The 2024 White House Correspondents’ Dinner was full of joys, surprises, and awkward moments. As the award ceremony proceeded, it was a roller-coaster for the audience, including jokes and many comments. The event started with a blast from the past as the audience was treated to a replay of a memorable moment from 2011- an edgy roast of future candidate Donald Trump performed by then-former President Barack Obama.
According to Mediate , The clip was like a wake-up call on the politics-humor enmity that was to follow. It only served as the prelude to the actual events. After playing the full Obama clip, the narrator said, “What was Donald Trump thinking? Would he recover from this? Tonight: Your answer.”
. @themattfriend performs during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. #WHCA #WHCD #nerdprom pic.twitter.com/EYfXzJeTpL
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 28, 2024
Then, after a short discussion from Obama, the mic was turned on to another comedian named, Matt Friend, who attempted to impersonate Trump on stage .
Through his razor-sharp satire and spot-on portrayal, Friend was the one to take on this role which rapidly turned into both uproarious laughter and temporary mute periods. “It is really a tremendous opportunity to be at the most failed dinner anyone’s ever seen. Great to see you losers,” he greeted the crowd.
*Matt Friend actually being funny* The #WHCD audience: pic.twitter.com/WuLo75wf11
— Adam (@AdamJSmithGA) April 28, 2024
“Why is it so quiet? What’s happening? It’s quieter than Sleepy Joe,” he remarked, before launching into a series of jokes referencing current events. With his comedic cross-hairs set and no one spared from his sights, Friend made sure that not only the politicians were the target, but also pop culture icons. His jokes, though occasionally blowing for the head, were dead on with the precision of a sniper.
Matt Friend CRUSHED this segment at tonight’s White House Correspondents Dinner. 🔥🙌🏼🤣 #KristiNoemIsAMonster #TrumpIsNotFitToBePresident #viralvideo #WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner pic.twitter.com/rUmZXPzbY5
— Ryan Shead (@RyanShead) April 28, 2024
“This dinner is sadder than Taylor Swift’s new album , The Tortured President’s Department, right?” he asked. After a quip about an impending TikTok ban, he added, “Let’s face it, folks. I’m on fire right now, like the guy outside the courthouse, right?”
Of course, the “jokes” at the #WHCD begins with….two and a half minutes of Trump jokes by CBS’s Scott MacFarlane and comedian Matt Friend doing a Trump impression, followed by a minute and change doing Bernie, Mitch, and Obama impressions pic.twitter.com/izagtUBZAU
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 28, 2024
As mentioned by Entertainment Weekly , from the quite funny shots at the media to his serious remarks on current affairs, Friend made no concessions in the way he showed the polarizing persona he was painting.
Although this was his reference to the current issue connected with the current South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem that was a real reason for dividing the room. Noem, the one who was targeted for the fact that she acknowledged that she had euthanized a pet, became the main subject of Friend’s talk.
The dinner went on with comments from US President Joe Biden and Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost each of whom brought their style to the evening’s entertainment. And while it was Friend who opened the show, it is his fearless and progressive comedy that will remain in the hearts of the audience.