> We aren't in the midst of an oligarchy made up of the Epstein class, for one.

Europe even has literally hereditary monarchies; let alone an insular upper class who are famous for their debauchery. They just have much less free speech protection so it doesn't get bought up as much because of the legal risks.

Related note, but while looking up some background info on Wikipedia it appears [0] it was technically illegal to publicly insult Donald Trump in Germany at the start of his presidency which would have added a hilarious angle to a classic joke [1].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A8se-majest%C3%A9#Germany & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_by_country#G...

[1] In the USA, you can stand in front of the White House in Washington, DC, and yell, "Down with Ronald Reagan", and you will not be punished. Equally, you can also stand in Red Square in Moscow and yell, "Down with Ronald Reagan", and you will not be punished.