Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner Routine

Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner Routine

Updated Nov 21, 2018 at 03:22PM EST by Matt.

Added Apr 30, 2018 at 01:26PM EDT by Don.

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Overview

Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner Routine refers to a stand-up comedy routine performs by comedian Michelle Wolf during the 2018 White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner.

Background

On April 28th, 2018, Wolf delivered her stand-up routine at the WHCA dinner, during which she made several jokes about President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (shown below).



Developments

Online Reaction

That evening, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted "Tonight's #WHCD was a disgrace," which Wolf subsequently retweeted along with the reply "Thank you!" (shown below).[2]


Michelle Wolf @michelleisawolf Thank you! Sean Spicer@seanspicer Tonight's #WHCD was a disgrace

Meanwhile, New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman and Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski tweeted criticisms of Wolf's routine (shown below).


Maggie Haberman @maggieNYT That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive. Mika Brzezinski @morningmika Watching a wife and mother be humiliated on national television for her looks is deplorable. I have experienced insults about my appearance from the president. All women have a duty to unite when these attacks happen and the WHCA owes Sarah an apology.

The following day, Twitter user @ProudResister[7] tweeted a joke mocking Republican criticisms of the comedy routine (shown below). In the coming days, posts about the comedy routine reached the front page of the /r/politics,[4] /r/The_Donald[5] and /r/OutOfTheLoop[6] subreddits.


Ryan Knight @ProudResister Donald Trump: "Grab em by the p----" "I moved on her like a bitch" Blood coming out of her wherever "I would bomb the s--- out of them" "If she wasn't my daughter I'd date her" "African countries are s------- nations" Republicans: - "Michelle Wolf was over the top"

Trump's Response

Also on April 29th, Trump tweeted that the dinner was a "big, boring bust" and that Wolf "really 'bombed'" (shown below).[1]


Donald J. Trump O @realDonaldTrump While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn't work. Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents Dinner was a very big, boring bust...the so-called comedian really "bombed." @greggutfeld should host next year! @PeteHegseth

WHCA Statement

That evening, WHCA president Margaret Talev released a statement about the controversy, condemning Wolf's performance for not being "in the spirit" of the event's "mission" (shown below).[3]



2019 Correspondents' Dinner

On November 19th, 2018, the White House Correspondents' dinner announced the featured speaker for the 2019 dinner: author Ron Chernow. This would be the first time in 15 years that a non-comedian would host the event.[8]

That day, Michelle Wolf responded to the WHCA's announcement. She wrote, "The @whca are cowards. The media is complicit. And I couldn't be prouder." The tweet[9] received more than 9,700 retweets and 58,000 likes in two days (shown below, left).

The following day, Trump responded on Twitter.[10] He wrote, "So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?" The tweet received more than 18,000 retweets and 97,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

On November 21st, Wolf responded to Trump by both criticizing Trump's response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist murdered by government of Saudi Arabia, and Melania Trump's anti-bullying campaign Be Best. She wrote, "I bet you'd be on my side if I had killed a journalist. #BeBest." The tweet received more than 61,000 retweets and 282,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below).


Michelle wolf @michelleisawolf The @whca are cowards. The media is complicit. And I couldn't be prouder. WHCA@whca WHCA Announces Acclaimed Author Ron Chernow as Featured Speaker for 2019 Annual Dinner. For more, whca.press/2018/11/19/whc... The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is pleased to announce that Ron Chernow, one of the most eminent biographers of American presidents and statesmen, will be the featured speaker at its annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019 "I'm delighted that Ron will share his lively, deeply researched perspectives on American politics and history at the 2019 White House Correspondents' Dinner," said Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM and president of the WHCA. "As we celebrate the importance of a free and independent news media to the health of the republic, I look forward to hearing Ron place this unusual moment in the context of American history "The White House Correspondents' Association has asked me to make the case for the First Amendment and I am happy to oblige," Chernow said. "Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go? Michelle wolf @michelleisawolf I bet you'd be on my side if I had killed a journalist. #BeBest Donald J. Trump Ф @realDonaldTrump So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?

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