Jessica Williams returns to 'The Daily Show' to roast Trump
Host Jon Stewart threw cameras mid-monologue to Jessica Williams, a famed alum of the political satire program, on Monday, July 28. Williams, fresh off an Emmy nod for her role in Apple TV+'s "Shrinking," served as a regular correspondent on "The Daily Show" from 2012 to 2016.
Back at her old stomping ground, Williams, 35, took aim at President Donald Trump, joking that he was using notable Black people to distract from a refusal to release the "Epstein Files."
"Trump is trying to throw every Black person he can think (of) in front of the scandal to distract us," Williams quipped. "First, he released the Martin Luther King Jr. files. Then he accused Obama of treason. And now he wants to prosecute Oprah and Beyoncé?"
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Williams' comments come as the Trump administration continues to weather a scandal over the investigation into convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Throughout his run for office, the president speculated that the government was withholding key evidence after the financier died by suicide in a New York jail cell before making it to trial. Now in office, however, the president has opted not to release further information, and the Department of Justice has maintained that there was no elusive "client list," with notable names who associated with Epstein.
The move has angered some of Trump's most loyal supporters, and provided fodder for over a week of late-night monologues.
Trump, Williams joked, was targeting "all of our greatest Black people," in order to distract from the scandal.
"Who's next? Michael Jordan? Michael B. Jordan? Michael C. Jordan?" she continued. "We're about a week away from him saying that Urkel did 9/11. Urkel? Did he do that?" She then wondered aloud if she would be next, quipping that recent Emmy nominations might just make her famous enough to be a target.
Williams, who has since ventured into more serious dramatic roles, occasionally swings by "The Daily Show" to remind audiences of her comedic prowess. She is one of several comics and actors who arrived in Hollywood after a stint on the Comedy Central program.
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