Only one kind of joke was officially off limits at Donald Trump's 2011 Comedy Central roast, but many others were crossed out or rewritten by Trump himself, The Huffington Post reports. "I have done this a long time and nobody blacks out punchlines," comedy writer Jesse Joyce recalled, adding that sometimes Trump's edits showed "a classic lack of an understanding of how a joke works."
Trump made a few lackluster attempts at cracking wise. He changed a joke meant to slam [Seth] MacFarlane from: "The only way you'll ever draw a crowd is with a pencil." Trump's revision: "The only crowd you'll attract is flies."After a joke that cited climate change, Trump suggested a parenthetical: "(Which obviously doesn't exist)."Elsewhere, Trump suggested a broadside against the entire dais: "Their all losers and I like associating with loser because it makes me feel even better about myself." (The grammar mistakes are Trump's.)Even in a script designed to be self-effacing, Trump couldn't resist boosting himself. At the conclusion of the rebuttal, in an exaggerated (even by Trumpian standards) riff about how he lives in a "25,000 square-foot penthouse atop my solid-gold space station," Trump ordered that the square footage be goosed to 50,000. He changed a line that read, "I'm sorry, I must go now and make a million dollars somewhere else," to a "billion" dollars. [The Huffington Post]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rainSpeed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
