Roy Wood Jr. didn’t shy away from any topic at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Here are three of his best jokes.
1) Buying Clarence Thomas
Roy Wood Jr. said, “You know how rich you have to be to buy a Supreme Court—black, at that! There’s only two in stock. And he owns half of it. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he’s billionaire Harlan Crowe. And NFT means this is. pic.twitter.com/5EwzwciScQ
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2023
Wood Jr. said:
You can’t lie to black people. Call it what it is. Anti-CRT policies are an attack on black history and an attempt to erase the contributions of black people from the history books. That’s the thing.
You’re trying to destroy black people, and most black people don’t mind that destruction as long as that black man is Clarence Thomas. A billionaire named Clarence Thomas who flies Harlan Crowe on unreported trips as an Instagram model. Paid for his mother’s house. Paid for his mother’s house. I have to hand it to the billionaires. Billionaires, you are all lazy. You all always come up with something new to buy. Just when you think of everything you can buy on earth, billionaires come up with something new. Space rockets, you bought Twitter.
This man bought a Supreme Court Justice. A Supreme Court Justice understands how rich you have to be to buy black, at that! There are only two in stock. And he owns half of the property. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he is billionaire Harlan Crowe. And that’s what NFT is all about.
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2) Address of Roy Wood Jr. Tucker Carlson employees:
Roy Wood Jr. told Tucker Carlson’s staff, “But to the Tucker staff, I want you to know that I know how you feel. I work on the ‘Daily Show’ so I’m blindsided by the sudden departure. I’m a fake news host.” #WHCD pic.twitter.com/eerX9bXaD9
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2023
Roy Wood Jr. said:
Scandals – Scandals have been eating careers this year. The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out. all right. Some people celebrated. But to the Tucker staff, I want you to know that I know how you feel. I work on “The Daily Show” so I am also blindsided by the sudden rise of a fake news host.
….
We need to get Talker back on the air, Mr. President, because right now there are millions of Americans who don’t even know why they hate you.
3) The attack on Kamala Harris
Roy Wood Jr. called out the misguided attacks on VP Kamala Harris, saying, “The bullying scandal, what is Kamala going to do? Which is a disrespectful question. Because no one will ever question the VP until a woman gets the job.” #WHCD pic.twitter.com/Ul07cxGBis
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2023
Wood Jr. said:
But I think the most insulting scandal that ever fell at the feet of the Biden administration fell at the feet of our lady vice president. Scandal, what will Kamala do? Which is a disrespectful question. Because no one will question the vice president until a woman gets the job.
No one asked. I don’t know what Mike Pence did. The only thing I know about Mike Pence is that he’s very good at playing hide and seek in the capital. You’d have to be sneaky to catch Mike Pence in that Capitol. He knows all the riddles. Don’t put the camera on her at a Mike Pence joke. Don’t do that. Don’t be – they’re trying to set you up. Do you see what they do?
At the end of the day, as vice president, the only thing you have to do is be better than Dick Cheney. That’s the bar. Just be better than Dick Cheney. They made a documentary about Dick Cheney. Now, I don’t know much about the vice president’s career, but I do know that if you could make a documentary about your time as vice president, you’re not right as vice president. And if the vp job is really waiting to step in to save the country in an emergency, the vice president job is the perfect job for a black woman, it shouldn’t be, but it is. And whatever you do, whatever you achieve, whatever you do, whatever you do is just to give respect to people.
The comedian, who has performed at WHCD in the past, described it as his toughest gig yet, but one key to success seems to be fearlessness. Roy Wood Jr. pulled no punches. He went for the jokes and landed for most of the set. He was funny, not cruel, and very intelligent.
That was how the White House Correspondents’ Dinner should go.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House Press Pool and Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform activities.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Association of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
