[imagesource: Patrick Semansky / AFP]

Say what you want about Trevor Noah, but the man can book a gig.

He hosted this year’s Grammys, as a reminder, and now he’s the first comedian to host the White House correspondents’ dinner since Michelle Wolf in 2018.

You may recall that Wolf’s brutal quips were not very well-received by then-president Donald Trump, and the following year writer Ron Chernow was tasked with hosting duties.

This year’s dinner took place on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton in Washington DC and saw Trevor rubbing shoulders with President Joe Biden and other bigwigs.

It’s the first time a sitting president has appeared in person since 2016. Trump skipped all four years he was in office and the last two years were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Trevor, take it away:

There were a few decent zingers that didn’t make the cut. The Washington Post with some that were missed:

— “You guys spent the last two years telling everyone about the importance of wearing masks and avoiding large, indoor gatherings. Then the second someone offers you a free dinner, you all turn into Joe Rogan, huh?”

— “The great chef José Andrés is joining us tonight. … Whenever there’s a disaster anywhere in the world, Chef José is there. Which I guess is why he’s sitting at the CNN table tonight.”

— “As you all know, President Biden’s lack of a filter does get him into hot water sometimes. Last month, he caused a huge international scandal saying that Vladimir Putin should be removed from power. It was very, very upsetting to Russia. Until someone explained to them that none of the stuff Biden wants actually gets done.”

— “This is the golden era of conspiracy theories, whether it’s the right wing believing Trump can still win the 2020 election, or the left believing Joe Biden can still win the 2024 election.”

Biden sat there and took the jokes with a smile because that’s what the night is all about.

He did manage to land a few jokes himself:

‘This is the first time the president attended this dinner in 6 years … We had a horrible plague, followed by 2 years of COVID’ — Pres. Biden begins his speech by firing shots at Donald Trump 👀 #WHCD pic.twitter.com/Sr8CpSghoY

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 1, 2022

Good joke, but painful delivery.

Naturally, Fox News came in for some stick from the host:

Trevor Noah blasts Fox News for nearly two full minutes. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/g8doZ9YIsH

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 1, 2022

Noah’s closing remarks have also been widely lauded:

I’ve always respected @Trevornoah so much but this closing speech from the White House correspondents’ dinner is particularly spectacular. pic.twitter.com/k8GmBOAoYB

— Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) May 1, 2022

[source:washpost]