Colin Jost had his work cut out for him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2024. The Saturday Night Live writer and Weekend Update the co-host delivered the opening speech at the gala on Saturday, covering numerous topics, from the state of print media and Donald TrumpThe multiple trials in view of the next elections and our current president who uses cocaine.
Some of the comedian’s most successful jokes have come at the expense of his wife, Scarlett Johansson. He opened his speech by saluting the first and second families and remarked to Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff: “As you can tell by all the comments about my wife, I’m also used to being second gentleman.”
Despite having to deal with a tough audience at times, Jost also drew laughs toward the end of his speech when he joked that Johansson would greet each person individually at the dinner after the ceremony. “That’s really special, darling, thank you,” he said. “Don’t be shy, come on. She hates intimacy.”
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As is tradition at any White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the president was also the butt of several jokes. Jost focused primarily on Joe Bidenincluding claims that the commander-in-chief became senile during his golden years.
“The last time I was in Washington, I left my cocaine at the White House,” Jost said, referring to the mysterious bag containing the drug. found there last July. “Fortunately, the president was able to put it to good use for his State of the Union. I’m joking, of course. The president doesn’t call it cocaine. He calls it high-speed rail.”
Jost also pointed out the hypocrisy of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump attacking Biden’s age. “I like that Trump’s two attacks on President Biden are that he is a senile old man and a criminal mastermind,” he said. “I think you have to pick one. It’s not like Trump himself is young and sharp. I’m not saying either candidate is old, but you know. Jimmy Carter is there thinking, “Maybe I could win this thing.” » »
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The comic also made several attacks on Trump’s ongoing legal battles, but his funniest dig was aimed at who Trump might choose as his vice presidential nominee.
“Now that OJ (Simpson) is dead, who is Trump’s favorite for vice president? Is it Diddy?” Jost asked the crowd. “I bet if Trump chose Diddy as his running mate, this race would still be tied.”
Jost ended his speech on a heartfelt note, emphasizing how print media and journalists are essential to protecting democracy.
“When you look at the levels of freedom throughout history and even in the world today, this is the exception,” he said. “This freedom is incredibly rare, and the journalists in this room help protect it. We can never take that for granted.”
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