It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Madonna. What’s that pop provocateur up to these days? She’s mostly retreated to the idylls of Instagram, where she posts photos of her kids, her travels, and her past glories. But being Madge, she still knows how to stir the pot now and then. So when she threw a party for her son David Banda’s 11th birthday this past weekend, naturally she got the kids a Donald Trump piñata to break open.
You know 11-year-olds—there’s nothing they love more than enacting their parents’ political beliefs via piñata proxy. (Madonna endorsed Hillary Clinton—also via Instagram—a few weeks ago.) Though many of us out there probably wish we had Trump piñatas of our own, especially for the debate Monday night, her Madgesty’s decision to include one in a child’s birthday party is what makes her, well, Madonna.
In the video she posted, piñata Donald sways eerily in the breeze, and children can be heard speculating about the best way to bust open and maybe even decapitate it/him. Birthday boy David Banda is later shown victorious and holding the piñata’s former face, now ripped from its body. Just some good old-fashioned bloodsport to go with the birthday cake. When you think about it, it’s a grim snapshot of our current national psyche: With people seeking therapy over this election, of course it’s had a trickle-down effect on kids, adding a touch of Hunger Games to what should be an innocent celebration. Or maybe it’s all just harmless fun, and in a portion of the festivities not captured on video, Madonna explained to the children that she doesn’t condone violence but that this particular piñata was a political symbol parodying Trump’s own violent rhetoric.
In another part of Madonna’s Instagram story, she can be seen dragging an inflatable sumo wrestling suit across the lawn, declaring herself on “sumo duty.” What if she knows something other parents don’t? Maybe she’s the only one who’s doing it right by prepping her son for all-out warfare—training that will pay off during the dark Trump years to come.
