Historian Ron Chernow was the featured speaker at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner because there were complaints about featuring comedians who would roast the POTUS. Different messenger, even more incisive humor.
Ron Chernow: "Now as best I can tell, Washington committed only one major blunder as president: he failed to put his name on Mount Vernon and thereby bungled an early opportunity at branding."
2. His jab at Trump's comments on immigration
While talking about Alexander Hamilton at one point in his speech, Chernow referenced Trump's recent comments that the U.S. is "full" and can no longer accept any more immigrants.
"The system is full, can’t take you anymore," Trump said earlier this month, adding that for both “illegal immigration” and “asylum” seekers, the answer is “I’m sorry, we’re full.”
Chernow joked Hamilton, who came to the American colonies from Nevis, was lucky he arrived before the present era.
"[Hamilton was] an immigrant who arrived, thank God, before the country was full," Chernow joked. "Frankly I don't know why they let the guy in, clearly someone slipped up at the southern border."
thehill.com/...
Trump did watch the White House Correspondents Dinner because he started tweeting right after it ended.
Trump’s Wisconsin speech was even more unhinged than usual
- Trump begins by saying that "America's heart is with the victims of the horrific synagogue shooting in Poway, California." One day after defending neo-Nazis, he condemns anti-Semitism.
- President Civility smears "Sleepy Joe," "Crazy Bernie," and "Pocahontas."
- Trump merely alludes to Hillary Clinton -- he doesn't even mention her by name -- and huge "Lock her up!" chants break out.
- "I don't know. They got some problems, I would say that," Trump says.
- LOL -- Trump's fans boo after he suggests they sing "Oh Canada" together
- Trump tires to dispel rumors he won't leave office "at the end of six years," calls the media "sick people"
- Wow -- Trump refers to the FBI and DOJ leaders he's purged from government as "scum"
Look at Trump's posture while he listens to Sarah Sanders speak. Who stands like this?
- Huge "CNN sucks!" chants from the crowd after Trump attacks the media.
- "You know what sucks? Their ratings suck," Trump says.
- let me know if you can make any sense of what Trump is trying to say here
- Trump claims that he called King Salman of Saudi Arabia and told him, "we are losing our ass defending you and you have a lot of money." He then mimics Salman's accent.
- Hours after a gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style weapon at a synagogue, Trump fear-mongers about Democrats wanting "to take your guns away."
- Trump on his plan to relocate undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities: "That was actually my sick idea."
- Trump falsely claims Democrats support murdering babies.
- "The baby is born, the mother meets w/the doctor. They take care of the baby. They wrap the baby beautifully. Then the doctor and mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby."
- The crowd respond w/angry boos
- Trump claims Charlie Kirk "is like 14 years old." (Kirk is 25.)
- TRUMP: "The other day our great hostage negotiator made the statement that Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator this country has ever had... I put it out. Why not? You know, a lot of time if you are not going to brag about it, no one else is. You might as well do it."
- Trump claims the Golan Heights is "important strategically" for Israel because "heights... you're up high."
- President Birther suggests Obama was disloyal to America: "You have always been loyal to this nation. Now you finally have a president who is loyal to you."
- Trump closes his speech in Wisconsin by promising to "make America great again." (He's been president for well over two years now!)
- Trump does some double fist-pumping before leaving the stage