Comedian Colin Jost delivers remarks at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Summary
TLDRThe speaker, Colin Jost, delivers a humorous and insightful Republican response at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He touches on various topics, including the challenges of following President Biden, the current state of the economy, and the importance of journalism. Jost also shares a personal story about his grandfather, a firefighter from Staten Island who voted for President Biden, highlighting the theme of decency. Throughout his speech, he pokes fun at political figures and the media landscape, while also acknowledging the role of journalists in protecting freedom.
Takeaways
- 🤣 The speaker humorously addresses the audience, acknowledging the unexpected display of personal photos and the challenges of political satire.
- 🏛️ The speaker identifies himself as Colin Joost, highlighting his role as the second gentleman and a juror in a high-profile trial, implying the significance of his presence.
- 📺 The speaker jokes about the media landscape, noting the decline of traditional journalism and the rise of social media as a primary news source.
- 🎓 He congratulates award winners and emphasizes the importance of journalism scholarships for young students, potentially alluding to the future of the profession.
- 📰 The speaker pokes fun at various news organizations, including The Washington Post, Fox News, and the New York Times, highlighting the competitive and often contentious nature of the media industry.
- 👵 The speaker uses humor to discuss political figures, including President Biden, Donald Trump, and others, reflecting the polarized and often absurd nature of contemporary politics.
- 👴 He touches on the topic of age in politics, making light of the fact that both major presidential candidates are older, suggesting a broader commentary on generational leadership.
- 💸 The speaker humorously suggests that President Biden could eliminate the national debt by shorting Trump stock, a playful jab at the economic policies and the former president's business practices.
- 📉 Despite joking about the economy, the speaker acknowledges that while perceptions may be negative, the actual economic data indicates strength, albeit with room for improvement.
- 👨👩👧👦 The speaker expresses gratitude towards his family and friends for their support, particularly his wife, and shares a personal story about his grandfather, a firefighter, to illustrate the importance of decency in leadership.
- 🌟 The speaker concludes by emphasizing the rarity of the freedom enjoyed in the present context and the role of journalists in protecting that freedom, thanking the President and the audience for their decency.
Q & A
Who is the speaker addressing the audience as?
-The speaker, Colin Jost, is addressing the audience as the host of the White House Correspondents' Dinner and delivering the Republican response.
What is the significance of the speaker mentioning his wife and being the 'second gentleman'?
-The speaker humorously acknowledges his wife's prominence and his supportive role, reflecting on the traditional roles within political marriages and the public eye.
What is the context of the joke about President Biden and the phrase 'bayth saying all rise'?
-The joke pokes fun at the formalities often associated with presidential events and the contrast with the current event's informal setting, highlighting that the technology for live broadcasts wasn't available during President Biden's high school years.
Why does the speaker mention the New York Post and its 200-point font?
-The speaker uses humor to describe the New York Post's sensationalist style, suggesting that regardless of the news, the paper's presentation remains dramatic and overblown.
What is the implication of the speaker's comment about the New York Times and puzzles?
-The comment implies that the New York Times is relying on non-news content, like puzzles, to maintain its readership, which is a critique of the changing media landscape and the struggle of traditional print media.
What is the significance of the speaker's mention of his grandfather and his profession?
-The speaker uses his grandfather's story to highlight the values of hard work, decency, and the importance of voting. It also serves to personalize the political discussion and connect it to the speaker's own life and family history.
Why does the speaker joke about the Washington Hilton and the Airport Hilton?
-The joke is a self-deprecating remark about the venue of the event, suggesting that while everyone might have preferred a more luxurious or prestigious location, they must make the best of the situation they are in.
What does the speaker mean when he says 'the vibes are bad but the numbers say it's strong' regarding the economy?
-The speaker is referring to the disconnect between public perception of the economy, which may be negative ('bad vibes'), and the actual economic indicators, which suggest a strong performance.
What is the speaker's opinion on the current state of journalism?
-The speaker acknowledges the challenges faced by journalists, especially with the rise of social media as a primary news source. He emphasizes the importance of traditional journalism in protecting freedom and guiding the public through difficult times.
Why does the speaker mention the potential outlawing of TikTok in the US?
-The mention of TikTok being potentially banned serves to highlight the rapid changes in media consumption and the reliance on social media platforms for news and information, even in the context of political events.
What is the message the speaker wants to convey by thanking his family and friends?
-The speaker expresses gratitude towards his support system, emphasizing the personal sacrifices and the importance of personal relationships in the context of public life and professional success.
Outlines
😀 Introduction and Humorous Remarks
The speaker, Colin Joost, begins with a self-deprecating joke about his high school photos and then introduces himself as the one delivering the Republican response. He humorously mentions needing to return to New York for jury duty in a high-profile trial. Colin acknowledges the presence of President Biden and Vice President Harris, and makes light-hearted comments about his role as the second gentleman. He also jokes about the expectations of the evening and the challenges of following President Biden. The speaker pokes fun at the media and his own profession, highlighting the importance of journalism and the changes in the industry.
