February 7, 2017

"An insider who has worked closely on the [White House Correspondents Dinner] said that 'You would think that it would be easy to get a comedian for the dinner...'

"'... with this big crowd and the prestige — but it’s really hard and it takes up an inordinate amount of time and it’s really hard to get a commitment.'"
"This is a great opportunity, because every comic out there is doing commentary on Trump anyway. Here is a chance to do their material and right in front of him. This is an opportunity to do something new."...

Patrick Gavin, director and producer of the 2015 documentary about the event, “Nerd Prom: Inside Washington’s Wildest Week,” said via email that the “reason this is a tough decision for a comedian is because, if they’re too tough on Trump, they run the risk of violating the ‘singe, but not burn’ principle that guides the dinner (they also run the risk of perhaps not getting the gig in the first place). And if they’re too soft — or soft at all — they will suffer the wrath of half of the country that view taking it to Trump as nothing short of a civic requirement.”...

“The choice of comedian could by itself determine whether President Trump comes at all,” Gavin said. “I can’t imagine Trump being interested in taking grief from an edgy comedian and just taking it for an hour.”
ADDED: I just assumed it would be Dennis Miller:



IN THE COMMENTS: tcrosse recommends Susie Essman (of "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and points to this clip, a Friars Club roasting of Trump from 2004. I'm just closing in on 30 seconds near the end, which is interesting because it addresses Trump's gruff game face (which we're so used to now) and because we get to see Trump really laughing (and some people — notably Chuck Todd — have the idea that Trump never laughs)(NSFW):

80 comments:

Chuck said...

Irwin Corey would have been so perfect, as the host of all four of the Trump-era Correspondents' Dinners.

JohnAnnArbor said...

I assume the President doesn't have to go. Have any skipped?

GRW3 said...

Dennis Miller would be good. He'd have something funny to say about everybody there, even O'Reilly whom he tools all the time.

Darrell said...

Cancel the Correspondents' Dinners. Let them buy their own food. Perhaps the DNC can feed them since they are co-workers.

Hagar said...

The way these "dinners" have been going, I wish the President would tell them No, thanks up front.

traditionalguy said...

I vote for Paula Poundstone. Her humor knocks me over. Currently she appears on NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me panel.

WisRich said...

After eight years of comedians licking Obama's boots at this event and then Obama, instead of self-deprecating humor, took at aim at everyone else, this event has proven pathetic. Well, it's always been pathetic.

The message of the event, really, is "The press, as the 4th estate, is a sham."

If I were Trump, the only way I'd attend is if they got Dennis Miller.

Dude1394 said...

Seeing as how the democrat media and liberals can not seem to act like adults anymore, I sure as heck would not go.

rcocean said...

Get Norm MacDonald. He's an Old Comedian - but then its an old crowd.

tcrosse said...

Is Don Rickles still around ?

WisRich said...

rcocean said...
Get Norm MacDonald. He's an Old Comedian - but then its an old crowd.

2/7/17, 4:30 PM

-------

Adam Corolla wouldn't be bad either.

mockturtle said...

No need for him to attend. He certainly doesn't need to go to a dinner to be made fun of. It happens every day. His no-show won't be criticized by us deplorables and will give them more grist for their ever-churning mill.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Norm MacDonald could do it. That would be good for a normalizing joke. Penn Jillette would be an interesting choice, given his history with Trump. Or the greatest standup comedienne of her generation, Ann Coulter.

Original Mike said...

"No need for him to attend. He certainly doesn't need to go to a dinner to be made fun of. It happens every day."

I don't know. It might be fun watching Trump rip them a new one.

tcrosse said...

Susie Essman could spread the love. In fact, here she is doing a Friars Club roast of the Man himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyi2uqCNwHY

Ann Althouse said...

I thought Dennis Miller too.

rehajm said...

It's creepy for anyone outside the beltway. It's a good time to kill it under the cover of Trump.

Curious George said...

Nerd Prom....what a bunch of assholes.

WisRich said...

At least we won't have to worry about the "Hollywood" contingent showing up. That's a plus.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump should load up some entertainers and fly to Afghanistan, let the troops laugh and have a good time. Trump himself could be the MC. He knows how to do that.
To hell with the Washington crowd.

SweatBee said...

Tim Allen could thread that needle.

Birkel said...

I very much wish Trump would not attend and would submit his State of the Union in written form. The Washington D.C. power structure should not be fed.

Leviathan must be starved.

Mark said...

Dennis Miller?
It has been well over a decade if not two since he was actually funny.

He is an excellent way to turn off everyone under 40, who only know him as a self-righteous d-bag.

Ann Althouse said...

"It has been well over a decade if not two since he was actually funny."

