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Newmark Theatre | Portland, OR

Roy wood jr: happy to be here, the belasco | los angeles, ca, netflix is a joke presents: roy wood jr., netflix is a joke presents: roy wood jr. - late show, tampa theatre | tampa, fl, the pageant | st louis, mo, athenaeum theatre | chicago, il.

Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper Announce 2024 Co-Headlining Tour: America: For The Last Time

“A comedic town hall that digs into the issues that matter and many of the ones that do not.”  

Tickets available starting today with artist presale, general onsale begins friday, 9/29 at 10 am local time on ticketmaster.com.

Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper are bringing “evenings of comedy celebrating America before it explodes and sinks into the ocean” on their America: For The Last Time Tour . Roy and Jordan will riff on today’s headlines, debate the good and the bad, and share stories from their time covering politics – from The Daily Show, to MAGA rallies, to the White House Correspondents Dinner. Whether it’s fielding audience questions or grilling a local baby-kisser, they promise half baked analysis with 100% confidence.

Produced by Live Nation, the exclusive 5-city tour kicks off on January 12th at Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, of course, making stops across the U.S. in Charlottesville, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor before wrapping up in Indianapolis at The Egyptian Room At Old National Centre on January 27th.

TICKETS: Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning Wednesday, September 27th. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, September 29th at 10 AM local time at Ticketmaster.com .

AMERICA: FOR THE LAST TIME TOUR DATES:

Fri Jan 12 — Washington, DC – Warner Theatre

Sat Jan 13 — Charlottesville, VA — Paramount Theatre

Thu Jan 25 — Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe

Fri Jan 26 — Ann Arbor, MI — Michigan Theater

Sat Jan 27 — Indianapolis, IN — Egyptian Room At Old National Centre

About Roy Wood Jr. 

Roy Wood Jr. is a comedian, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer for the PBS documentary The Neutral Ground , and a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning The Daily Show. This year, Wood Jr. guest hosted The Daily Show and headlined the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to its highest ratings since 2017. He can currently be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s comedy mini series COMMAND Z opposite Michael Cera. He recently appeared in a leading role on-screen opposite Jon Hamm in the Paramount feature CONFESS, FLETCH. On the TV side, Wood Jr. has guest starred and recurred on hit shows such as ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, SPACE FORCE, BETTER CALL SAUL, THE LAST OG and FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS.

In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING. His first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, FATHER FIGURE, premiered in 2017. His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You,” premiered in 2019. His His third Comedy Central special, “Imperfect Messenger” premiered in 2021 and was named one of Vulture’s “Best Comedy Specials of 2021”.

About Jordan Klepper

Jordan Klepper is perhaps best known for his work with The Daily Show and his multiple Emmy nominated specials focusing on the political world. From covering the gun safety debate (Jordan Klepper Solves Guns) to his docuseries on the world of activism (Klepper on Comedy Central) Jordan has witnessed an insurrection, capsized a boat with pipeline protestors, interviewed a President and been arrested and locked up in Fulton County Jail. He also travels the globe with his segment “Fingers The Pulse” which has racked up hundreds of millions of views. Klepper wrote, starred and executive produced “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Into The MagaVerse,” “Fingers The Midterms” (the most watched special on Comedy Central) and “Hungary for Democracy,” the latter of which garnered him a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism. He executive produced and hosted “The Opposition” and “Klepper” on Comedy Central, which was called “A fresh, powerful interpretation of news” by the Detroit Free Press. In addition to being a correspondent on the Peabody Award Winning Daily Show for nearly a decade, he’s branched out into the podcast space co-hosting StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, co-hosting Kasich and Klepper (with former Governor John Kasich) as well as the Webby award winning “Fingers The Conspiracy” which took a deep dive into the world of conspiracy. Beyond his work in comedy, Klepper has chronicled his experiences in the world of politics from essays on CBS Morning to Op-Ed’s in the Boston Globe. He’s also been seen on CNN, MSNBC, HBO’s “Night of Too Many Stars,” Netflix’s “The Who’s Who Show” and voices Pete on Disney’s “The Ghost and Molly McGee.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com .

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Roy Wood Jr.

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Roy Wood Jr. Announces ‘Happy To Be Here’ Live Tour

Today, Roy Wood Jr. announced his Happy To Be Here Live Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the 7-city tour kicks off on September 15 at Crest Theatre in Sacramento making stops across the U.S. in San Francisco, Atlanta, Charlotte, and more before wrapping up in Minneapolis at Fillmore Minneapolis on November 11.

The Emmy nominated ROY WOOD JR. has entertained millions across stage, television, and radio. In 2015, he joined The Best F#@ing News Team as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Comedy Central continues its long-standing relationship with the talented comedian and actor collaborating on two podcasts–Roy’s Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes–as well as his third hour-long stand-up special, Imperfect Messenger, now streaming on Paramount+.

Wood was the 2023 host of The White House Correspondents Dinner and most recently starred alongside Jon Hamm in the film Confess, Fletch which was released September 16th, and is set to executive produce the HBO Max project 1% Happy as well as an untitled medical field comedy for NBC. He will also executive produce, write and star in FOX’s untitled single-camera comedy about the National Guard with Denis Leary attached as a producer. Roy’s additional credits include Only Murders in the Building, Better Call Saul, Space Force, The Last O.G., and the PBS documentary The Neutral Ground, for which he served as executive producer and was nominated for an Emmy.

Wood’s first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, Father Figure, debuted in 2017, the same year he was named the new host of the network’s storytelling series This is Not Happening. His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, No One Loves You, which debuted in 2019, remains the network’s highest-rated original stand-up premiere. Entertainment Weekly has described his thought-provoking comedy as “charismatic crankiness,” Forbes declared him “one of comedy’s best journalists,” and Variety named him “One of 10 Comics to Watch” in 2016.

Wood began his comedy career in 1998 at the age of 19 while attending Florida A&M University. In 2006, he debuted on network television on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2008, he appeared on HBO’s historic Def Comedy Jam and was selected by America as one of the top three finalists on Last Comic Standing on NBC. He has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Conan. He also performed on numerous USO Tours for our troops stationed everywhere from Guam to Iraq to the Philippines.

During the global pandemic, Roy has spent time raising money for displaced waitstaff at comedy clubs through tipyourwaitstaff.com and Laugh Aid. In his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, his philanthropic endeavors include supporting Workshops Inc. (which helps those with disabilities and other employment barriers achieve their vocational potential), DUBS Baseball Academy (an investment in sports to change lives), STAIR of Birmingham (a tutoring program that empowers students to read and dream bigger), and I See Me Inc. (which dismantles the school-to-prison pipeline by increasing literacy rates in children of color).

HAPPY TO BE HERE LIVE TOUR DATES: Fri Sep 15 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre Sat Sep 16 – San Francisco, CA – Palace of Fine Arts Fri Sep 22 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre Sat Sep 23 – Durham, NC – Carolina Theatre Sun Sep 24 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte Fri Nov 10 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theater Sat Nov 11 – Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore Minneapolis

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Comedian Roy Wood Jr. announces Happy To Be Here Live Tour

Fresh-off the success of hosting the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, comedian Roy Wood Jr. has announced that he is hitting the road on the Happy To Be Here Live Tour.

The seven-city trek, produced by Live Nation, kicks off in Sacramento on Sept. 15 before making stops in San Francisco, Atlanta, Charlotte and other great cities. The tour will conclude with a performance in Minneapolis on Nov. 11.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 5 at 10 a.m. local time and there is an artist presale beginning Tuesday, May 2.

Click here to pick-up tickets to see Roy Wood Jr. perform in a city near you and check out a full list of tour dates below. More information can be found at Roywoodjr.com .

Roy Wood Jr. Happy To Be Here Live Tour Dates Sept. 15 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre Sept. 16 – San Francisco, CA – Palace of Fine Arts Sept. 22 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre Sept. 23 – Durham, NC – Carolina Theatre Sept. 24 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte Nov. 10 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theater Nov. 11 – Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore Minneapolis

Comic Roy Wood Jr Plots Happy to Be Here Live Tour 

Comedian Roy Wood Jr. has announced his upcoming Happy To Be Here Live Tour, which will take him to seven cities across the United States. Produced by Live Nation, the tour is set to begin on September 15th at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, before moving on to San Francisco, Atlanta, Charlotte, and other cities, and concluding on November 11th at the Fillmore Minneapolis.

Wood, who is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and Comedy Central, has been a staple of the comedy scene for years. He has previously released several successful stand-up specials, including Father Figure, No One Loves You, and Roy Wood Jr.: Imperfect Messenger.

Tickets for the Happy To Be Here Live Tour will be available starting on May 2nd with artist presales. Additional presales will run throughout the week, with the general onsale beginning on May 5th at 10 am local time.

In addition to his comedy work, Wood has also been involved in various social justice causes. He is a former journalist who has covered topics such as police brutality and racial profiling, and has been active in advocating for criminal justice reform. He is also the author of the book The Unofficial History of Alabama Football.

With his upcoming tour, Wood is sure to bring his unique brand of humor and social commentary to audiences across the country. Fans can expect a night of laughter and thought-provoking insights from one of the most talented comedians working today

Roy Wood Jr tickets at MEGASeats | 15% off use code TICKETNEWS Roy Wood Jr tickets at ScoreBig Roy Wood Jr tickets at SeatGeek Roy Wood Jr tickets at StubHub Roy Wood Jr tickets at Ticket Club | Free membership use code TICKETNEWS Roy Wood Jr  tickets at Vivid Seats

Roy Wood Jr. HAPPY TO BE HERE LIVE TOUR DATES: 

Fri Sep 15 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theatre Sat Sep 16 – San Francisco, CA – Palace of Fine Arts Fri Sep 22 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre Sat Sep 23 – Durham, NC – Carolina Theatre Sun Sep 24 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte Fri Nov 10 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theater Sat Nov 11 – Minneapolis, MN – Fillmore Minneapolis

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Home › News & Press › Roy Wood Jr.: Happy To Be Here Live Tour Comes to the Carolina Theatre on September 23

Roy Wood Jr.: Happy To Be Here Live Tour Comes to the Carolina Theatre on September 23

May 8, 2023 by Sandy Lerebours

Tickets On Sale Now  

DURHAM, NC — May 8, 2023 — Roy Wood Jr. comes to the Carolina Theatre of Durham on September 23, 2023, on the Happy To Be Here Live Tour.   

Tickets to see Roy Wood Jr. at the Carolina Theatre are available at the box office and on the venue’s website, www.carolinatheatre.org.  

The Emmy-nominated Roy Wood Jr. has entertained millions across television, stage, and radio. He made his network television debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” and would go on to make appearances on HBO’s historic “Def Comedy Jam,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Conan.” Most recently, Wood Jr. was a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” and the host of the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner.  

Don’t miss your chance to see Roy Wood Jr. at the Carolina Theatre on September 23, 2023.  

About The Carolina Theatre of Durham:  

Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region. More information at carolinatheatre.org .  

Contact: Jordan Hewitt Beard  

Senior Director of Marketing, Carolina Theatre of Durham  

Thank You To Our Corporate & Foundation Partners

Roy Wood Jr. Tour Dates 2024

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Roy Wood Jr.

Feb 10, 2024 7:30 PM

Orpheum Theater 216 State St. , Madison , Wisconsin 53703

May 1, 2023

media release: On May 1, Roy Wood Jr. announced his Happy To Be Here Live Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the seven-city tour kicks off in Sacramento, CA, on September 15, and includes a stop at ­­Orpheum Theater in Madison, on Feb. 10, 2024 (moved from November 2023).

The Emmy nominated ROY WOOD JR. has entertained millions across stage, television, and radio. In 2015, he joined The Best F#@ing News Team as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Comedy Central continues its long-standing relationship with the talented comedian and actor collaborating on two podcasts–Roy’s Job Fair and Beyond the Scenes–as well as his third hour-long stand-up special, Imperfect Messenger, now streaming on Paramount+. 

Wood was the 2023 host of The White House Correspondents Dinner and most recently starred alongside Jon Hamm in the film Confess, Fletch which was released September 16th, and is set to executive produce the HBO Max project 1% Happy as well as an untitled medical field comedy for NBC. He will also executive produce, write and star in FOX’s untitled single-camera comedy about the National Guard with Denis Leary attached as a producer. Roy’s additional credits include Only Murders in the Building, Better Call Saul, Space Force, The Last O.G., and the PBS documentary The Neutral Ground, for which he served as executive producer and was nominated for an Emmy. 

Wood’s first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, Father Figure, debuted in 2017, the same year he was named the new host of the network’s storytelling series This is Not Happening. His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, No One Loves You, which debuted in 2019, remains the network’s highest-rated original stand-up premiere. Entertainment Weekly has described his thought-provoking comedy as “charismatic crankiness,” Forbes declared him “one of comedy’s best journalists,” and Variety named him “One of 10 Comics to Watch” in 2016. 

Wood began his comedy career in 1998 at the age of 19 while attending Florida A&M University. In 2006, he debuted on network television on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2008, he appeared on HBO’s historic Def Comedy Jam and was selected by America as one of the top three finalists on Last Comic Standing on NBC. He has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Conan. He also performed on numerous USO Tours for our troops stationed everywhere from Guam to Iraq to the Philippines.

During the global pandemic, Roy has spent time raising money for displaced waitstaff at comedy clubs through tipyourwaitstaff.com and Laugh Aid. In his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, his philanthropic endeavors include supporting Workshops Inc. (which helps those with disabilities and other employment barriers achieve their vocational potential), DUBS Baseball Academy (an investment in sports to change lives), STAIR of Birmingham (a tutoring program that empowers students to read and dream bigger), and  I See Me Inc. (which dismantles the school-to-prison pipeline by increasing literacy rates in children of color).

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Roy Wood Jr. at Moore Theatre

Roy wood jr. tickets, moore theatre - wa | seattle, washington.

• | Roy Wood Jr.

The comedic genius of Roy Wood Jr. will take you home to church — at least, not literally— as he brings his "Happy To Be Here Live Tour" to Seattle's Moore Thater this December 31. Any comedy gan would agree that it is a marvel to see him on stage, talking about the most outrageous to the most socially aware topics. To a lot of people, his live shows are like seeing someone preaching for truth served with maximal comedic prowess. Unlike other comedians who usually have one-note high energy, on his, it is different. He does masterful control of attention throughout the hour; you get high, fitful laughs and then short periods of breaths. He does this well, and even though he talks about the most serious talk in front of you, he still manages to tickle you to laughter. That attribute is a talent only a few people will manage to achieve. Roy Wood Jr. will be ending the year with a bang in Seattle when he performs at the Moore Theatre on December 31. Watching this show is a perfect way of ending this year on a good note. Don't miss to book your tickets now!

Roy Wood Jr.'s comedy is a masterclass in making serious topics into hilarious skits. People call his stand-up shows similar to going to church. He preaches truth served with comedic prowess. Unlike other comedians who heavily rely on non-stop energy, his mastery relies on his ability to pause and allow the audience to go silent. He lets you soak in the hilarious experience. After all, he is a seasoned comedian. He has been doing this since 1998.

Roy Norris Wood Jr. was born in Manhattan, New York City, in 1978. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a celebrated broadcasting journalist who covered the civil rights movement and other historical events. His style, wherein he includes historical events and social issues, is an influence from his father and the journalism craft. Even though he currently does not have a career in journalism, Roy Wood Jr. graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2001 and has wide experience in the field.

Before Wood graduated, he worked as a news reporter for a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama. When he got the chance to fill in as the in-house comedian of the station, he discovered his passion for comedy. By 1998, he was already doing gigs as a stand-up comedian. When he graduated, he worked as a producer for the Birmingham show, the Buckwilde Morning Show. His comedy career then flourished as a radio station host. He started to do prank calls and made contributions to national radio stations.

In 2007, he decided to look for opportunities in Los Angeles. Three years later, he competed in NBC's Last Comic Standing. He was the third runner-up. He then went back to Alabama and established the Roy Wood Jr. Show. It was a success in the state. His first comedy special came out on CD, called Things I Think, I Think, in 2013. Two years later, he became a correspondent for The Daily Show, which brought him to a wide audience. He became unstoppable after that. He had multiple Comedy Central specials, has an upcoming TV show, became a guest on the PBS series Finding Your Roots, and hosted the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Roy Wood Jr. will be spreading joy at the Moore Theatre on Sunday, December 31. If you want to end the year on a good note, you should see this live stand-up.

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Roy Wood, Jr is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 6 concerts across 1 country in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

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Roy Wood Jr. & Jordan Klepper Announce “America: For The Last Time” Tour

Roy Wood Jr.  and Jordan Klepper are bringing “evenings of comedy celebrating America before it explodes and sinks into the ocean” on their  America: For The Last Time Tour. Roy and Jordan will riff on today’s headlines, debate the good and the bad, and share stories from their time covering politics – from The Daily Show, to MAGA rallies, to the White House Correspondents Dinner. Whether it’s fielding audience questions or grilling a local baby-kisser, they promise half-baked analysis with 100% confidence.

Produced by Live Nation, the exclusive 5-city tour kicks off on January 12th at Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, of course, making stops across the U.S. in Charlottesville, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor before wrapping up in Indianapolis at The Egyptian Room At Old National Centre on January 27th.

Roy Wood Jr. is a comedian, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer for the PBS documentary  The Neutral Ground , and a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning  The Daily Show.  This year, Wood Jr. guest hosted  The Daily Show  and headlined the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to its highest ratings since 2017. He can currently be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s comedy mini series COMMAND Z opposite Michael Cera. He recently appeared in a leading role on-screen opposite Jon Hamm in the Paramount feature CONFESS, FLETCH. On the TV side, Wood Jr. has guest starred and recurred on hit shows such as ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, SPACE FORCE, BETTER CALL SAUL, THE LAST OG and FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS.

In 2017, he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING. His first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, FATHER FIGURE, premiered in 2017. His second Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, “Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You,” premiered in 2019. His third Comedy Central special, “Imperfect Messenger” premiered in 2021 and was named one of Vulture’s “Best Comedy Specials of 2021”.

Jordan Klepper is perhaps best known for his work with The Daily Show and his multiple Emmy nominated specials focusing on the political world. From covering the gun safety debate (Jordan Klepper Solves Guns) to his docuseries on the world of activism (Klepper on Comedy Central) Jordan has witnessed an insurrection, capsized a boat with pipeline protestors, interviewed a President and been arrested and locked up in Fulton County Jail. He also travels the globe with his segment “Fingers The Pulse” which has racked up hundreds of millions of views. Klepper wrote, starred and executive produced “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Into The MagaVerse,” “Fingers The Midterms” (the most watched special on Comedy Central) and “Hungary for Democracy,” the latter of which garnered him a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism. He executive produced and hosted “The Opposition” and “Klepper” on Comedy Central, which was called “A fresh, powerful interpretation of news” by the Detroit Free Press. In addition to being a correspondent on the Peabody Award Winning Daily Show for nearly a decade, he’s branched out into the podcast space co-hosting StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, co-hosting Kasich and Klepper (with former Governor John Kasich) as well as the Webby award winning “Fingers The Conspiracy” which took a deep dive into the world of conspiracy. Beyond his work in comedy, Klepper has chronicled his experiences in the world of politics from essays on CBS Morning to Op-Ed’s in the Boston Globe. He’s also been seen on CNN, MSNBC, HBO’s “Night of Too Many Stars,” Netflix’s “The Who’s Who Show” and voices Pete on Disney’s “The Ghost and Molly McGee.

Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning Wednesday, September 27th. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, September 29th at 10 AM local time at  Ticketmaster.com .

AMERICA: FOR THE LAST TIME  TOUR DATES:

Fri Jan 12 — Washington, DC – Warner Theatre

Sat Jan 13 — Charlottesville, VA — Paramount Theatre

Thu Jan 25 — Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe

Fri Jan 26 — Ann Arbor, MI — Michigan Theater

Sat Jan 27 — Indianapolis, IN — Egyptian Room At Old National Centre

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[…] Roy Wood Jr. has formally announced his plans to leave The Daily Show. […]

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Boston Pizza presents Just For Laughs Comedy Tour

Just For Laughs takes great pride in celebrating the 20th anniversary of its iconic cross-Canada tour with the announcement of the Boston Pizza presents Just For Laughs Comedy Tour starring The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr., from November 2 to November 25. 

Fresh off a stellar performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Roy Wood Jr. will headline an incredible line-up of some of the most hilarious and diverse comedians. The show will feature Lebanese-Canadian comedian Malik Elassal, Critics Choice Award nominee Joyelle Nicole Johnson and Just For Laughs Festival favourite Arthur Simeon. 

Get your tickets now by selecting your city from the list below!

Having played with The Move, ELO and Wizzard, this is a man with a solid, if somewhat eclectic fanbase. He's a distinctive looking character with a more...

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A look at the 96th annual Oscars with comedian Roy Wood Jr.

ABC News contributors Mike Muse and Kelley L. Carter and comedian Roy Wood Jr. discuss the show’s host, Jimmy Kimmel, and their favorite speeches.

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The Comedian Roy Wood Jr. on What’s Funny About 2024

A conversation about the power of trump’s punchlines — and the jokes president biden should be telling..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions. [MUSIC PLAYING]

The stakes of this election could not be more serious. But at the same time in this match-up of two very old, largely unpopular candidates, there is no shortage of material for comedians. This may be bad news for the country. However, it’s good news for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Super Bowl of political comedy, held this Saturday in Washington, DC.

Typically, the president attends the dinner and delivers a speech underscoring the values of the First Amendment while also trying his hand at some jokes. But the headline act is a set from a famous comedian, like Jon Stewart in 1997 or Wanda Sykes in 2009.

Y’all give it up for Dark Brandon.

Last year, the comedian was Roy Wood Jr., a veteran of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central —

Happy to be here. Oh, real quick, Mr. President, I think you left some of your classified documents up here. You can get them —

— who killed it —

You know what? Don’t give them to him. I’ll put them in a safe place. He don’t know where to keep him. I’m just —

— and pulled no punches in the process —

Anti CRT policies are an attack on Black history and an attempt to erase the contributions of Black people from the history books.

That’s what it is. You are trying to erase Black people. And a lot of Black people wouldn’t mind some of that erasure, as long as that Black person is Clarence Thomas.

— taking on Supreme Court justices —

There’s too many Trump scandals to keep up with. Keeping up with Trump scandals is like watching “Star Wars” movies. You gotta watch the third one to understand the first one. Then you can’t miss the second one because it’s got Easter eggs for the fifth one. Donald Trump is the only politician whose scandals got spin-offs on Disney+.

— the former president —

We should be inspired by the events in France. They rioted when the retirement age went up two years to 64.

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

They rioted because they didn’t want to work till 64. Meanwhile, in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work —

— begging — begging.

— and even President Biden, while he was sitting right there. So as another Correspondents’ Dinner approaches, I wanted to talk with Roy Wood Jr. about the gig, how political comedy has changed, and this election, in general. What’s it like roasting the president to his face, and what is there to laugh about in an election that doesn’t seem funny at all? From “The New York Times,” I’m Astead Herndon. This is “The Run-Up.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Can you first just introduce yourself and tell me what you do.

My name is Roy Wood Jr. I’m an Emmy-nominated documentary producer and comedian and, I guess, now an author, once this book comes out at the —

Which one of those titles is your favorite?

Comedian, because that’s the one nobody can take from me.

I guess I wanted to start with the Correspondents’ Dinner. Can you tell me about what that was like to host and what your process was to do something that, I think, is so unique, not only to tell jokes in that space but with the president sitting right next to you.

It was fun after the fact.

[LAUGHS]: Was it just nerve-racking going into it?

Yeah. Yeah. It’s probably — second only to “Showtime at the Apollo,” probably the most stressed I’ve been leading up to a gig.

I like that “Showtime” comes before the president.

Absolutely. Because “Showtime at the Apollo” is Black people.

Yeah, a Black thing. [LAUGHS]

And that’s far worse.

Like, that’ll actually hurt my feelings.

Yeah, a journalist will just stare. Black people will actively boo and attack your soul.

It’ll make you better in the long run. But that —

100 percent, 100 percent. I feel that. Even the stories about Black folks, I’m like, the stress level is a little high.

But when I did “Showtime at the Apollo,” that was nerve-racking. But I think that was ‘02. So then it’s like, fast forward 20 years later. It’s like, oh, I still don’t know how to do this job. The most difficult thing that, I think, comedians deal with now with the Correspondents’ Dinner, the news changes so frequently now, and what people care to talk about changes so fast.

It is probably, to me — the Correspondents’ Dinner is easily one of the singular events in stand-up comedy that is truly reflective of where we are as a country at that exact moment. And it is probably the most curated comedic meal that can be presented, next to a comedian performing live-live on television.

Interesting. I remember some of the jokes you made. And we actually talked to Democratic strategist Jim Messina. And he was telling us that he actually thinks it’s core to the election, that Joe Biden helps defuse his age issue with jokes. And I was wondering, for your perspective, how did you think about Biden and age going into that speech and, also, if you have any take on that opinion, the angst of an 82-year-old president — 81 right now — can be lessened if he’s joking about it?

I think anything can be lessened with a joke. That’s what Trump has done. Trump blows it off or tells you why it’s not important, but he doesn’t ignore it. I don’t think you can ignore anything that the American people are bringing to you.

We chose not to really lean in on Biden’s age. I think we had one or two age jokes, but we ended up dropping them because Biden went up before me, and he had — I can’t even remember, man, but he had a heater about him and Rupert Murdoch.

You might think I don’t like Rupert Murdoch. That’s simply not true. How could I dislike a guy who makes me look like Harry Styles?

You call me old?

I call it being seasoned. You say I’m ancient. I say I’m wise. You say I’m over the hill. Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime.

And so Biden, in a way, kind of “Eight Miled” me and took what I was gonna say about him and used it against himself, so I couldn’t even use — so that’s the other thing about the Correspondents’ Dinner. While Biden is talking, I’m texting with the writers in the room.

OK, you’re editing.

Oh, we’re changing jokes in the moment. When he did that joke, I was like, OK, the Biden old joke I have — I don’t even remember what it was — but it was like, no. Because it’s not as good. And he’s already called himself old. So fine. But I think this idea of trying to hide from the thing that people are showing concern about, it only makes people more concerned. So you just have to attack it head-on. I think that’s why I like, even with his State of the Union address, most people were just watching to see if he was going to stutter or slur.

Absolutely. It was such a funny energy. Because people’s expectations going in, I was like, everyone’s just here to see if he’s gonna collapse on stage or not.

Wasn’t it — no one — all the reports the next day was just like, man, he made it. What did he say? What was the policy? I dunno. But he did it.

I don’t know. And everybody was like, yo, he had so much vigor and life. And I do my cable news stuff. And it was so interesting because I’m like we are not even talking about what the man said. This was all about —

At all — at all.

It does raise a couple interesting questions for us. I had heard that you had a Biden joke that you didn’t tell at the Correspondents’ Dinner. I wondered if you could tell us jokes that you think were good that you didn’t get the chance to say?

That was — I do remember having a couple jokes about the fact that Joe Biden got the Black vote in spite of owning a German shepherd.

[LAUGHS]: The coppiest dog.

Yeah. As much as we know about the German shepherd and what the German shepherd has done to the Black race —

And also the aggressive German shepherd. His German shepherd is busy biting people left and right.

Yeah. That dog bite everybody. Du-du-du-du-du. Stand by. I know times are changing. Paramount is selling BET, and no white people bid on it. That’s how you know media’s in a bad place. White people don’t want to own Black people anymore.

Was that one you said or was that one you didn’t?

No, I didn’t. I did a version of it. But that’s what I mean. Certain things you just go back and look at them, and you just go, ah, it’s too — the Harris-Biden 2024 slogan was still the least racist option.

[LAUGHS]:: We actually talked to Ron Klain, Biden’s former chief of staff, who said that one of his strengths against Donald Trump is that Donald Trump cannot exoticize Joe Biden, that Joe Biden, because he has this kind of Scranton Joe frame, that it’s hard for people to think of him as a caricature.

Do you think that’s true? One question I had is, is that still true? Or is Joe Biden currently a caricature of an old man? It used to be Scranton Joe. It feels a little different now.

I think the issue in the conversation with age and trying to avoid that is that the conversation was lost on some policy and stuff that they may have actually gotten accomplished. And I think, ultimately, that’s the thing.

But in America, if we’re talking politics, all you’re voting for is something that looks familiar to you.

Does this thing look like something I already recognize? Because we’re not taking chances on anything new at any given time.

Now that we’re in the spring of 2024, just seven months out from a Trump-Biden general election rematch, I wanted to ask more broadly, how does political comedy feel right now?

It feels fine to me. I think it’s more it doesn’t feel as broad as it used to be. I think audiences are more entrenched in their own beliefs. And I think that they’re looking for what I like to call confirmation humor — we talk about confirmation bias or whatever, but the idea that I want to laugh at things that are rooted in premises that I already agree with. And that’s more fun and entertaining. versus being challenged.

You feel that’s happening more now?

Yeah. I feel like if comedy is rooted in something you don’t believe, then you’re going to reject everything. If you don’t agree with the premise, you’re not going to agree with the punch line. You’re not going to laugh at the punch line.

Yeah. It ain’t funny.

When did you feel that shift most tangibly? When did it become clear that audiences were expecting different things from comedians?

Trump. Somewhere around that Women’s March is where I think there was a lot of entrenching — Women’s March, Muslim ban, kids in cages. That was a nice trifecta of who you with, you know what I mean?

Like, really, what are you aligning yourself with, and the idea that there can’t be this criticism of — like, if you did a joke and you said, Obama expelled — or not expelled, what are we, in school?— if you did a joke as a liberal comedian and you said Obama deported as many immigrants, as many illegals, as Trump did, then that premise, well, right there, it feels anti-Obama, so you’re gonna draw —

The tensing from Democrats.

Yeah. So this idea of the times and the stakes are too critical politically to be splitting hairs and going, well, they’re doing that, and you’re doing this. And I think that when the stakes in the country really started getting more serious, politically speaking, I think that one side’s ability to laugh at something that they may not agree with started to dissipate.

Interesting. I could see that, yeah.

Because that joke, even if it’s true in the greater scheme of what you may believe politically, I deem it problematic. Now is not the time for that. And this is saying — like, if you look back when Jon Stewart premiered —

I see what you’re saying.

— it was the Trump’s old, Biden’s old. And everybody was like, now is not the time to bring up age. And that’s rooted in the stakes. That’s the only reason. Because we’ve called presidents old before.

And Biden’s, objectively, old. They’re both, objectively, old.

We called Bob Dole old. And granted, he was running against differing — younger, more youthful, Republicans and Democrats. But the idea of a president being called too old is not new. But at this current state of society that we’re in, I think that, as the plausible became policy, that’s when it really, I think, that’s when, I think, the way people receive humor, political humor, I think it changed.

And to me, once you get kids in cages, and when you look at the Women’s March and you look at where we are now with laws, you gotta say, the women were kind of right to be marching. The plausible became policy. It is still — and that’s not even bringing up police reform and George Floyd and military. So I think that’s where it ain’t funny to a lot of people.

You’re identifying one change that has taken place from 2018, how the Trump era has changed political comedy. One thing that we come up against now is how, in this election, specifically, people want to tune a lot of stuff out. They’re not really in that same level of engagement as I think folks were in the 2017, in the 2018, time that you’re talking about.

How do you find comedy for this moment, when it does feel like people’s willingness to engage, or even think about candidates who they find really familiar, frankly, wanted other options for — we keep running into people who want to block it all out. How do you make jokes for that moment?

I think you just have to acknowledge truth. I think the best comedians are just acknowledging what’s already happening, what’s already going on in the room, and just speaking the unspoken, or just speaking what is already universally known. I think we also have to stop looking at comedy as some sort of catalyst for change and activism and awakening people.

Interesting. Because I sometimes hear people describe —

OK. It might be for certain people who receive it. But you have to respect that most comedians, that’s not their goal. That’s the goal of an activist. Activists activate. Comedian do comedy. So I think that, within the comedy, there can be things that help to get people to give a damn about voting or give a damn about, this election is the one.

So when you’re looking at trying to do jokes about something that people aren’t really excited about, to me, the jokes would be rooted in the fact that nobody’s excited.

Right. You just say what it is.

And then you have to figure out what the jokes are about that. And so maybe through that, if someone goes, oh, wow, you see me, and I understand you understand what I’m thinking right now. And then, on the back side of that, if I want to go, but here’s why you should still go and vote — to me, it’s state and local.

We use all of these federal and national elections. And it’s just, I’m not going to the polls at all. Why? Because you’re not excited about two old dudes? OK, fine. But also, on that ballot, dummy, was 40 other things that actually affect where you live.

That’s why you should be showing up. That’s what you should give a damn about. But state and local isn’t covered as wide. It isn’t given as much attention. And unfortunately, in a lot of instances, those are the cases that really do change a place.

After the break, more about Roy’s life and career and how he thinks about one of the central characters of this year’s political comedy, Donald Trump.

Besides his history in comedy, there’s another reason I wanted to talk with Roy Wood Jr. Roy comes from a journalism family.

My degree is in broadcast. And I come from a family of journalists. My father was a radio news journalist for many, many decades, covering innumerable conflicts. I have two brothers who anchor, report, newsdesk, EP — every job within a TV station.

And he got his start at a local radio station while attending Florida A&M University, the Historically Black College in Tallahassee.

So I ride my bike up to the station. I asked Buddy, just straight-up asked him, hey, man. Look, y’all don’t have no news. Can I come in here and do news twice an hour? I’ll do three local stories — three national, two local, and a kicker. The brother hires me to do that.

They have a co-host who is a comedian who’s also a schoolteacher who has to leave every day at 8:00 AM. Some days I didn’t have class till 11:00. So I would just stay at the radio station until 10:00. And over the course of a couple of months, they started letting me co-host.

This eventually led to on-air gigs back in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, work that was deeply rooted in the Black community.

As the local station, you’re in the community. There was an incident in Birmingham one time where — and this is pre-Trayvon Martin — there was an incident in Birmingham one time where a number of police officers — we had a bunch of police officers shot in one day. I think it was four were shot, three died.

So we have the mayor on. We have the community on. this idea of understanding pain as a community but then also understanding the broken relationship between the Black community and the police department. And some of the calls that we took didn’t go the way you thought they would go after a bunch of police officers have been killed.

And it’s people trying to have the conversation about police corruption, and, while we’re talking about the police and what they do, let’s also talk about ways to improve. So then, it’s, oh, it ain’t time for that conversation. Well, when is the time?

And it’s Roy’s time in radio, spent understanding local issues, that he credits with shaping his unique approach to comedy today.

These nuanced discussions within the Black community were my regular, everyday occurrence. And that was the things that I had to prep for every day on air. So in between Ludacris songs and arguing whether or not Kim Kardashian should stay with Ray J — it was early, the rise of Kardashian — you have all of these other topics. And that’s, comedically, you write what you know. You joke what you care about. And those were the things I cared about. And so that’s where my comedy really started shifting from just being silly college kid that’s 19 to actually, oh, well, let’s talk a little bit about this particular issue, or let’s talk about standing for the anthem or not. And so that’s really how radio, local radio, really changed the things that I cared about because I saw the people who were being affected by things that aren’t changing.

Roy would eventually leave radio to become a full-time comic. And after nearly a decade as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” he left in fall of 2023. But he’s still performing stand-up regularly, which, of course, means closely following how the 2024 election is playing out.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is Donald Trump. I remember being in DC once. And Donald Trump was giving a speech to the Republican caucus. This is while he was president. And he walks into the Capitol Hill. And the first thing he said was, to be honest with y’all, I like only 30 percent of you. And I started cracking up.

And it made me — in one of those moments, I realized, he is funny. And he says these things that are not — he’s very unintentionally funny. I think Joe Biden’s funny in a different way. But Trump has this unique brand of humor. I guess, is it uncomfortable to say that?

What’s unique about it, though? He’s what you know all the time. It’s relatable. Ain’t nothing unique about Donald Trump. We all know a guy like Trump — talk crazy, say whatever. You know he full of it. But man, he’s fun to be around. He’s the dude — if Trump was Black, he would be the guy in the barber shop, in the Black barber shop, who just never gets a haircut.

Never stops talking.

Just talking the whole time. What do you do for a living? I don’t know. Where do you get your money? I don’t know.

When I was in the barber shop two weeks ago, I was like, does this man have a job? I have been here for three — I’ve been waiting for three cuts, and he’s still here, talking.

Yeah. And then you ask him, man, whatever happened with that court case? Ah, don’t worry about that. It’s a witch hunt.

I do think saying Donald Trump is funny, for a lot of people, does minimize said seriousness. He’s also the most joked-about person. How do you tell jokes about Donald Trump without it feeling so familiar?

Because jokes used to be a form of throwing a rock at the establishment. But now Trump catches your rock and goes, thank you, and then adds it to his bag of rocks —

That’s a good way to put it.

— and then shows it to all of his followers and goes, look at all these rocks they threw at me. These people, they don’t want me, and I’m here for you. And I’m taking these rocks for you, so vote for me. I think when we —

Does that make you want to avoid talking about him?

Me? No. But I try to keep my conversations on policy instead of the person. People change, but the same injustices are always there, no matter. It’s a rotating chair of who to throw the rock at. But I think one of the issues, what Trump figured out, is that people care more about being entertained than governed. So if you can entertain people, then they won’t be paying as much attention when you’re passing policies that aren’t in their best interests.

And so Trump out-entertains most people, almost out-entertained Biden in 2020. He did out entertain. Policy one, you had enough centrist Republicans who were like, ah, I’ll vote for Biden this time. This guy scares me. Trump entertains regular people but probably scares the hell out of really rich and powerful people. Because he’s a loose cannon, and they can’t fully tell whether or not he’s one of them, in terms of sanity and actual money.

How do you, then, communicate the stakes of a serious thing because he’s leaning so much into entertainment? But at the same time, Donald Trump is promising the mass deportation effort, installed judges that vote in his favor. All of those things he’s very explicitly promising this time.

He did. Some of it, he’s already —

He did it, some of it, before. But I’m saying this time, it feels even more clear, the promise to upend. Is that something that — I know I sound kind of like those people in the crowd now — but is that something to joke about?

How else can I get people to listen, though? And I think that’s what we’re — those are the only two things we’re armed with is either laughs or yelling. Hey, you got to pay attention to this versus, hey, y’all hear this man said that he gonna deport everybody? All right, well, then — it’s like the old George Lopez joke. You gonna deport everybody? OK, well, then who’s gonna build your wall?

Well, that’s a joke. But rooted in that is actual, no, we need immigrants because immigrants come over, and they do a bunch of work that Americans don’t want to do. That’s a deeper point George Lopez is making, more concisely and quickly.

So you take something like that, that’s an easier way to get people to understand. Because most people just think Americans, they’re tired of getting yelled at — so much yelling.

Do you think Democrats, or folks running against Trump, have understood his power as a comic?

They understand it, but they can’t mimic it. If they could, they would have. Who in the Democratic Party is as reckless and entertaining to Democrats in any type of way? Also, because the Democratic party is also seen as the party that’s more regal and put together and buttoned down, and this is the right way that you do politics.

I’m trying to think of who’s the funniest Democrat.

If you just booked a comedy show, I don’t know of any Democrat, joke for joke.

I don’t know.

I don’t even know, on an undercard, if there’s a Democrat that I could even put up against RFK.

Have you looked at any of the Conservative comedians? I remember Gutfeld, or whatever, who has a huge program now. I have tried to watch that show, just for my understanding of conservatives. And it feels confirmation humor.

Mostly, it is confirmation. We’re already existing. And this is the truth. This is our truth. Let’s joke from these truths. So if you already believe these truths, Gutfeld’s hilarious. And there’s a lot of people who believe those truths.

So I don’t — why would I — and then this goes back to the liberal side — why would I propose that maybe Democrats do have a fair point here and then do a joke about that if that’s just going to piss people off, and the ratings are going to dip? But then they’ll make the same argument about John Oliver —

— or “Daily Show” in the sense that, oh, it’s preaching to your own choir. It’s all home-team humor. And that’s fine. I don’t necessarily agree with that on either of those programs, but that’s the accusation that could be made. Because most people that watch Gutfeld, I guarantee they’re not watching any of the other liberal comedy shows. I would imagine that the overlap of who watches “Daily Show” and “Gutfeld,” I would love to see who that person is.

Yeah. I want to meet that person, for sure. I watch “The Daily Show.” I like “Colbert Report.” But one thing I remember, and I think it informed some of the journalism work we did, is I do think that Obama-era time spent a lot of time making fun of people who were gaining power at that same time — the jokes about Tea Party as they were winning, the dismissal of Trump as he was ascending. Do you look back and you think that any of that political humor minimized a growth that was happening politically?

I think that people who were joked about on the right were able to weaponize those attacks into campaign support. I don’t think you have Trump without the Tea Party. I don’t think you have any of that without Sarah Palin. But then I’m not gonna turn around and say it’s Tina Fey’s fault that we have Donald Trump. It’s like the job of comedy is to comment on what is happening.

So be it as it may to go, well, maybe we shouldn’t joke about this because it will be weaponized somehow, I don’t know if any comedy show has ever thought about that or will ever take that into consideration before booking somebody. Are the people that are joked about able to still take those jokes and use them to influence a voter base? Absolutely. Absolutely.

There’s a reason that Nikki Haley will go on “Saturday Night Live.”

And there’s a reason “Saturday Night Live” will have Nikki Haley. And oh, that’s a great example of what I’m talking about, of where people who you watch —

People are upset.

Yeah. But you upset. “Saturday Night Live” ain’t never done but what they always do. That’s all they’ve ever done. They had Trump on. So you think they weren’t gonna have Haley on? This is the show.

Who’s making the news? You. Come be on our show because we joke about what’s happening right now. Don’t you know Nikki Haley? You’re normalizing her. Because now she’s grinning on TV. Yeah, but our show is to just entertain people.

I totally get that because I remember, in that moment, I’m like, well, if Nikki Haley can’t be on “SNL,” it’s hard for me to imagine the conservative that could. If that’s the line that folks want to draw, it is hard to imagine a person. And maybe that’s what all these people want is for those to be only spaces of people who they think agree with them.

