There's a prominent theory that President Trump decided to seek the highest office in the land out of pique at being roasted by former President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner (reprised, in absentia, by Obama last spring). Trump denied that his stony-faced demeanor while Meyers and Obama mocked him meant he was angry, telling CNN last May that while the media said he "had a miserable time" and "felt humiliated" after the event, in fact, "I didn't feel humiliated, I had a great time. So the press is very dishonest." On Conan this week, comedian Jeff Ross backed the new president up.
"He doesn't seem like a guy who would handle a roast well," Conan O'Brien said. "It is odd, he loves being roasted — I've roasted him twice, actually — but he doesn't laugh," Ross said. "So you have to just keep going till you get him to break." Conan suggested this paradox might be because Trump loves being the center of attention, as in a roast, "but he doesn't want to laugh at himself," noting that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has observed that Trump doesn't laugh. "He'll smile, or he might, you know, sort of laugh at a situation, but he's not someone who would ever laugh at himself." Ross said he thinks Trump likes "the challenge of letting everyone know he that doesn't think it's funny, even though he wants to be roasted."
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.
-
Can the UK avoid the Trump tariff bombshell?Today's Big Question President says UK is 'way out of line' but it may still escape worst of US trade levies
-
Beyoncé's record-breaking night at the GrammysTalking Point Long-denied Album of the Year win rights a 'historic sense of grievance'
-
Crossword: February 3, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
