Comedian Michelle Wolf Makes Splash At White House Correspondents' Dinner
(CBSNEWS) - Michelle Wolf, comedian and host of Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner, made a splash in Washington, D.C., with an irreverent routine at the annual gathering that included sharp barbs directed at Trump administration officials, members of Congress and the news media itself. Her speech hit everyone from Paul Ryan to Mike Pence and a notably absent President Trump, but it was her comments about White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that elicited uncomfortable silence in the room and immediate ire on social media.
Many commentators thought her lines about Sanders included inappropriate jabs about her physical appearance. Sanders' father, former governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, slammed the speech for celebrating "bullying, vulgarity and hate," adding that his daughter handled the jabs "professionally but I pray her kids never see that."
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, whose coverage makes her a frequent thorn in Mr. Trump's side, said Sanders "absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance," adding that her measured reaction was "impressive."
Others, however, disagreed, saying Wolf's criticism of Sanders didn't center on her appearance.
So what exactly did Wolf say? Here's the relevant portion from her routine:
And, of course, we have Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We're graced with Sarah's presence tonight. I have to say I'm a little star-struck. I love you as Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale."
Mike Pence, if you haven't seen it, you would love it.
Every time Sarah steps up to the podium, I get excited because 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. "It's shirts and skins, and this time, don't be such a little b----, Jim Acosta."
I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like, she burns facts, and then she uses the ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she's born with it; maybe it's lies.
It's probably lies.
And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders. You know, is it Sarah Sanders? Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Is it Cousin Huckabee? Is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know: Aunt Coulter."
On Sunday, Wolf defended her comments, tweeting that her jokes were about what she called Sanders' "despicable behavior" and not necessarily her looks. She said she was simply "compliment[ing] her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials."