Roy Wood Jr. didn’t shy away from any topic at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Here are his three best jokes.
1). Buying Clarence Thomas
Roy Wood Jr, “Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a supreme court — a black one, on top of that! There’s only two in stock. And he owns half the inventory. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he belongs to billionaire Harlan Crowe. And that’s what an NFT 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 what it is.
You are trying to erase black people and a lot of black people wouldn’t mind some of that erasure, as long as that black person is Clarence Thomas. Billionaire named Harlan Crow flying Clarence Thomas all over the world on unreported trips like an Instagram model. Paid for his momma’s house. Paid for his momma’s house. I have to give it up to billionaires. Billionaires, y’all are relentless. Y’all always come up with something new to buy. Like just when you think of everything you could buy on Earth, billionaires will come up with a new thing. Space rockets, you bought Twitter.
This man bought a supreme court justice. Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a supreme court justice a black one, on top of that! There’s only two in stock. And he owns half the inventory. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he belongs to billionaire Harlan Crow. And that’s what an NFT is.
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2). Roy Wood Jr. Addresses Tucker Carlson’s Staff:
Roy Wood Jr. speaks to Tucker Carlson’s staff, “But to Tucker’s staff, I want you to know that I know what you’re feeling. I work at “The Daily Show” so I too have been blind-sided by the sudden departure of a host of a fake news program.” #WHCD pic.twitter.com/eerX9bXaD9
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2023
Roy Wood Jr. said:
Scandals — scandals have been devouring careers this year. The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job. Okay. Some people celebrated. But to Tucker’s staff I want you to know that I know what you’re feeling. I work at “The Daily Show” so I too have been blind-sided by the sudden departure of a host of a fake news program.
….
We’ve got to get Tucker back on the air, Mr. President, because right now there’s millions of Americans that don’t even know why they hate you.
3). The Attacks On Kamala Harris
Roy Wood Jr. calls out the misogynistic attacks on VP Kamala Harris, “The scandal of, what does Kamala do? Which is a disrespectful question. Because nobody ever asks that question of the vice president until a woman got the job.” #WHCD pic.twitter.com/Ul07cxGBis
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2023
Wood Jr. said:
But I think the most insulting scandal to fall to the feet of the Biden administration was placed at the feet of our madame vice president. The scandal of, what does Kamala do? Which is a disrespectful question. Because nobody ever asks that question of the vice president until a woman got the job.
Nobody asked. I don’t know what Mike Pence did. The only thing I know about Mike Pence is that he’s really good at playing hide and seek at the Capitol. You got to be crafty to catch Mike Pence in that Capitol. He know all the nooks and crannies. Don’t put the camera on her on a Mike Pence joke. Don’t do that. Don’t be — they trying to set you up. You see what they doing?
At the end of the day, as a vice president, the only thing you got to do is just 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 job of vice president, but I do know if they can make a documentary about your time as vice president, you vice presidented incorrectly. And if a vp’s job is really just waiting to step in to save the country in case of emergency, then the job of vice president is the perfect job for a black woman, shouldn’t be, but it is. And whatever you do accomplish, whatever you do accomplish, all they going to do is just give a man credit for it.
Previous comedians who have performed at the WHCD have described it as one of their toughest gigs, but one of the keys to success seems to be to be fearless. Roy Wood Jr. didn’t pull any punches. He went for the jokes and for much of his set, they landed. He was funny without being mean, and very insightful.
It was how a White House Correspondents Dinner is supposed to go.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a 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 movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
