The WHCD Shows How You’re Supposed to Handle Jokes

This clip, of host Trevor Noah imploring the journalists in his audience at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this weekend to understand their power and their obligation in democracy — to do better — rattled around the Internet this weekend, and for good reason: It’s a vital, urgent sentiment that is often forgotten by the day-to-day ridiculousness and piffle of modern media. It’s worth watching in its entirety, if you haven’t yet. <iframe frameborder="0" height="273" scrolling="no" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/birbigs/status/1520626883616030720&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fabs.twimg.com%252Ferrors%252Flogo46x38.png%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" title="Mike Birbiglia on Twitter: "I've always respected @Trevornoah so much but this closing speech from the White House correspondents' dinner is particularly spectacular. pic.twitter.com/k8GmBOAoYB / Twitter"" width="680"></iframe> As important as Noah’s message is, I find myself drawn to the joke he makes in the middle, when he says that, in America, he can make fun of the President to his face, and “I’ll be fine.” He then turns to President Biden: “I’ll be fine, right?” It’s a great joke, and it’s also a reminder of just how different this administration is (and how every administration has been) from the last one. Former President Trump never attended a single White House Correspondents’ Dinner — which is totally fine, honestly one of the least objectionable things about him — but, more to the point, the idea of anyone (even his closest advisors, or his family members) ever making fun of him to his face, or even disagreeing with him, was unacceptable. No one was to mock the king. <a href="https://williamfleitch.medium.com/the-whcd-shows-how-youre-supposed-to-handle-jokes-b587c920dc50">Learn More</a>