No, seriously. You will never, ever guess who the host is, unless you’re among his immediate family and friends.
In past years, the WHCD has been hosted by such names as Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Craig Ferguson. Names you’ve actually heard of before. But this is 2017, so it’s out with the old ways and in with the new.
“Daily Show” correspondent Hasan Minhaj will perform at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this month, taking on the traditional role of cracking jokes about the president and the fourth estate for a black-tie-clad crowd stuffed into the Washington Hilton.
Whoa. Wait. THE Hasan Minhaj?
Nobody else in comedy wants that job anymore. It’s no fun to hang out with POTUS anymore because he’s not super-cool. It’s no fun to help the president make fun of his opponents, because now they’re the president’s opponents.
During the Obama years the WHCD was dubbed “Nerd Prom,” a faux-self-deprecating moniker that was an insult to both nerds and proms. I’m ambivalent on the Trump administration so far, but if he’s already wrecked this annoying and self-congratulatory institution after less than 100 days in office, my hat is off to him.
But hey, break a leg, Mr. Minhaj! (Not literally. That would be racist.)