Larry Wilmore bombed at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Will he get the last laugh?

The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner is an odd tradition, where the president of the United States and a carefully selected comedian roast the rich, famous, and powerful people in the room, including the president, and also members of the news media, while the whole world can watch on C-SPAN. President Obama's zingers have generally been met with positive reviews — except by Donald Trump — and Saturday's roast was no exception. Larry Wilmore, this year's featured comedian, bombed. Or, at least, his routine wasn't universally embraced inside the room (CNN's Wolf Blitzer gave Wilmore some hard stares, while Don Lemon gave him the finger).
But as The Washington Post's Callum Borchers (and lots of people on Twitter) pointed out, another certain comedian who hosted a show following The Daily Show at Comedy Central also was met with uncomfortable, sometimes sparse laughter when he hosted the "nerd prom" back in 2006.
And Stephen Colbert has done pretty well for himself. More to the point, Borchers notes, "in hindsight, few would disagree with the underlying critique of Colbert's satire," that President George W. Bush had invaded Iraq on false pretenses and the media had not asked enough questions or challenged Bush adequately in the lead-up to the invasion. Wilmore's most trenchant critiques on Saturday were about race — which wouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone who's watched Wilmore's Nightly Show — though he also got in the expected jabs at the 2016 candidates as well as Obama. Will Wilmore's performance age well? You can judge his 22-minute set below. Peter Weber
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How Canadian tariffs could impact tourism to the US
In the Spotlight Canadians represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the United States. But they may soon stop visiting.
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Entitlements: DOGE goes after Social Security
Feature Elon Musk is pushing false claims about Social Security fraud
By The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Amazon Bond
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published