Tag: white house corresondents dinner
#EndorseThis: Hasan Minhaj, Roasting Trump, Is Tops On YouTube

#EndorseThis: Hasan Minhaj, Roasting Trump, Is Tops On YouTube

Trending #1 at the moment on YouTube is this full-length video of Hasan Minhaj’s monologue at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night . No doubt that will reassure the Daily Show correspondent, who stood before the assembled Washington press corps and vowed to hire Kellyanne Conway to say he killed even if he bombed.

Minhaj, a Muslim immigrant from India, is a talented comic and did his best to entertain a sometimes humorless crowd, which groaned at jokes that you may well consider hilarious. “No one wanted to do this,” he kidded, “ so of course it lands in the hands of an immigrant. Don Rickles died so you wouldn’t ask him to do this gig.”

In keeping with the event’s traditions, he roasted the nation’s top media organizations — and of course he roasted the absent president and that man’s minions at high temperature, inflicting the harshest burn on a certain strategist (“I do not see Steve Bannon here…not see Bannon…not-see Bannon…Nazi Bannon”). And while a lot of Minhaj’s jokes work — and he’s a charming guy — it’s a long speech. If you don’t have much time, you may want to view the Washington Post highlights reel.

The complete version offers many rewards, however, including the Spicer jokes, the Ivanka jokes, the Sessions jokes, the Putin jokes, and the many Trump jokes.

No Joke: Trump Bows Out Of Correspondents’ Dinner

No Joke: Trump Bows Out Of Correspondents’ Dinner

IMAGE: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Joel McHale Will Host White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Joel McHale Will Host White House Correspondents’ Dinner

by Patrick Kevin Day, Los Angeles Times

It’s still unknown if the TV show Community will reach its long-stated goal of six seasons and a movie, but Joel McHale will at least get an opportunity to plead his case to President Barack Obama. The Community star and The Soup host has been announced as the host of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The annual dinner in Washington, hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association, has had an increasingly Hollywood bent to it in recent years, with more and more celebrities appearing as guests.

McHale will sit at the head table, along with the president and first lady and will perform a comedy routine for the association’s centennial dinner. The WHCA was founded in 1914.

“We’re thrilled that Joel will headline the dinner when we celebrate our centennial,” said WHCA President Steven Thomma in a statement. “He’s sharp, funny and just the type of comic who can navigate the unique challenge of our dinner, making fun of Democrats, Republicans and especially the news media. Washington can use a little good-natured ribbing.”

Hosts in recent years have included Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Jay Leno. The president usually performs a little comedy himself, getting in digs at various members of his staff and the press.

The dinner has come under increasing criticism in recent years by people who feel the event creates the feeling of a clubby, friendly relationship between the administration and the people whose job it is to cover them.

On Twitter, McHale told fans, “My material will be equally offensive to all & over within 30 min — just like a Congressional work year.”

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr