Some of Michelle Wolf’s comments made me ‘uncomfortable,’ White House Correspondents’ Association president says

White House Correspondents’ Association President Margaret Talev said on Sunday that she was uncomfortable with part of comedian Michelle Wolf’s 15-minute set during the association’s annual dinner on Saturday.

“Some of them [the jokes] made me uncomfortable and did not embody the spirit of the night. And that is protected by the First Amendment,” Talev told Politico.

According to Talev, the association, by tradition, does not preview or censor the entertainer’s remarks.

“I appreciated Sarah Sanders for joining us at the head table and her grace through the program,” she added. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the target of a number of Wolf’s jokes, which took aim at her for bending the truth.

“Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited. I’m not really sure what we’re going to get, you know? A press briefing, a bunch of lies or divided into softball teams,” Wolf said. 

“I actually really like Sarah. I think she’s very resourceful,” Wolf continued. “But she burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye. Like maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies.”

{mosads}

Wolf’s speech at the dinner on Saturday night has triggered a wave of controversy for its provocative nature, which led some White House aides to walk out of the event early.

“Michelle Wolf is a comedian, she speaks for herself and that is her right to do that under the free speech in the First Amendment, which we were celebrating,” Talev said Sunday.

She noted that while Wolf reflects on the press corps, she does not speak for the press corps.

“Comedy is meant to be provocative,” Talev said, but “my interest overwhelmingly was in unifying the country, and I understand that we may have fallen a little bit short on that goal.”

Talev said her only regret is that Wolf’s routine may now define what she called “a really wonderful, unifying night.”

President Trump, for his part, said that Wolf “bombed” on Saturday night and called the dinner a “very big, boring bust.” 

While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn’t work. Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents Dinner was a very big, boring bust…the so-called comedian really “bombed.” @greggutfeld should host next year! @PeteHegseth

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2018