While hosting the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner, comedian Roy Wood Jr. took aim at former President Donald Trump.
On Saturday night, The Daily Show host, 44, mocked the twice-impeached politician, calling him "the king of scandals" while admitting that "there's too many Trump scandals to keep up with."
"Watching Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars films." To comprehend the first, you must see the third. Then you won't be able to miss the second one because it contains easter eggs for the fifth," he joked. "Donald Trump is the only politician whose scandals have gotten spin-offs on Disney+!"
However, not every scandal has beenfalling Wood.
"Just for a moment, can we just all acknowledge, can we just all be honest and say that the Trump arrest didn't hit like we thought it was gonna hit. We're so desensitized to scandals now that the Trump arrest didn't do what I thought it was gonna do," he said, comparing the rush to a marijuana high hours later. "The Trump arrest was like a pot brownie you ate 4 hours ago. You're like, 'Do I feel justice? This don't feel like justice!' "
Roy Wood, Jr (@roywoodjr): "Keeping up with Donald Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars movies...Donald Trump is the only politician whose scandals got spin offs on Disney+."#WHCD #nerdProm pic.twitter.com/FTTqMD9gMS
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 30, 2023
He went on to criticise Republicans and Democrats for how they handled Trump's criminal accusations, stating that it "made everybody question what they believe" — with Republicans abandoning their "tough on crime" attitude and Democrats abandoning their "we've got to abolish prison" agendas.
Wood also joked about how the media pounced on Trump once it was revealed that he had stolen classified materials from the White House, but backed down on Biden when it was revealed that he had done the same thing.
"We found out that Joe Biden had documents too and it was like, 'Oh, it's not a big deal. Everybody got documents. Mike Pence got some documents. Ooh, look, a Chinese spy balloon! Ooh!' " Wood said. "Well done, media!"
WATCH: Roy Wood, Jr. (@roywoodjr) COMPLETE REMARKS at 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner --> https://t.co/tHWDBONpSX#WHCD #NerdProm pic.twitter.com/GHRxoT5FbN
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 30, 2023
Trump made history in March when he appeared in a Manhattan courtroom to plead not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from an investigation into an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels while he was a presidential candidate in 2016.
The former Celebrity Apprentice host has a difficult relationship with the White House Correspondents' Dinner dating back to 2011, when he was mocked by then-President Barack Obama during the event.
"Donald Trump is here tonight," Obama said in his five-minute routine. "And I know he has taken some flak lately. But no one is happier, no one prouder, to put this birth certificate to rest than the Donald. And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter like, Did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"
That night, comedian Seth Meyers took the stage and said, among other things, "Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican — which is surprising, since I just assumed that he was running as a joke."
In the years since the 2011 dinner, some have claimed that the numerous jokes directed at Trump that night inspired him to run for office.
The annual correspondent's dinner dates back to 1921 and has traditionally been attended by association members as well as high-ranking government officials such as the president and first lady.
That tradition, though, has changed under Trump. Trump ignored the event throughout his first three years in office, telling reporters in 2019 that it was "too negative."
After Michelle Wolf's turn as emcee in 2018, his White House began to avoid the event as well. She, like previous comedians, mocked various D.C. players, including former Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Meanwhile, the WHCA events in 2020 and 2021 have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WHCD, however, has reverted to form under President Biden. This year, the president, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff all attended the dinner, marking the first time since 2016, when the Obamas and Bidens both attended. (Previously, the president, vice president, and their spouses were all present in 2006 and 2009.)
Dr. Biden and President Biden both attended last year's event, which he described as "the first time a president has attended this dinner in six years."
He then poked fun at his predecessor, saying, "It's understandable." We experienced a terrible plague, then two years of COVID."
Wood was named the event's host in February, saying, "It's an honour to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media who work so hard to uncover the truth and hold our government accountable." It will be a memorable night that will either go down in history or not, depending on where you live."
In an interview with NPR prior to the event, the comic expressed both anxiety and excitement about the occasion.
"It's similar to Bruce Willis in Armageddon." 'Hey, the asteroid's coming,' they say. We need your help to... preserve the planet. But with a sense of humour. Also, you might die, but... you have a chance to go up there and say some things that matter to people who aren't normally talked to,'" he told the outlet. "You can't say no to something like that.".jpg "Quranic Quotes")
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