Because you want “SNL” to be more than what it is, and it’s not. And it’s never going to be. So stop putting that at the feet of the show.

You mentioned Trump’s political power as a comedian. I’m also thinking about the objective numbers that tell us he’s still massively unpopular or that people still, for as much as they might be laughing, it hasn’t necessarily translated to mass appeal, particularly outside of the Republican base. What can his comedic power do, going ahead? I guess I want to just be more specific on, when you say Trump is funny, what do you think that means?

I think he’s entertaining like an old racist grandpa. But you wouldn’t let him drive you on the freeway.

And ultimately, the job of president is to drive the country. We are in the car with this person. And he can be entertaining. And he’s figured out a way to create the illusion that he knows what he’s doing. And there’s enough people that are angry enough that, just to be petty and contrarian, they will vote for him. It’s not so much I love Trump as much as I just hate Biden. I don’t like the Democrats. Democrats too buttoned up, something.

When I was in South Carolina, I saw Trump specifically make jokes about DeSantis. It was part of his strategy, in terms of minimizing him.

And unlike a guy named Ron “DeSanctimonious”— has anyone ever heard of him, very disloyal guy, I got him into office, and then he said, yeah, I guess I’d run against him, why not?— who voted to gut Medicare? Do you know that “DeSanctis”— that’s the abbreviated name, “DeSanctis”—

It’s been part of that type of calling card. At CPAC, we were talking to people who’ve been to 50 Trump rallies. They like the comedic stand-up routine that he goes through up there. It does feel like that has been such a part of his core connection with his own base.

If I was Joe Biden, I would hire stand-up comedians to punch up every speech and anything that I’m doing between now and November just to —

— just a little bit, jabs here and there. But it’s the debate that every Democrat is, even at the state and local level, to gain Republican voters, to gain the Republican centrist voter, you have to consider losing some of the more extreme liberals who may not agree with your approach. And so you have to be very careful about that. And I think humor is a more effective way.

But you just have to hope that all of these elections come down to policy. And that’s what it seems like right now. Because it’s just rooted in who has the policies that are going to change the things that I don’t like. And because the stakes are greater, and because certain things have been put in motion in the last eight years, I still hope that policy is the deciding factor and not who’s the more entertaining. Women are not messing around.

Because if it’s a battle of entertaining, Biden probably loses.

He, for sure, loses. But now do you want the funny guy that’s going to be in control of your uterus? Is that who you want? Or do you want the boring guy who’s gonna let you do what you want to do with your body?

Same game with everything that’s happening in Palestine and Israel. For a lot of people, this ain’t no joke. I need to know what your policies are. Yeah, that was a cute little joke there, president, but where do you stand on this thing?

Yeah. So you’re saying punch up the jokes at the same time of refocusing it on policy?

Yeah. And I think if you’re able to do that, then you’re in a place where you’re able to have some — part of what made Obama Obama was his ability to make complicated things plain. That’s the other thing is that politics is way too complicated. So whoever talks the dumbest probably is going to get a lot of the votes. Because, well, I ain’t got time for all these extra words and syllables, man. Just tell me what it is. Lock her up. All right, cool.

Like, thanks.

Meanwhile, Hillary’s going, you must understand the policy and the complicated measure and the — no! It’s too many words.

There’s a funny moment in Trump rallies where he clearly just lists off, like, five policies. But this is 10 seconds because he’s not here to talk about the policies. He’s only here to rile up the crowd in that type of way.

We still think that we live — Democrats still live in a world where they believe that being educated and well read is something to be revered and celebrated and appreciated for. And there is a faction in this country that rebelled against that and almost take it as an insult, and they feel talked down to.

Yeah. I tell this to people all the time, but there is a section of — I think I would put centrist liberals that really think they’re in debate class. And I’m like, if they just prove that they are right on a specific issue, then they win. And I’m like, I don’t know how the last six, eight years has not taught you that that is not the plane on which this is fought on — not exclusively.

Yeah. You’re trying to debate this person. And then they just reply, yeah, you’re a Little Marco. You’re like, what? Yeah. Nanny nanny boo boo, you Little Marco.

When I look ahead to this year, this election doesn’t seem funny at all. I get why people want to tune it out. I get why people — it feels super familiar. I get why it doesn’t inspire folks to be as plugged in as they were in the 2017 and 2018. But it also feels like that’s part of the lack of attention that’s being brought to it is the fact that it doesn’t feel like it has that sort of mass resonance. Do you think this election — am I just saying this too early, and some of this stuff will come around? Or is this election — will it be funny? Will it be fun? I have no idea.

I think this election’s going to be tense. I don’t think it’ll ever truly be resolved or recognized. I’m less concerned about this election and more concerned with what this election means for the future of politics in America and whether or not we can still have people that are a total farce attempting to be in the driver’s seat of our government.

Yeah. If Biden did — he listens to this podcast, he calls you up and says, OK, give me some jokes to add to my speech, you got anything?

Absolutely, I’m not available. I do not want the stress of writing the joke that makes people finally listen to some of your policy points.

[LAUGHS]: You say, good luck, Mr. President.

I am not going back to “The Apollo.” I did it.

No, thank you. I really appreciate your time.

But if the money’s right, give me a call.

You said, actually — the problem with government, it won’t be right.

Karine Jean-Pierre got my number. Hit me up.

Yeah. Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. And I’m a big fan, so thanks for helping us out.

Hey, thank you.

That’s “The Run-Up” for Thursday, April 25, 2024. Now the rundown. It’s week two of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, where he’s accused of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. On Wednesday morning, we caught up with our colleague Jonah Bromwich, who’s been in the courtroom each day this week. He says if you haven’t been following along closely so far —

You’ve missed a very short amount of time in which a so much has happened — so much has happened. We’ve gotten opening statements from the prosecution and the defense, and we’ve gotten our first witness. Opening statements are kind of an overture. It’s where the lawyers lay out what their cases are going to look like. What they hope to do is say, here is the story we’re going to tell. And then, when they’re telling that story, the jurors will recognize, ah, I remember this from the opening, and here’s what I’m supposed to think about it.

And the prosecutors told a really fascinating story about a conspiracy that was hatched at Trump Tower in 2015 between Donald Trump, his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, and David Pecker of the “National Enquirer,” and the first witness. And the conspiracy, prosecutors said, was essentially an agreement to promote positive stories about Trump in the “National Enquirer” and other tabloids owned by AMI and to suppress negative stories. And the suppression of the negative stories is how you get to the crime that prosecutors have actually charged here.

And the defense had not necessarily a competing narrative, per se, but an alternative explanation of what had happened. And they explained two different things. They explained that Trump had tried to win the election, which is not a crime. And they said that Michael Cohen had been reimbursed for legal services, which is also not a crime. So their argument was, essentially, there’s not much here, and don’t let the prosecutors fool you into thinking there is.

As for Trump —

During jury selection, there was a lot of news about Trump sleeping. And I will say that jury selection is quite boring, so I don’t fully blame him for sleeping. He’s been more animated these past two days of the actual witness testimony. And to me, and to other people on our team, he’s looked much angrier. So he seems more engaged and more upset in a way that we haven’t seen.

