'Is Joe Biden awake?’ Roy Wood Jr hilariously roasts POTUS at correspondents' dinner
WASHINGTON, DC: Comedian Roy Wood Jr gently roasted President Joe Biden as he made light of his advanced age while joking about his mental faculties during his set at the White House correspondents' dinner in Washington DC on Saturday, April 29. The 44-year-old Birmingham-raised standup comedian and actor served as the featured entertainer at the annual dinner hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association.
"Is Joe Biden awake?" Wood joked in one of the few segments of his lengthy set that addressed Biden, who used his own time on the podium to poke fun at Don Lemon, Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Ron DeSantis. The comic went on to subtly tease the American leader, saying, "Say what you want with our president - when he wakes up from that nap. Work gets done. He might doze off but then it's infrastructure bill." Wood continued to follow the president's train of thought, which he appeared to indicate was fragmented and perhaps poorly thought out, according to Daily Mail.
READ MORE
"Student loan forgiveness. Bring Brittney Griner home," the Daily Show reporter said while mimicking Biden's slow speech. Wood, who replaced ousted boss Trevor Noah as this year's roast master, continued by saying, "I’m well aware that not everybody in this room knows who I am. So let’s just address the elephant in the room. I know it is." After that, he delivered a punchline that subtly made fun of the president, who last week revealed his plans to again run for office. "Half of this room thinks I’m Kenan Thompson. The other half think I’m Louis Armstrong," Wood joked, adding, "President Biden think I’m the daddy on “Family Matters'.”
Make this an ad for Biden.
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) April 30, 2023
Roy Wood Jr: "Is Joe Biden awake? Say what you want with our president -- when he wakes up from that nap. Work gets done. He might doze off but then it's infrastructure bill. Student loan forgiveness. Bring Brittney Griner home."pic.twitter.com/Afuy1cbdXm
Trump scandals and 'Star Wars'
During his set, Wood also touched on subjects like Don Lemon's recent exit from CNN, and Fox News's $787.5 million settlement to Dominion Voting, before steering his jokes toward former President Donald Trump, and his multiple, ongoing controversies. "Keeping up with Donald Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars movies - Donald Trump is the only politician whose scandals got spin-offs on Disney," Wood said while joking that it takes a few different "episodes" to completely comprehend Trump's legal issues.
WOW! Roy Wood Jr mocks the liberal media! “As soon as the Trump document story broke, everybody was down at Mar-a-Lago reporting live...And then we found out Joe Biden had documents, too, and it was like ‘it’s not a big deal.’” pic.twitter.com/7nYDVve2If
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) April 30, 2023
The comedian then poked fun at Don Lemon, saying, "My dog, Don Lemon released a statement saying he got fired from CNN, then CNN released a statement saying that they offered Don a meeting." The simple mention of the media personality left the audience captivated. Wood then said, "They had to part ways because Don Lemon can’t even accurately report a story about Don Lemon." Wood did not miss the opportunity to launch some well-timed digs at Fox News and its recently ousted golden boy Tucker Carlson.
Biden shouts out Brittney Griner at the WHCA dinner pic.twitter.com/BaensTMXJs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2023
'Call me old? I call it being seasoned’
"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," Woods quipped. Moments before Woods’ light roasting set, Biden gave his own address, which touched on the important issues of press freedom and the recent detention of journalists like Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal. But after those subjects were covered, Biden seized the opportunity to use his humor to skewer his conservative counterparts.
Biden is throwing daggers at Marjorie Taylor Greene at the White House Correspondents Dinner. 😂
— Ryan Shead (The Villain) (@RyanShead) April 30, 2023
Get ‘em, Joe! 🔥#WHCD #WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner
pic.twitter.com/QENZf5EV9O
During his time, Biden launched a barrage of jokes targeted at Gov Ron DeSantis and Don Lemon. "Call me old? I call it being seasoned," he joked, adding, "You say I'm ancient. I say I'm wise. You say I'm over the hill. Don Lemon would say that's a man in his prime." The president continued by making fun of Fox News' recent $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting, saying that they were present at the dinner "because they can't afford to say no to a free meal." The event was attended by a number of government officials and Hollywood a-listers, including Julia Fox, Kelly Ripa, and 'Game of Thrones' Lena Headey.