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Late night comedians and Republican Party bigwigs rarely find anything upon which to agree, especially when it comes to presidential politics.

But ever since the Manhattan real estate mogul Donald Trump took command of the Republican race, both have ramped up their respective satire and super PACs to stop the reality TV star.

Mr. Trump has been teased and mocked throughout his very public life, of course. He was even roasted on Comedy Central back in 2011.

But over the past week, the humor has taken a much more biting political edge, reaching a crescendo as comedic superstars lampoon the Republican front-runner 鈥� even as GOP establishment stalwarts also set aside their gravitas to unleash torrents of insults and criticism rarely, if ever, heard during a presidential race.

While comedians have been using their art to comment on politics at least since Lenny Bruce walked on a stage, news satire has reached an apex in our age under John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and the now-retired Jon Stewart. Famously, a Brookings Institute poll in 2014 found that more Americans trusted Mr. Stewart鈥檚 fake news program, 鈥淭he Daily Show,鈥� than MSNBC.

Despite this and the fact that Trump might seem like a juicy comedic target, media watchers say his campaign has a pre-satirized quality that so far has meant that efforts 鈥� by either political opponents or comedians 鈥� to skewer even his most outrageous statements have yet to make inroads with his base.

鈥淭here is no precedent to Trump, really,鈥� says Paul Levinson, a professor of media studies and pop culture critic at Fordham University in New York. 鈥淣o one has been this consistently vicious, uncaring of who he insults, both on a personal level and a political level. So it鈥檚 therefore not surprising that what Trump is doing, in addition to everything else, is engendering a new kind of comedic criticism, because the old kind was too mild.鈥�

And like the coarsening political landscape, comedy lampooning The Donald has often descended into stylized name calling, sometimes without the subtlety of the best kinds of satire.

Stand up TV star Louis C.K. called Trump "insane bigot" and a "bully鈥� in an e-mail to fans, and played the Hitler card in a way less ironic than eye-ball-bulging serious.

鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥� which has ribbed Trump鈥檚 foibles often over the years, even while he was host of the show in November, produced a spoof of a feel-good political ad labeled 鈥淰oters for Trump.鈥� 聽Images of everyday 鈥渨orking Americans鈥� echoed the candidate鈥檚 campaign themes in ways typical to the sentimental genre; but supporters then unveiled themselves as Nazis and white supremacists.

On the 鈥淛immy Kimmel Show,鈥� Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane spoofed their own Tony-awarding winning musical 鈥淭he Producers鈥� to lampoon the GOP front-runner, playing two huckster political consultants trying to back a loser to scam political donors.

鈥淲ait,鈥� says Max Bialystock, played by Mr. Lane. 鈥淭his candidate. He鈥檚 got to be the worst candidate in history. A real train wreck 鈥� a Grade A, world class, gold-plated nincompoop. But where would we ever find a buffoon like that?鈥� The scene, of course, cuts to a clip of Trump on TV.

Last week, former Republican nominee Mitt Romney called Mr. Trump 鈥渁 fraud鈥� and 鈥渁 phony鈥� after the billionaire鈥檚 widespread success on Tuesday, saying the 鈥渃on man鈥� would drive the country to the point of collapse. Previous nominee and Trump target, Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, also joined the growing jeremiads from other GOP officials to label the leading candidate 鈥渄angerous鈥� to national security.

But more people apparently listened to John Oliver, star of HBO鈥檚 comic news show 鈥淟ast Week Tonight鈥� than Mr. Romney. Mr. Oliver delivered a 21-minute rant against the GOP leader last Sunday, taking apart Trump鈥檚 vaunted business acumen and explaining that the family鈥檚 original last name was 鈥淒rumpf鈥� before being changed by his German forebears.

鈥淒onald Drumpf鈥� became the second most-searched-for-candidate name on Google, ahead of Hillary Clinton or Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. The only candidate with more searches after Oliver鈥檚 #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain campaign, retweeted by millions, was 鈥淒onald Trump.鈥�

Humor, even the kind with dark and serious undertones, has always tried to find catharsis in the joyful sense of laughter 鈥� a kind of ironic medicine for the weary, suggests Professor Levinson. Tina Fey鈥檚 famous impersonation of former vice presidential candidate and TV reality show star Sarah Palin was hilarious, he says, but also had a serious and witty edge to it. 聽

Media experts say one reason comedians are finding it difficult to satirize Trump successfully is the fact that the candidate himself is running a campaign that borrows liberally from the techniques of stand-up itself. 聽

鈥淢r. Trump is now a serious candidate 鈥� often a self-serious, angry one 鈥� with a serious chance,鈥� wrote James Poniewozik, TV critic for The New York Times, in February. 鈥淏ut stylistically, he works in the mode and rhythms of a stand-up. He riffs. He goads. He works blue. When he gave a victory speech in New Hampshire, feinted at congratulating his opponents, then pivoted 鈥� 鈥淣ow that I鈥檝e got that over with 鈥� 鈥� 鈥� he sounded like a sketch comic doing an imitation of himself.鈥�

Which is one reason why criticisms of the candidate, comedic and political both, haven鈥檛 yet seemed to faze the Trump juggernaut. Yet, at least.

鈥淚 always find myself laughing out loud,鈥� says Levinson. 鈥淥n the one hand, partly out of how dangerous and absurd this is 鈥� though it really is funny to watch Trump. It鈥檚 a schtick, it鈥檚 a routine, and in a way, it鈥檚 not much of leap to say that Trump is the prime comedian in all of this.鈥