01-05-2025
Dave Chappelle's New Donald Trump Roast After Viral China Jobs Clip
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Dave Chappelle roasted Donald Trump for taking over as chairman of the Kennedy Center—weeks after a past joke about the president went newly viral on social media.
The comedian spoke out while hosting a gala in tribute to Duke Ellington at New York's Jazz at the Lincoln Center on April 30 and got a laugh from Alec Baldwin and Joy Reid, who were in the audience.
Trump fired multiple people from the board of the Kennedy Center Washington, including the former chairman, David M. Rubenstein, and was subsequently appointed the new chairman.
Why It Matters
It comes after a clip of Chappelle criticizing Trump's trade war with China in 2017 resurfaced in April and went viral in the context of Trump's new 2025 tariffs.
Dave Chappelle, speaking onstage during a Jazz at Lincoln Center gala in tribute to Duke Ellington in New York City on April 30, 2025, during the show mocked President Donald Trump for taking over as...
Dave Chappelle, speaking onstage during a Jazz at Lincoln Center gala in tribute to Duke Ellington in New York City on April 30, 2025, during the show mocked President Donald Trump for taking over as chairman of the Kennedy Center. Morefor Jazz At Lincoln Center
What To Know
Chappelle was discussing the importance of jazz icon Duke Ellington's legacy when he said: "We gotta keep this tradition alive—this is one of the best traditions we got going in America. And you see what Trump did at the Kennedy Center? You're next, he'll come over here.
"'I'm gonna make jazz great again,' you're like, 'Oh no. Oh no.' 'Yeah, I'm gonna put my hands on the jazz next.'"
The joke got a laugh from the crowd before Chappelle spotted Baldwin, famous for his own Trump impression, in the audience.
"Alec, I should have asked you to do that impression tonight," he said.
Trump's move to take over at the Kennedy Center sparked cancellations from some artists in protest, including Issa Rae, Rhiannon Giddens and the musical Hamilton, NPR reported.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social in February: "We are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP."
Comedian Dave Chappelle, in a resurfaced video roasting Trump on tariffs in 2017: "All this m***********'s ideas sound like high people ideas. Like, he doesn't think these things through before he tells us. He just tells us what he's thinking as soon as it occurs to him. That s*** sounds nuts. 'I'm gonna go to China and I'm gonna get those jobs from China and bring them back here to America.' For what n*****? So iPhones can be $9,000. Leave that job in China where it belongs. None of us want to work that hard. I want to wear Nikes, I don't want to make s***."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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