump is a golden pheasant
- Atoosa: “badger versus eagle” [you’ll need to guess which is which]
- Yournewhomepage: Biden is a turtle, Trump is a bear or a moose
- Mana: “It’s not fair to associate any creature with that bastard” [Trump?]
- Houtan: Biden is a sloth, Trump is a chihuahua
- Shirinne: Biden is a German shepherd, Trump is a rooster
- Zigma8: Biden is a mole, Trump is a vulture, parrot or a pig
- Rassa: Biden is a squirrel, Trump is “tweety bird”
- Faraneh: Biden is a “very old turtle”, Trump is a bird “that builds a home and then leaves and forgets where it was the next year”
- Monica: Biden is a vulture, Trump is a hyena
- Hamed: Biden is a weasel, Trump is a bulldog
- Faezeh: Biden is a sloth, Trump is a bison or a tardigrades
- Darya: Biden is a snake, Trump is a wild boar
- The Nightwatcher: Biden is a skinny vulture, Trump is a fat vulture
What kinda animals are Biden and Trump?
Tell us what type of animals you think the America 2020 election candidates are. Write your opinion on what animal you think Biden and Trump are in the comments section below.
Translations of Persian (Farsi) words used during the show
| Persian | English translation |
|---|---|
| Heyvoon: | “Animal” |
| Khar: | “Donkey” |
| Soosk: | “Cockroach” |
| Maar: | “Snake” |
| Zahr e maar: | “Snake poison” |
| Chai: | “Tea” |
| Gaav: | “Cow” |
| Morg: | “Chicken” |
| Joojeh: | “Chick” |
| Sag: | “Dog” |
| Cheshm chap: | “Cross eyed” |
| Laash khor: | “Vulture” – back translates as corpse eater |
| Tanbal: | “Lazy” – also the name for “sloth” |
| Shirin: | “Sweet” – also a girls name |
Image credit: American political party animals in various icons – source icons by Georgiana Ionescu, edited by Ask An Iranian
Leave a Reply