# The Netherlands Second The Netherlands Second is a satirical video first aired by Dutch late-night show Zondag met Lubach on January 23, 2017, pitching the Netherlands to Donald Trump in a dead-on impression of his own voice[1]. The clip pulled over 15 million views in its first week and set off a wave of copycat 'Every Second Counts' videos from Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark and dozens of other countries racing to be number two[3]. ## Origin The sketch was produced by Dutch public-broadcasting show Zondag met Lubach (Sunday with Lubach), hosted by comedian Arjen Lubach on VPRO. On January 23, 2017, three days after Trump's inauguration, the show's official YouTube channel uploaded the video under the title 'The Netherlands welcomes Trump in his own words'[1]. The Trump voice was performed by American expat impressionist Greg Shapiro, who told Vanity Fair that the writers packed the script with specifically Trumpian tics such as 'tremendous,' 'believe me' and 'the best' before layering them over Dutch stock footage[2]. Lubach himself appears at the end asking Trump to recognize the Netherlands as his second priority, framing the whole piece as a formal diplomatic appeal. - **Platform:** Dutch television (VPRO) / YouTube (viral spread) - **Creator:** Zondag met Lubach (Arjen Lubach, voiced by Greg Shapiro) - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview The Netherlands Second is a mock promotional film in which a Donald Trump impersonator guides the newly inaugurated U.S. president through Dutch landmarks, inventions and oddities while aping his cadence, hand gestures and favorite phrases[1]. The joke works on two levels: it skewers Trump's 'America First' rhetoric by begging him to accept the Netherlands as runner-up, and it stuffs the pitch with absurd nationalist bragging about dikes, windmills, Zwarte Piet and the Dutch Bible Belt in the exact register Trump uses for American superlatives[2]. The voiceover was supplied by Chicago-born, Amsterdam-based comedian Greg Shapiro, whose Trump impression anchors the entire bit[2]. The format is intentionally portable: a travelogue voiceover, a montage of national trivia, and a closing plea to put '[Country] Second' after 'America First.' That modular structure is what let dozens of other countries copy the sketch almost line for line within weeks[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is The Netherlands Second? It is a 2017 Dutch satirical video pitching the Netherlands to Donald Trump in a Trump voice impression, asking him to add 'The Netherlands Second' to 'America First'[1]. ### Where did The Netherlands Second come from? The sketch aired on the VPRO comedy show Zondag met Lubach and was uploaded to YouTube on January 23, 2017[1]. ### What does The Netherlands Second mean? It is a joke appeal to Trump's nationalist slogan: if America is first, the Netherlands wants to be the officially-recognized runner-up, delivered through fake Trump bragging about Dutch landmarks[2]. ### How do you use The Netherlands Second? The format is typically copied by other countries, who make their own travelogue in a Trump impression ending with '[Country] Second,' with over a dozen European versions collected at everysecondcounts.eu[5]. ### Is The Netherlands Second still popular? The original clip is still viewable on YouTube and is often cited as one of the first viral international responses to the Trump administration, though the live-feed of new 'Second' videos ended with the 2017 wave[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELD2AwFN9Nc]() 2. [http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/donald-trump-trolling-videos-america-first-netherlands-second-greg-shapiro-shaun-streeter]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-netherlands-second]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcH9eWBs9fw]() 5. [http://www.everysecondcounts.eu/]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dImfHWFuoug]() 7. [http://www.ad.nl/reizen/meer-animo-attractiepark-slagharen-door-trump-filmpje-lubach~a170e858/]() 8. [http://www.metronieuws.nl/nieuws/showbizz/2017/01/trump-video-legt-lee-towers-geen-windeieren]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/the-netherlands-second Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library