Will Hasan Minhaj and Kenan Thompson Roast Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
Hasan Minhaj and Kenan Thompson will host the 2020 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and viewers are excited to see what laughs they’ll have in store. After Michelle Wolf’s controversial jokes at the 2018 dinner, the event avoided inviting a comedian last year. But Minhaj and Thompson have been poking fun at the administration for years, so you can’t help but wonder if they’ll roast Donald Trump at this year’s dinner.
Hasan Minhaj hosted the dinner in 2017, but President Trump didn’t show
If you’ve watched The Daily Show or his new Netflix series, Patriot Act, you know that Minhaj often jokes about the President’s policies and behavior. And when the comedian hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner two years ago, he took jabs at the administration and made fun of Donald Trump for not showing up.
“You know a lot of people told me, ‘Hasan, if you go after the administration, it would be petty, unfair, and childish,’” Minhaj joked at the 2017 WHC Dinner. “In other words, presidential.”
Thompson worked with the President on ‘Saturday Night Live’
But Hasan Minhaj isn’t the only one who’s been critical of Trump. Kenan Thompson, who’s been a star on Saturday Night Live for 17 seasons, worked with the President when he hosted SNL in 2015. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Thompson revealed how then-candidate Trump rubbed him the wrong way.
“He’s a business guy, so if his phone rings, he’s like, ‘Hello, business,’ ” said Thompson. “That sketch died in that moment. That’s so unfair for the writer, who might’ve been up all night trying to type that sh**. To not recognize the effort that goes into it is pretty sh**y.”
On a recurring SNL sketch called Them Trumps, Thompson plays Darius Trump, a character who’s meant to be an Empire-inspired version of the President.
Comedy returns to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but the President probably won’t
Traditionally, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner asks a comedian host the event, and sitting presidents usually attend and crack a few jokes themselves. But in 2017, when Hasan Minhaj hosted, Donald Trump became the first president to purposely skip the event since 1980. He has snubbed the event for the last three years, and there’s no indication he plans on attending this year either.
Will the comedians roast Donald Trump?
Michelle Wolf’s jokes created such a stir with the administration in 2018, the White House Correspondents Association chose to invite a historian to host for 2019. Now that Minhaj and Thompson are set to take the stage, many are wondering if the two comedians — who have a history of making fun of Trump — will play it safe to avoid controversy or go full steam ahead.
From the looks of it, Hasan Minhaj may already be preparing for a roast. In a tweet, he sarcastically suggested that President Trump would attend the dinner after seeing who’s hosting. “Guys…look at the lineup,” wrote Minhaj. “He’s definitely coming this year.”
And so far, event organizers seem supportive. In a press release, Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and president of the WHCA, called the Hasan Minhaj and Kenan Thompson “two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America.”
“I’m thrilled they’ll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy,” added Karl. “We’re looking forward to a lively evening honoring the most important political journalism of the past year.”
The comics haven’t revealed what they plan on saying at the event, but there’s no doubt they’ll bring the laughs at someone’s expense, The White House Correspondents’ Dinner will air on Saturday, April 25 on CSPAN.
