clownishness

His efforts to be a terrifying figure are routinely undercut by his clownishness.

Polls may show people's approval of Musk sinking the more they see of him, but his clownishness and personal success probably soften people's willingness to see him as the threat he is.

Granted, Trump's clownishness just made all of that seem ridiculous to those looking on, but his attempted stern-faced expressions and chin-up pride showed that he really did seem to feel he was finally being taken for the great man he wished himself to be.

Although something interesting is usually going on, there are times the series becomes a little tedious, in part because the story is drawn out to fill the allotted time, but also because the character himself, with his circular journey through rehab, meaningless or toxic liaisons, neediness, self-pity and public clownishness, can become tedious.

Many of us share the sense that for all of Donald Trump's clownishness, something seriously destabilizing is happening.