🏆 Congratulating Award Winners and Media Organizations
Colin Joost congratulates the award winners and discusses the role of the Correspondence Association in providing scholarships to aspiring journalists. He humorously addresses the presence of various news organizations at the event, including The Washington Post, Fox News, and Trump Media. Colin also jokes about the New York Times and its reliance on puzzles, and the New York Post's sensationalist headlines. He acknowledges the presence of influential individuals, including Laura Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders, and humorously requests politicians to stop flooding their inboxes with emails.
😅 Political Satire and Election Commentary
The speaker engages in political satire, discussing the challenges President Biden faces and the absurdity of comparing him to a criminal mastermind. Colin humorously contrasts the ages of the presidential candidates and the implications on their policies. He comments on the state of the economy, suggesting humorous solutions like shorting Trump stock. The speaker also touches on the importance of managing expectations and the role of journalists in guiding the public through challenging times.
📰 The State of Journalism and Personal Tribute
Colin Joost addresses the challenges faced by print journalists in the age of social media and the potential ban of TikTok in the US. He highlights the importance of journalists in protecting freedom and the role they play in training AI programs. The speaker shares a personal story about his grandfather, a firefighter, and his endorsement of President Biden, emphasizing the value of decency in leadership. Colin thanks his family and friends for their support and concludes with a tribute to his grandfather's values and the importance of remembering them in the political discourse.
🙏 Closing Remarks and Acknowledgment of Decency
In his closing remarks, Colin Joost thanks President Biden for his decency and acknowledges the importance of this quality in leadership. He emphasizes the rarity of the freedom they enjoy and the role of journalists in safeguarding it. The speaker expresses gratitude for being invited to the event and concludes with a good night wish.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Hard-hitting journalism
💡White House Correspondents' Dinner
💡Second Gentleman
💡Print journalism
💡Catholic
💡Economy
💡Social media
💡Decency
💡Freedom of the press
💡Trump media
💡Censorship
Highlights
The speaker humorously addresses the audience, acknowledging the unexpected display of his high school photos.
Colin Jost delivers the Republican response at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Jost jokes about being chosen as a juror for a high-profile trial and Trump's lawyer believing he's on their side.
He mentions his role as the second gentleman and the applause that follows.
Jost expresses his excitement to be on stage with President Biden and his curiosity about Obama's influence.
The comedian points out the refreshing change of a presidential event not starting with a national anthem.
Jost highlights President Biden's alertness despite the late hour, contrasting it with Trump's courtroom naps.
He congratulates journalism award winners and commends the Correspondence Association for its scholarships.
Jost jokes about the Washington Post's coat-check service and the Staten Island Advance's circulation.
The speaker humorously critiques the New York Times and praises the New York Post for its sensationalist headlines.
Jost teases Laura Trump's song cover and the reaction it received.
He addresses the presence of influential senators and Congress people, urging them to stop emailing.
The comedian reflects on the challenges faced by print journalists in the digital age.
Jost discusses the current political climate, noting the ties in the presidential race despite controversies.
He acknowledges the economic progress under President Biden, comparing it to a stumbling yet upward journey.
The speaker calls for a more significant economic strategy, suggesting the shorting of Trump stocks.
Jost shares a personal story about his grandfather, a firefighter, and his support for President Biden.
The comedian concludes by emphasizing the importance of decency and freedom in journalism and society.
