Trevor Noah becomes first African to host White House Correspondents Dinner

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Taking centre stage on Saturday night, comedian and TV host Trevor Noah became the first African to host the White House Correspondents Dinner. The annual glitzy event, which made a return after two years due to the Covid pandemic, saw the US President in attendance for the first time since 2016 as Donald Trump skipped the dinner during the four years of his presidency.

During the festivities, the ‘Daily Show’ host quipped about the 2022 Oscars slapping controversy, which involved Will Smith and Chris Rock, saying that after what happened during the award ceremony, he’s afraid that what if he makes “a really mean joke about like Kelly Anne Conway, and then her husband rushes up on the stage and thanks me”.

The last dinner, in 2019, featured no entertainer and instead was headlined by historian Ron Chernow. The year before that, there had been some controversy over performer Michelle Wolf’s biting comedy material, directed at some members of the Trump administration who were in attendance.

This event is organised by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which is an organisation of journalists who cover the White House and the US president.