And here’s what comes next.

David Pecker will continue to testify on Thursday. He’ll pick right up. And then we’ll get more witnesses. We don’t know the order of the witnesses yet. We expect that Michael Cohen will testify. We have no sense of whether Trump will testify. Trump loves to defend himself, to speak up on his own behalf. He believes himself to be quite good at it. And I think, for people who are devoted to the former president, they see that as correct. They do trust and believe him. But testifying in this case would come with real, real risks for Trump. So whether he is going to testify or not will be an open question, I think, until we actually see him take the stand or decline to do so.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday —

Hello, Florida!

Joe Biden campaigned in Tampa.

Next week one of the nation’s most extreme anti-abortion laws will take effect here in Florida it’s criminalizing reproductive health care for before women even know whether they’re pregnant. I mean, this is bizarre.

His speech was focused on abortion —

Let’s be real clear. There’s one person responsible for this nightmare, and he’s acknowledging it, and he brags about it — Donald Trump.

[CROWD BOOS]

— and on Donald Trump.

It was Donald Trump who ripped away the rights of freedom of women in America. And it’ll be all of us who restore those rights for women in America.

Also, the Pennsylvania primary was held on Tuesday. Donald Trump and Joe Biden both won handily. But —

You know, Nikki Haley got a really good percentage. She’s not even in the race.

In a warning sign for Republicans, more than 150,000 people in the state voted for Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race more than a month ago. Also in Pennsylvania, progressive Congresswoman Summer Lee won her Democratic primary, fending off a moderate challenger. Lee has been a prominent critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which was a central focus in the race. There are 81 days until the Republican National Convention, 116 days until the Democratic National Convention, and 194 days until the general election. See you next week.

“The Run-Up” is reported by me, Astead Herndon, and produced by Elisa Gutierrez, Caitlin O’Keefe, and Anna Foley. It’s edited by Rachel Dry and Lisa Tobin, with original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, Diane Wong, Sophia Lanman, and Elisheba Ittoop. It was mixed by Sophia Lanman and fact-checked by Caitlin Love. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halbfinger, Maddy Masiello, Mahima Chablani, Nick Pitman, and Jeffrey Miranda.

Do you have a question about the 2024 election? Email us at [email protected] or, better yet, record your question using the voice memo app on your phone and then send us the file. The email, again, is [email protected]. And finally, if you like the show and want to get updates on latest episodes, follow our feed wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening, y’all.

• April 25, 2024   •   43:28 The Comedian Roy Wood Jr. on What’s Funny About 2024
• April 18, 2024   •   51:09 The Youngest Voters and the Oldest President
• April 11, 2024   •   35:59 Nebraska Was Minding Its Business Until Charlie Kirk Came Along
• April 4, 2024   •   51:22 Biden Is Winning the Money Race. Does It Matter?
• March 28, 2024   •   48:47 What About the People Who Don’t Vote?
• March 21, 2024   •   42:46 Don’t Ask RFK Jr. About Being a Spoiler
• March 14, 2024   •   44:19 Why It Had to Be Trump
• March 7, 2024   •   49:46 Why It Had to Be Biden
• March 5, 2024   •   29:53 Everything You Need to Know About Super Tuesday
• February 29, 2024   •   41:40 MAGA Thinks the Game Is Rigged. Will They Play?
• February 22, 2024   •   51:46 ‘What if Someone Dies?’ And Other 2024 Questions, Answered
• February 15, 2024   •   46:50 Do Not Invite Donald Trump or Joe Biden on This Date

Listen to and follow ‘ The Run-Up ’ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Hosted by Astead W. Herndon

Produced by Elisa Gutierrez

With Caitlin O’Keefe

The stakes of the 2024 presidential election could not be more serious. But in this matchup of two old, largely unpopular candidates, there is no shortage of material for comedians.

This may be bad news for voters. However, it’s good news for the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner — essentially the Super Bowl of political comedy — which takes place this Saturday in Washington.

The president typically attends the dinner and gives a speech, while also trying his hand at some jokes. But the main event is a set from a comedian. Last year, Roy Wood Jr. , a veteran performer who was then a “Daily Show” correspondent, did the honors.

Today, we talk with Roy Wood Jr. about that gig and political comedy in 2024.

What’s it like to roast the president to his face? And what is there to laugh about in an election that doesn’t seem funny at all?

About ‘The Run-Up’

“ The Run-Up ” is your guide to understanding the 2024 election. Through on-the-ground reporting and conversations with colleagues from The New York Times, newsmakers and voters across the country, our host, Astead W. Herndon, takes us beyond the horse race to explore how we came to this unprecedented moment in American politics. New episodes on Thursdays.

“The Run-Up” is hosted by Astead W. Herndon and produced by Elisa Gutierrez , Caitlin O’Keefe and Anna Foley . The show is edited by Rachel Dry and Lisa Tobin . Engineering by Sophia Lanman and original music by Dan Powell , Marion Lozano , Pat McCusker , Diane Wong , Sophia Lanman and Elisheba Ittoop . Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halbfinger, Mahima Chablani, Jeffrey Miranda, Nick Pitman and Maddy Masiello.

Astead W. Herndon is a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up.” More about Astead W. Herndon

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OUR MINISTER

Dr. Joseph Lozovyy was born into a Christian family in Elektrostal, Moscow Region, and was raised in a pastor’s home. From the age of fifteen, he began actively participating in the music ministry of the Baptist Church in Mytishchi, where his father served as a pastor, and also played in the orchestra of the Central Moscow Baptist Church. From 1989, he participated in various evangelistic events in different cities of Moscow Region and beyond. From 1989 to 1992, as a member of the choir and orchestra “LOGOS,” he participated in evangelistic and charitable concerts, repeatedly performing on the stages of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Bolshoi Theatre, and other concert halls in Russia and abroad. In 1992, his family moved to the United States. In 2007, after completing a full course of spiritual and academic preparation, Joseph moved to Dallas, Texas, to engage in church ministry. In 2008, he founded the Russian Bible Church to preach to the Russian-speaking population living in Dallas, Texas.

– Bachelor of Arts in Music (viola) from the Third Moscow Music School named after Scriabin, Russia (1987-1991)

– Master of Theology (Th.M); Dallas Theological Seminary, Texas (1999-2003);

– Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Hebrew Bible (Books of Samuel): University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (2007).

– Doctoral research (2004-2005) Tübingen, Germany.

– Author of a theological work published in English: Saul, Doeg, Nabal and the “Son of Jesse: Readings in 1 Samuel 16-25, LHBOTS 497 [T&T Clark/Continuum: Bloomsbury Publishing]).

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/saul-doeg-nabal-and-the-son-of-jesse-9780567027535/

Joseph and his wife Violetta and their son Nathanael live in the northern part of Dallas.

Saul, Doeg, Nabal, and the “Son of Jesse”: Readings in 1 Samuel 16-25: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Joseph Lozovyy T&T Clark (bloomsbury.com)

Joseph, his wife Violetta and their son Nathaniel live in North Dallas, Texas where he continues ministering to Russian-speaking Christians and his independent accademic research.

Published Work

1. bloomsbury:, 2. buy at christian book distributors:, 3. buy on amazon:.