Gridiron dinner: Trump teases Jared Kushner and Jeff Sessions, tells 'straight' joke about Mike Pence
by Daniel Chaitin | Mar 4, 2018, 12:16 AM | Updated Mar 4, 2018, 1:44 AM
President Trump rubbed elbows with the Washington press corp on Saturday and cracked some jokes at the expense of top members of his administration.
Speaking at his first Gridiron dinner event, Trump joked about his son-in-law Jared Kushner's struggles with his security clearance in the White House.
“We were late tonight because Jared could not get through security," Trump said. The president also said Kushner is a “great guy†who has “suffered." The event this weekend follows a report from the New York Times that said Trump is quietly angling to have his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Kushner, removed from their roles at the White House.
Trump made a funny in regards to his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whom he excoriated again on Twitter this past week over the investigation into alleged FISA abuses.
“I offered him a ride over and he recused himself,†Trump said after noting Sessions was in attendance and had offered to bring him to dinner. That was a reference to Sessions recusing himself from the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election season because he was a member of Trump's campaign — a move which evoked Trump's ire.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence got tossed into a clever "straight" joke.
Trump brought up how he was planning his routine and sought the advice of the “funniest†people in the White House, including Pence, according to the press pool report.
Trump called Pence a good “straight man," adding “he is straight!†The mention of a "straight main" references someone who sets up a joke, while the second "straight" appears to be a quip about Pence's sexual orientation. Pence has tangled with a number of gay icons and activists who have taken issue with his past opposition to gay rights and rumors that he backed conversion therapy, which his office has denied is true.
Trump offered another Pence jape, saying his VP starts every day asking, “Is he impeached yet?â€
“You can’t be impeached when there’s no crime. Put that down!†Trump said.
First lady Melania Trump, also in attendance, wound up in a joke about who would be next to leave the White House.
The president asked whether it would be “[policy adviser] Steve Miller or Melania,†and later referenced the #FreeMelania hashtag. “She’s actually having a great time,†Trump said of his wife, the pool report said.
Other people who were mentioned in Trump's remarks included former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon [“That guy leaked more than the Titanic"], Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, and former White House aide and "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault. Various news outlets also got ribbed.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gridiron-dinner-trump-teases-jared-kushner-and-jeff-sessions-tells-straight-joke-about-mike-pence/article/2650636