Yeah, Dennis Miller. He was changed. By 9/11.

mccullough said...

Miller'a not funny because he mocks progressives. Since it's the WH press dinner, it is the press who should be mocked. Obama did a decent job of mocking them.

David53 said...

How much does it cost for security at an event like that? Whatever the number it's probably not worth it.

Fabi said...

So-called Chuck predicts Trump to be a one-term President. Sad!

FullMoon said...

Mark said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Dennis Miller?
It has been well over a decade if not two since he was actually funny.

He is an excellent way to turn off everyone under 40, who only know him as a self-righteous d-bag.


Lotsa under 40's looking forward to that event, eh?

Yancey Ward said...

Dennis Miller would be the perfect choice, so it won't be made.

I predict it will be Samantha Bee.

Yancey Ward said...

They asked Nancy Pelosi, and she suggested Bob Hope. They asked Maxine Waters and she suggested Jeffrey Dahmer.

Mark said...

It wasn't 9/11 that changed Miller, it was ego. He is like that South Park episode about hybrids, where everyone is enamored by the smell of their own farts and moves to San Francisco.

Except for the San Francisco and hybrid parts, they nail the Dennis Miller personality in that episode.

rehajm said...

OT: 9th Circuitt Washington vs. Trump

Darrell said...

Weld the doors shut and have Putin supply the entertainment.

Danno said...

Blogger Birkel said...I very much wish Trump would not attend and would submit his State of the Union in written form. The Washington D.C. power structure should not be fed. Leviathan must be starved.

Exactly my thought too. Maybe even add more insults to their insider club.

Earnest Prole said...

Younger Trump could laugh, even at himself. Have a look at some of the early Letterman interviews from the mid- to late-eighties when he was first introduced to a national audience.

FullMoon said...

Mark said... [hush]​[hide comment]

It wasn't 9/11 that changed Miller, it was ego. He is like that South Park episode about hybrids, where everyone is enamored by the smell of their own farts and moves to San Francisco.

Except for the San Francisco and hybrid parts, they nail the Dennis Miller personality in that episode.

Right, it benefits him financially and socially to be a republican in the entertainment industry. Brilliant.
South Park? That's a cartoon, right?Everybody you know is a fan and memorizes each episode, am I right?

Wince said...

Event better...

Lisa Lampanelli Roasts Donald Trump- 2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLj7IXSNSnc

bgates said...

if they’re too soft — or soft at all — they will suffer the wrath of half of the country that view taking it to Trump as nothing short of a civic requirement.

It apparently escaped the notice of this jackass that Obama was opposed by half the country too, yet the WHCD during the Obama presidency was already "taking it to Trump".

Get Seth Meyers again. I've been pleasantly surprised at what his effort led to.

Fabi said...

People who think Trump is thin-skinned have never watched his Roast on Comedy Central.

Sebastian said...

"I very much wish Trump would not attend and would submit his State of the Union in written form." Of course, he should tweet it.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Joe Piscopo?

MayBee said...

Dana Carvey would be good.

Ann Althouse said...

How about Howard Stern?

Achilles said...

Fabi said...
People who think Trump is thin-skinned have never watched his Roast on Comedy Central.

"Thin skinned" was concocted to describe a republican that fights back. Obama had much thinner skin but you were racist if you criticized him.

Achilles said...

Ann Althouse said...
How about Howard Stern?

This is the problem with this "correspondents dinner." It is curated by a bunch of insider blue bloods and political class aristocrats. The country would be better off without the whole lot of them.

Take everyone who went to last years CD with Obama and ban them all. Invite 400 bloggers and put them in charge of the festivities. Since Drudge is the most circulated and influential media figure in the country make him chair.

Then spend the entire dinner dragging in the banned douchebags and make them dance while people throw rotten food at them.

Jon Ericson said...

Mark ≠ Mark

MayBee said...

Stern would be good, but he's pretty raunchy.

I hate the event. It's going to be funny watching the press try to get celebrities to go on a date with them. They are going to wish they'd done that homework in Utah so they know how to start dating again.

MayBee said...

Adam Carolla would be really good.

I bet they can't get anyone, though. The girl who sang To Sir With Love on SNL did it one year. Snarf.

wholelottasplainin said...

Lots of us would like to see the Correspondents Dinner turn into the Red Wedding.

(I denounce myself)

Fabi said...

Good point, Achilles -- it was Obama's notoriously thin-skin at a Correspodents' Dinner that likely solidified Trump's desire for a serious run.

Earnest Prole said...

Get Norm MacDonald.