Transcripts
thank you everyone
hello that was hard-hitting journalism
you saw in the
owl I didn't know you were going to show
photos of me from high school I have
some surprises yeah it's not really fair
um you can't do it for President Biden
because the technology wasn't invented
when he was in high school it's not
really
fair good evening everyone I'm Colin
Joost and I'll be delivering the
Republican
response I'll be honest with you I don't
have a lot of time uh I need to get back
to New York because I'm juror number
five on a big
trial Trump's lawyer took one look at me
and he's like he's got to be on our side
thank you Kelly for that very kind
introduction Mr President Dr Biden vice
president Harris
Doug good good good Doug as you can tell
from all the comments about my wife I'm
also used to being the second gentleman
[Applause]
and I am honored to be here hosting what
is according to swing state polls the
final White House correspondence
dinner I hope that tonight will be a
night to
remember for most of us
I was excited to be up here on stage
with President Biden tonight mostly to
see if I could figure out where Obama
was pulling the strings
from I have to I have to admit it's not
easy following President Biden I mean
it's not always easy following what he's
saying like
but before I begin tonight can we just
acknowledge how refreshing it is to see
a president of the United States at an
event that doesn't begin with a bayth
saying all
rise and I would like to point out it's
after 10 p.m. sleepy Joe is still awake
while Donald Trump has spent the past
week falling asleep in court every
morning though Fox News said he was just
being
anti-woke we are all here tonight at
nerd
prom well Matt Gates is at regular prom
but
I actually thought I saw Matt Gates here
tonight but it was actually just my own
reflection in a
spoon like many of you here tonight I
pretend to do news on TV
My Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Chay
was going to join me here tonight but in
solidarity with President Biden I
decided to lose all my black
support Chay told me to say that and I'm
just realizing I was set up
I've done weekend update for a while now
but most people don't know that I
started out doing the actual news my
first job out of college was as a
reporter for the Staten Island Advance
newspaper they do not have a table here
tonight but they asked me to pass along
this message to the other print
journalists in the room you think you're
better than me
by the way I want to point out when I
worked at the St now in advance we had a
daily circulation of a
100,000 The Washington Post would kill
for
that so as a former aspiring journalist
I want to genuinely congratulate all the
award winners here tonight
congratulations
the correspondence Association provides
scholarships to promising young
journalism students who may one day be
sent off to cover dangerous geopolitical
hotspots like Columbia
University tonight this event is being
televised live on C-Span
[Applause]
and if you're at home watching C-SPAN on
a Saturday night I hope they find your
body
soon before your cats get to
it there are so many incredible news
organizations here tonight also a few
credible ones
The Washington Post is here Washington
Post they were the ones taking your
coats at the
door please be sure to
tip Fox News is here
tonight it's the end of an era rert
Murdoch stepped down at Fox News which
is strange I didn't think there was a
step down from Fox News
Trump media is here Trump media uh not
at a table just screaming loudly in the
corner to No
One Wordle is here
tonight sorry sorry I meant the New York
Times I forgot they do stuff in addition
to puzzles
I have to say it's not a great sign when
the only thing keeping a print media
company alive are games people play on
their
phones too chilling for you
guys room just froze faster than Mitch
McConnell and I have to say apologies to
the times but as a Staten Islander I
still get all my news from the New York
Post
thank you the only paper where the front
page always has the same 200 Point font
whether the headline is World War II to
start tomorrow or Central Park owl dead
in building
Collision the New York Post is like
having the New York Times summarized for
you by a crackhead
the times will say a border deal
continues to evade Congress and the post
is like these Mexicans are taking my
stuff there are so many incredible
individuals here tonight Laura Trump is
here
tonight okay I got one
woo she recently released a cover of the
song I won't back down upon hearing it
Tom Petty died
again I can't believe I'm saying this to
a member of the Trump family but maybe
stick to
politics Senator Bernie Sanders is
here because he's not the type to pass
up a free hot meal
and in general there are so many
hardworking influential senators and
Congress people here tonight and I just
want to say on behalf of everyone I know
stop emailing
us stop
it we get it democracy is on the line
and your plan to save it is to flood our
inboxes like your prate and
Barrel
that's it's also wonderful to be back in
Washington I love being in Washington
the last time I was in DC I left my
cocaine at the White
House luckily the president was able to
put it to good use for a state of the
[Applause]
union I'm kidding of course the
president doesn't call it cocaine he
calls it High-Speed
Rail that's
good by the way can you blame the guy
for turning to cocaine he must be
exhausted orchestrating four separate
trials against his rival rigging the
Super Bowl and gearing up to steal a
second election wow
Biden
left I love by the way that Trump's two
attacks on President Biden are that he's
a scile old man and a criminal
mastermind I'm like I think you got to
pick
one personally I don't know any criminal
masterminds who bike to get ice
cream also it's not like Trump himself
is Young and
sharp I'm not saying both candidates are
old but you know Jimmy Carter is out
there thinking I could maybe win this
[Applause]
thing he's only
99 there is an election there's an
election six extreme ex long months from
now so let me see if I can summarize
where this race stands at this moment
the Republican candidate for president
owes half a billion in fines for bank
fraud and is currently spending his days
farting himself awake during a porn star
hush money trial and the race is tied
the race is
tied nothing makes sense anymore the
candidate who was a famous New York City
Playboy took abortion rights away and
the guy who's trying to give you your
abortion rights back is an 80-year-old
Catholic how does that make sense
