Trump persists in thinking he’s a funny guy.
Trump bombed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Friday night. He knew he was bombing, too, and he even tried to meta-joke his way out of it.
But no. Even the president’s jokes about his bad jokes fell flat, and he was widely ridiculed for the comedy routine afterward.
To the surprise of no one. You need a sharp mind to be funny. Trump’s mind is about as sharp as a pile of wet laundry.
“Nobody gives a damn about anybody else,” he said, and proceeded to count how many stories on The New York Times front page are about him.
Hmmyeah. Trump griping about an absence of empathy is way too much irony in one spot.
Trump also gave shoutouts to media executives whom he views as allies, namely Larry and David Ellison, who took control of Paramount last year and are now trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. Paramount suffered a major setback earlier on Friday when it agreed to accept a months-long delay to the merger while legal challenges are resolved.
Invoking the fact that Paramount owns CBS News, Trump said David Ellison is “going to make, I think, fantastic changes and keep some of the great stuff going.”
Trump also made a convoluted joke about the controversial changes implemented by Ellison’s handpicked editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss: “Under my administration, a once-feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled. Their former leaders have been removed, and they’re now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions. But I, for one, wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News. She’s a wonderful woman.”
Toward the end of the speech, the president donned a red “Trump 2028” hat.
Ha ha. He’s so funny.
The outgoing president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Weijia Jiang, introduced Trump after discussing the importance of press freedom. Jiang drafted her remarks knowing the president would be sitting next to her and listening.
Jiang said there is “an existential difference between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it. One is healthy, and it makes all of us better. The other is exactly what the founders hoped to prevent.”
The CBS correspondent also addressed Trump directly: “When we ask questions, you push back. You give us answers, and we push back. You have always been a deal guy. Well, that’s the deal. And the First Amendment is a done deal. And that’s what we toast tonight.”
He’ll still think they’re toasting him.
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