The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C.: This year: A bomb matched only by CNN’s juvenile coverage
A president’s speech at The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is supposed to be light and funny and self-deprecating.
Friday’s speech was none of these things.
I have been a conservative in favor of many of Trump’s policies but averse to his personally vicious style, but one who enjoys his clever, often brilliant, sense of humor.
Tonight’s speech was simply horrible, self-serving and lacking in wit. There was negligible audience appreciation, as laughing seemed at a premium. Does the president not have a writer, or was this written by a poorly chosen one?
The speech lacked irony, light touches and adroitness.
Most of it was a serious speech of self-praise for the president and his Administration.
The negative aspects were serious, many deadly serious.
The president seemed to attack the award winners.
The president said that Don Lemon has the lowest I.Q. in television. I don’t appreciate Don Lemon, but is that funny in any way?
Jake Tapper was “Fake Tapper;” Is that witty?
The president attacked Kamala Harris’ intelligence – – nothing new there, Lord knows, in the choice of his criticism, and there was no humor either.
Trump attacked Joe Biden as being popular among deceased voters and, as he always does, he attacked Gavin Newsom as Gavin Newscum. Nothing even half-funny, just a disparaging, pointless nickname.
Not to be outdone, on CNN, its principals — Brian Stelter (my former student), Jeff Delany and others — ran a running snarky attack on President Trump’s every point during his speech on how meandering and empty it was.
Two losing, unclever sources ruining what historically has been a uniting and funny evening of self-deprecating put-downs in good camaraderie, always balanced by some lofty support for the press and freedom of speech.
Not this evening.
Advice to President Trump: Don’t ever do this again. And CNN: All you lacked was a 12 year old’s sniggering.
Richard E. Vatz https://wp.towson.edu/vatz/ is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of political rhetoric at Towson University and author of The Only Authentic of Persuasion: the Agenda-Spin Model (Bookwrights House, 2024) and over 200 other works, essays, lectures, and op-eds. He is the benefactor of the Richard E. Vatz Best Debater Award at Towson. The Van Bokkelen Auditorium at Towson University has been named after him.