We saw how well President Obama did at his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, but what about the gala’s host? This year’s host was Comedy Central personality Larry Wilmore and he did his best to make the show memorable if not anything else.
The Nightly Show host began the night with “Welcome to Negro Night here in Washington. Or as Fox News will report, ‘Two thugs disrupt elegant dinner in DC.’” Followed by “Nice to be here, though, at the White House correspondents’ dinner where, as you know, they’re gonna call it next year, ‘Donald Trump Hosts a Luxurious Dinner Paid For By Mexico.’”
He introduced himself by saying, “A little bit about me: I am a black man who replaced a white man who pretended to be a TV newscaster. So yeah, in that way, Lester Holt and I have a lot in common.”
Wilmore pointed out how much Obama has aged since being President, “You look terrible, Mr. President. No, you do, man. Look at you. Your hair is so white it tried to punch me at a Trump rally.” The entertainer then targeted the commander-in-chief’s debatable drone warfare tactics, “I saw you hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. You know, it kind of makes sense too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances.” Which was followed by a slam of CNN host Wolf Blitzer, “Speaking of drones, how is Wolf Blitzer still on television? Ask a follow-up question! Hey Wolf, I’m ready to project tonight’s winner: Anyone that isn’t watching ‘The Situation Room.’”
“Donald Trump looks like the rich dad in every episode of ‘Law & Order’ where the frat kid accidentally strangles a hooker. Or as they say here at the Washington Hilton, Tuesdays,” the WHCD host joked.
Wilmore attacked Ted Cruz, “There’s a joke going around the Internet that Ted Cruz is actually the Zodiac Killer. I’m not making that up. Come on, that is absurd. Some people actually liked the Zodiac Killer.”
Wilmore then took aim at controversial CNN host Don Lemon.
“I should say that some of America’s finest black journalists are here tonight. Don Lemon’s here, too. Hey Don! How’s it going? Alleged journalist Don Lemon, everybody.”
Lemon greeted the jab by giving Wilmore the one-finger salute.
It seems the two have kissed and made up.
The other uneasy moment of the night was when Wilmore concluded his speech by calling the President of the United States “My n—a.”
“When I was a kid I lived in a country where people couldn’t accept a black quarterback,” Wilmore said. “Now think about that: A black man was thought by his mere color not good enough to lead a football team. And now to live in your time, Mr. President, when a black man can lead the entire free world. Words alone do me no justice. So, Mr. President, I’m going to keep it a hundred. Yo Barry, you did it, my n—a.”
Yeah, so there was that.
Here’s Willmore’s entire WHCD speech.