I heard an interview where he said (approximately) that his SNL Weekend Update code was to never let the audience have the easy laugh. Naturally he was considered politically incorrect. You can see why in his roast of the Clintons and others at the 1997 White House Correspondent’s Dinner (twenty years ago!). As corrupt as those days were, they now seem almost innocent.

sane_voter said...

@tradguy
Paula Poundstone? Ugh. Never found her the least bit funny.

If we cant do @Bob Boyd's recommendation, I would like to see Tim Allen host.

Che Dolf said...

Darrell said... Cancel the Correspondents' Dinners.

...and the State of the Union addresses.

walter said...

Sarah Silverman in fatigues.

walter said...

(Trump with trap door button)

steve uhr said...

King Trump needs a jester. Mini me would work. With hair of course.

Michael K said...

"Younger Trump could laugh, even at himself. "

Before the hate.

I like the idea of a flight to Afghanistan. Maybe the assholes will still talk about a "plastic turkey."

Jon Ericson said...

Why don't you have a little talk with J. Farmer?
That might be fun.

Michael K said...

"King Trump needs a jester. Mini me would work. With hair of course."

The problem is the left and its humorless scold mode.

Rick Lee said...

At the end of that video I clicked on a link of Gilbert Gottfried roasting George Takei. Holy cow! Not safe for work... or most anyplace else! Funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Yancey Ward said...
They asked Nancy Pelosi, and she suggested Bob Hope. They asked Maxine Waters and she suggested Jeffrey Dahmer.
Utter bullshit. Nancy wants Robin Williams and Maxine has a call in to Richard Pryor's people.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Well duh. Trump has ZERO sense of humor.

He sucks laughter right out of any room he's in.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

People who think Trump is thin-skinned have never watched his Roast on Comedy Central.

I've seen better smiles on constipated toddlers.

And even that was forced/acted. Jeff Ross had to tell him to try to smile.

The guy's default expression is scowl. Or as it's known, "resting bitch face."

Bad Lieutenant said...

CC, you should watch the last clip before you say that.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Okay.

Leora said...

I had never seen Susie Essman before. People wonder why no one is upset that some people talk about grabbing pussies?

Gk1 said...

Junk this nerd prom. I don't think we should "normalize" these politico jock sniffing turds any longer and just scrap it. Why give the left one more vantage point to shit on Trump? Fuck that.

Bad Lieutenant said...

True, Trump does affect a stone-faced mien. To me it would be interesting to know how forced or otherwise that is. I think he does it to portray dignity. Self-control. I think that if he just let his face do its own thing... but then I guess you would be a very different person.

Danno said...

Why does this event even exist? Time to end it.

Jon Ericson said...

I'm SO happy, that someone stuck a cork in CrapComm's pie hole.

Jon Ericson said...

CrapComm's message resonates with CrapComm's fellow travelers,
It's swelling ominously under the Manholes.
But feel free to blast into the sewer.
We can hold our noses,
And wait for the fire department to pump that crap into the Gulf.

(channeling Guild of Cannonballs here, but so what?)

jaydub said...

If there has to be a dinner then Jerry Seinfeld would be a good choice. He's the only comedian with whom I am familiar who has maintained at least the veneer of neutrality in the current political climate. That said, it would be preferable to just cancel the event since just about every news organization has already perfected ridiculing the president, and their correspondents already practice it 24/7. What's the point of another 60 - 90 minutes of manufactured outrage? It's not like it could be done in good humor anyway, which seems to be the point of the roast format. And why should the president give them another venue for the spittle-flecked rants? Anyone who wants to see the president skewered only has to tune in to CNN at any time of the day or Morning Joe or the network evening news programs, or they can just read the front page of the NYT or Wapo at their leisure. The press has become a parody of itself, so why not just let them churn in their own bile until they decide to try to regain the credibility they have trashed over the last year or so? Cancel it! It would probably good for the country.

Earnest Prole said...

Thanks for the Lisa Lampanelli link -- priceless.

Jon Ericson said...

Plenty disgusted am I.

tim in vermont said...

Why don't the reporters just all head over to Hillary's if they want a party? As per usual. Oops! I'm not supposed to know that! Putin hacked the election!

CStanley said...

Comedian: How many journalists does it take to screw up the election of Hillary Clinton?

Journalists: That's not funny!

tim in vermont said...

Trump has zero sense of humor, that's why he was always going on Stern's show. But hand it to R&B to swallow whole whatever line his team puts out.

Bad Lieutenant said...

In fact, tim, not to disagree but to elaborate, that's why Trump went on Stern's show complete with Stern calling his daughter a piece of ass, and taking various other shots. Yeah, not a guy who can take it.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Seinfeld, good one! Besides gentle wit, he has the necessary quality of having fuck-you money.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

I wrote a joke that Dennis used. He was very nice and gave me credit.