What's the word for something that is purposefully generalised and understated?

It seems that the two answers above have been voted down as they contain two options.

There is really only one choice:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

Classical rhetoricians classified figures of speech into four categories or quadripartita ratio:[2]

• addition (adiectio), also called repetition/expansion/superabundance

• omission (detractio), also called subtraction/abridgement/lack

• transposition (transmutatio), also called transferring

• permutation (immutatio), also called switching/interchange/substitution/transmutation

We can say that "an Italian [...] tow rope" is detractio as it diminishes the status of the achievement

Further down we have:

meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something.

And this is a perfect fit for the example.

There is also an element of satire (q.v.) about it as the whole sentence is an oblique comment on the fickleness of society.

Satirical meiosis would therefore be the term.