The 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., with Donald Trump in attendance, marking his first time at the event since the 2011 dinner where President Obama openly mocked him. The initially scheduled dinner was postponed following an attempt by a gunman to breach the event, but a rescheduled, scaled-down gathering took place on Friday night. Traditionally, presidents’ speeches at the Correspondents’ Dinner are a mix of self-deprecation and good-spirited potshots at the press and political foes.
However, Trump opted instead for a sort of Comedy Central-style roast, which fell flat as no one else participated and the jokes weren’t well-received. Trump frequently got sidetracked by digressions about the White House Ballroom, chandeliers, the UFC fight at the White House, his Freedom 250 speech, how he is treated by the press, and Iran. About 20 minutes into his 65-minute speech, even Trump began to realize it wasn’t going well and started to speed through the jokes, at times even calling out the person who wrote the line. By the end, he admitted the whole thing was “stupid.”
Noteworthy Lines from Trump’s Speech
A selection of Trump’s most noteworthy lines includes: “This place is really the largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome people ever put together at one time, I suspect. Some of you are lucky that our last dinner was cut short, because I had brought with me what would possibly have been consider — I’m telling you, I had something. I was going to go after you. I feel so badly doing this.” He also made a joke about Nicki Minaj twerking after hearing gunshots, which was met with crickets. Additionally, Trump claimed that CBS News’s David Ellison would be making changes to the event and potentially renaming it the Trump White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was also met with silence.
In conclusion, Trump’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a departure from tradition and did not resonate with the audience. His attempt at a roast-style comedy set fell flat, and his digressions and self-deprecation did not land well. The event, which was already rescheduled due to security concerns, will likely be remembered for Trump’s awkward and unsuccessful attempt at humor.
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