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LOL, Politics

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama spoke at the White House Correspondents Dinner with his "anger translator," Luther, as portrayed by comedian Keegan-Michael Key. Luther was a recurring  character on the sketch comedy show "Key and Peele."
Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images
In 2015, then-President Barack Obama spoke at the White House Correspondents Dinner with his "anger translator," Luther, as portrayed by comedian Keegan-Michael Key. Luther was a recurring character on the sketch comedy show "Key and Peele."

Most people in the West Wing are good with words. But sometimes comedy is harder than politics.

President Donald Trump skipped his first White House Correspondents’ Dinner while in office, passing up an opportunity to give a speech that has traditionally been very lighthearted. Can we expect his speeches to make a foray into funny territory?

And with almost every late night host veering heavily into political commentary, when does the message start to overshadow the punchline?

We’ll get a look at the difficult art of writing jokes that are both political and funny, and we’ll hear from the man behind this speech:

GUESTS

David Litt, Head writer and producer, Funny or Die DC; author, “Thanks, Obama”

Libby Casey, On-air reporter and anchor, The Washington Post

Brad Jenkins, Producer and managing director, Funny or Die DC

For more, visit http://the1a.org.

© 2017 WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio.

Copyright 2017 WAMU 88.5

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