Comedians use Mark Twain Prize ceremony to slam Trump
At the annual Mark twain Prize for American Humor ceremony held at the John F. Kennedy centre for the Performing Arts, comedians gathered to criticize President Donald Trump, the new chairman of the center. This year’s award recipient, Conan O’Brien, subtly referenced Trump in his acceptance speech by highlighting Mark Twain’s disdain for bullies and critique of greed during the Gilded Age. Other comedians,like John Mulaney and Stephen Colbert,made jabs about the potential rebranding of the Kennedy Center and added humorous commentary about recent changes under Trump’s leadership. The event underscored the comedians’ discontent with the current political climate, while O’Brien emphasized the importance of patriotism and acknowledging the flaws within the country. The ceremony will be streamed on Netflix on May 4.
Comedians use Mark Twain Prize ceremony to slam Trump following Kennedy Center takeover
Comedians gathered Sunday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony, using it as a forum to take shots at its new chairman, President Donald Trump.
This year’s recipient was comedian Conan O’Brien. While he did not directly mention Trump during his acceptance speech, the former late-night talk show host mentioned that Twain “hated bullies” and was also suspicious of “the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age.”
“Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the world,” O’Brien said. “He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, ‘Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.’”
Fellow comedian John Mulaney also joked that the Kennedy Center would be rebranded as “the Roy Cohn Pavilion,” a reference to one of Trump’s mentors. Mulaney also said O’Brien was receiving the final Mark Twain Prize, suggesting Trump could be making several changes to the Kennedy Center.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, joked that the Kennedy Center just got two new board members: Bashar Assad, the ousted president of Syria, and Skeletor, the fictional villain from the 1980s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
The full ceremony is set to stream May 4 on Netflix.
BILL MAHER REFUSES TO PLAY ‘MEAN GIRLS’ GAME WITH CRITICS OF HIS TRUMP MEETING
Last week, Trump attended his first meeting with the Kennedy Center board of trustees, approximately a month after he appointed himself chairman of the board. Among the topics Trump addressed included preventing crime and homelessness around the venue and overhauling its schedule to include more crowd-pleasing Broadway hits, such as Les Miserables.
Amid the Kennedy Center’s shake-up, the musical Hamilton canceled its scheduled March 2026 performance at the venue, as lead producer Jeffrey Seller claimed he could not “in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture.” Trump said he was “never a big fan” of the play to begin with.
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