President Donald Trump’s upcoming White House Correspondents’ Dinner redo on Friday could come loaded with sharp-edged jokes, with potential punchlines touching on Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading, Chris Christie’s weight, and pointed swipes at CNN.
Exactly what Trump will deliver remains under wraps. But the Daily Mail has learned new details about remarks that were originally prepared for the president before April’s dinner was abruptly halted, after a lone gunman breached a Secret Service checkpoint and forced the event to end early.
Roast comedian Tony Hinchcliffe later revealed to fans that he had drafted a batch of what he called “bangers” for Trump to use during the high-profile Washington event.
Rather than let the unused jokes disappear, Hinchcliffe tested the material in front of a Kennedy Center audience, asking the crowd whether they wanted to hear the lines that had reportedly been handed to the president.
The Washington, DC crowd responded enthusiastically. Hinchcliffe then invited comedian and skilled impressionist Adam Ray onstage to perform the jokes in Trump’s unmistakable voice.
According to sources who attended Hinchcliffe’s appearance and spoke to the Daily Mail, Congressman Eric Swalwell was among the targets following his resignation in disgrace just days earlier, while California Governor Gavin Newsom was also ribbed over what the material framed as weak leadership in the Golden State.
Hinchcliffe has since told Joe Rogan that the updated presidential roast material will feature “some new stuff.”
Sources said the Kennedy Center performance gave Hinchcliffe useful audience feedback, though they expect the jokes could still be reworked to reflect the latest political headlines — or replaced altogether with fresher material before Trump takes the stage.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe on the set of his live show podcast Kill Tony
President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) participated in the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April before it was disrupted by a shooter
Tony Hinchcliffe attended the president’s UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn of the White House in June
Mutual friends familiar with his prepared jokes told Hinchcliffe the President was ‘very pumped’ by the jokes he submitted and was preparing to roast the press in dramatic fashion.
‘I was all set to really rip it,’ Trump said to reporters after the dinner was canceled. ‘I said to my people, “This would be the most inappropriate speech ever made,” if I said what [was prepared] so I’ll have to save it.’
At the time, Trump teased that he could be ‘very nice’ and ‘very boring’ at the rescheduled dinner, but few expect the President to hold back.
Hinchcliffe’s submissions are some of several writers Trump considers for his speeches, a source familiar with the process told CNN, including other comedians.
Trump’s speechwriter team led by Ross Worthington compiles a number of jokes and other ideas to run by the President. Worthington has been spotted on Air Force One in recent days, presumably working with Trump to fine-tune the speech.
The use of comedians to draft the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner speech is not unusual for presidents. President Barack Obama consulted comics such as Judd Apatow, Jon Lovett, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for his speeches.
Hinchcliffe is famous for his roasts for famous figures, most recently at the Roast of Kevin Hart
Trump is expected to finish the WHCA dinner on July 29, at a different more secure location
Hinchcliffe was a regular at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles before moving to Austin, Texas
Hinchcliffe made his name writing the Comedy Central roasts before stepping out to deliver the insults himself on Netflix’s Tom Brady and Kevin Hart specials. He also hosts the live podcast Kill Tony, where he turns on performers and audience alike, playing the heel who enjoys being hated.
His loyalty to Trump survived the moment that nearly swallowed him. Opening the President’s Madison Square Garden rally in October 2024, Hinchcliffe told the crowd there was ‘literally a floating island of garbage’ in the ocean, then named Puerto Rico.
The line drew condemnation from Democrats and Republicans and dominated the closing week of the campaign.
Hinchcliffe feared he had cost Trump the White House, and has since described his relief when Trump won anyway. He remains a supporter, even as fellow comics and podcasters have turned on parts of the administration’s record.
On one point, he says, they all still agree. Trump is funny.
Hinchcliffe spoke before Trump at a rally at Madison Square Garden, just days before the 2024 election
President Trump is respected by many comedians for his sense of humor and comedic timing
‘All the best comedians talk about how he might be the funniest human being on planet Earth,’ Hinchcliffe said in December.
Friday’s dinner is at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Old Post Office building that housed the Trump International Hotel until the family sold the lease in 2022. The President is unlikely to let that pass without comment.
The room will be far smaller than April’s. The WHCA has cut the guest list sharply for what it has billed as a more intimate evening under significantly enhanced security.
Also being honored: the Secret Service officer shot in the chest at the checkpoint, saved by his ballistic vest, and the Hilton staff who emptied the ballroom.
‘President Donald J. Trump is a once-in-a-generation badass. An armed assassin storms a Secret Service checkpoint after multiple assassination attempts, and what does President Trump do? He reschedules, keeps his word, and will deliver the speech anyway,’ former White House Director of Digital Content Billy McLaughlin told the Daily Mail. ‘That’s the kind of resolve Americans expect from their Commander in Chief.’
