Claque

Any performer will tell you that nothing kills a live show like an audience that sits stony faced through your best lines. That's why many or most studio audience shows have paid audiences, people paid a few bucks to laugh and cheer - a claque, to use the term borrowed from French.

A TV pro like Donald Trump knows this, which is why he paid actors to cheer at some of his campaign speeches, and why, apparently, he brought a few dozen of his guys to pack the front rows for his speech to the CIA.

The CIA wasn't amused, which is probably why this story is in the press today.

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