Several times since Saturday, I watched the controversial performance of comedian Michelle Wolf at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The 32-year-old’s comedy roast of the media and political elite was shocking, crass, politically-incorrect, truthful, at times uncomfortable and at other times, hilarious.
Her first rift upon taking to the podium was to lament the length of the program. She then joked: “like a porn star says when she’s about to have sex with a Trump: ‘let’s get this over with.’”
Only moments later, Ms. Wolf reminded her audience: “I’m here to tell jokes. I have no agenda. I’m not trying to get anything accomplished. So, everyone that’s here from Congress, you should feel right at home.”
The monologue soon drifted into territory that some in attendance may have thought was off-limits for the evening.
“Thanks to Trump, pink yarn sales are through the roof, “Wolf remarked. “After Trump got elected, women started knitting those pussy hats. When I first saw them, I was like: ‘that’s a pussy?’ I guess mine just has a lot more yarn on it.”
Immediately after that joke, Ms. Wolf appeared to foreshadow the current backlash and simultaneously illuminate the tension her words were causing. “Should’ve done more research before you got me to do this,” the comic quipped.
An expression of free-speech the showcase was, no doubt. And yet, it was condemned by the pro-First Amendment organization which not only invited Ms. Wolf – seemingly knowing in advance her shock value as a hardnosed truthteller – but, post-performance, apologized to its members.
Ms. Margaret Talev, President of the White House Correspondent’s Academy, asserted in a statement that the entertainer’s monologue was not in the spirit of the organization’s mission.
President Donald Trump – who for the second year opted not to attend the annual gala event which honors journalists – called this year’s dinner an embarrassment and characterized the young comedian, who repeated and sourly mocked him and his administration, as “filthy.”
The word filthy, uttered by Mr. Trump as a rebuke to another, is irony in a contest with hypocrisy. America’s chief executive – a man who stepped out on his wife with a porn star whom he penetrated without protection and who once bragged about groping women’s vaginas without consent – is dressed in filth via a number of sins and controversies.
Moreover, almost always when the President speaks, especially at campaign-style rallies, he’s crude, vile, unpredictable and is often mean-spirited towards those with whom he disagrees. So much so, that when he shows restraint in public, it garners headlines and chews up time on television news.
Mr. David Axelrod, the former Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama, on Sunday tweeted: “Americans were treated to a profane, insult-laden, often inappropriate monologue last night. But enough about the @POTUS. How about the White House Correspondents Dinner?”
Demanding an apology from Ms. Wolf for her perceived or real inappropriateness, while daily tolerating Mr. Trump’s, sends the message that average citizens are held to a higher standard than the man who occupies the highest office in the land. Ms. Wolf’s most intolerable insult that night is dwarfed by the barrage of obscenities, absurdities and pettiness which originate religiously from the President of the United States.
Mr. Trump’s presidency, not Ms. Wolf’s routine, is an embarrassment. And his behavior, on any given day, is more shocking and worrisome than any joke Ms. Wolf could utter. To demean Ms. Wolf and defend Mr. Trump, is to give sovereignty to hypocrisy.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
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