[Applause]
by the way President Biden isn't it
crazy that he's only our second Catholic
President and what's even crazier is
that in just a few short months we'll
have our third in RFK
Jr I'm kidding like his vaccine card
says he doesn't have a
shot Everything feels strange Now by a
lot of measures president Biden is
having a very successful first term but
people don't seem to realize it like
with the economy The Vibes are bad but
the numbers say it's strong the economy
is kind of like you on the steps of Air
Force
One it feels like it's stumbling but
there is somehow upward
progress I do think that you can do more
on the economy sir I really do for
example have you considered eliminating
the national debt by shorting Trump
stock people keep asking if our lives
are better than they were four years ago
of course they are four years ago we
didn't have online Sports
gambling what more do you
need that by the way that's probably
what's keeping the economy afloat online
gambling and Taylor Swift without those
we'd be in a recession right
now the problem is people are always
going to compare your first term to
Obama's but I think there are actually a
lot of positive similarities you both
made big strides in healthcare Obama got
us out of a recession you got us out of
a
pandemic Obama got Bin Laden you got
OJ and by the way now that OJ's Dead who
is the new front runner for Trump's
VP is it
Diddy by the way I bet if Trump did
select Diddy as his running mate I bet
this race would still be tied
I think even some Democrats say that
they are underwhelmed but I think
they're just not living in reality
manage your expectations people it's
like tonight sure we all wish we were at
the Waldorf right now but we're at the
Washington
Hilton and we have to make the best of
it just be happy you're not at the
Airport
[Music]
Hilton journalists these are challenging
times and we need the people in this
room to help guide us through it your
jobs are not easy and it doesn't help
that we're living at the end of
traditional media The Gatekeepers are
gone did you know that 90% of people now
get their news exclusively from social
media and that must be true because I
saw it in a random guy's Tik Tok
he was recording the video while driving
a Toyota Corolla but he seemed to know
his
stuff isn't it crazy by the way that Tik
Tok could be outlawed in the US by the
end of this year that's a real shame
because we're going to need Tik Tok to
document who is storming the capital
next January 6th
things are not bad for everyone though
this may be the worst time in history to
be a print journalist it is the best
time in history to be a courtroom sketch
artist my God the most famous man on
Earth is on trial and there's no cameras
allowed just the artists their
pastels and their desire to make Trump
look as bad as
possible every sketch of trump looks
like the Grinch had sex with The
Lorax in
closing I would really like to take a
moment to recognize all the print
journalists in this room your words
speak truth to power your words bring
light to the darkness and most most
importantly your words train the AI
programs that will soon replace
you and finally I wanted to thank my
family and I wanted to thank my friends
for being here tonight to support me I
want to thank my wife for enduring lots
of jokes and for agreeing to
individually meet everyone in this room
right after the ceremony
that
[Applause]
is that's really special honey thank
you don't be shy come right
up she hates
privacy and with my with my family in
mind I wanted to share one last thing
with you before I go and I wanted to
share one thing with you Mr President
before I
go I lost my grandfather this year as
you alluded to a firefighter William
Kelly uh he's the reason that our son's
middle name is
William he helped Raise Me growing up
and I would not be here today without
him my grandpa was a firefighter on
Staten Island for 40 years to make extra
money for his family he was a substitute
teacher and he painted houses
and since it's Staten Island I should
point out it's not like the Scorsese
Irishman painting
houses he was not a mafia Hitman he
actually painted
houses the FBI is here I don't want to
start a whole
thing my grandfather was another rare
Irishman who didn't drink because he
lost his father and his brother to
alcoholism and I swear Mr President this
is not an age
comparison you remind me of
him some of your best qualities remind
me of
his and I will say he was 955 and he was
still great at
stairs I think it's because he didn't
try to run up them
[Applause]
but the reason that I bring up my
grandfather and I don't know if you know
realize Mr President but Staten Island
firefighters are not normally your
demographic Staten Island voted about
70% for Trump in the last election and
the other 30% was for
Giuliani but Staten Island also sided
with the British during the
Revolutionary
War so we're not always on the right
side of
History you
[Applause]
remember but my grandfather a Staten
Island firefighter voted for you Mr
President
he voted for you in the last election
that he ever voted
in I mean I'm sure someone else will
vote twice in this election using his
name but that's just how the Democratic
Machine
Works he voted for you and the reason
that he voted for you is because you're
a decent man
my grandpa voted for decency and decency
is why we're all here tonight decency is
how we're able to be here
tonight decency is how we're able to
make jokes about each other and one of
us doesn't go to prison after we go to
the Newsmax
Afterparty and when you look at the
levels of Freedom throughout history and
even around the world today this is the
exception this freedom is incredibly
rare and the journalists in this room
help protect that freedom and we cannot
ever take that for granted
so Mr President I thank you for your
decency on behalf of my grandfather and
I thank all of you almost all of
you for your decency as
well I am very honored and grateful that
you invited me here tonight thank you
and good night
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)
Watch Colin Jost roast Biden, Trump and others at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
‘The Five’: CNN smacks Biden with a dose of reality
Weekend Update: Trump and Biden Visit Southern Border, McConnell to Step Down - SNL
Weekend Update: Biden's State of the Union, Mitch McConnell Endorses Trump - SNL
Weekend Update: Stormy Daniels Says Trump Didn't Wear Condom, RFK Jr.'s Parasitic Brain Worm - SNL
Trump CANCELS North Carolina Speech Before UNHINGED CROWD