Sarah Silverman jokes with Conan O’Brien at Kennedy Center: “I miss the days when you were America’s only orange a**hole”

The likes of Will Ferrell, Steven Colbert and John Mulaney were in attendance for Sunday’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony, taking over the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The biggest headlines were made by comedian Sarah Silverman who took aim at President Donald Trump.

The event played out in the backdrop of a highly-public decision by Trump to appoint himself as chair to the prestigious Kennedy Center. The President’s seizure of a cultural entity caused outcry, as did his decision to entrust leadership to Richard Grenell, a close ally of Trump’s.

At Sunday’s event, the first since Trump’s takeover, Conan O’Brien was honored for lifetime achievement in comedy. During her speech, Silverman aimed a number of very pointed jabs at the White House.

What did Sarah Silverman say about Donald Trump?

Perhaps the most direct of Silverman’s jokes recalled her early appearance on O’Brien’s late-night TV show. She explained: “They wrote a bit where Conan interviews Hitler, who comes on because he’s embarrassed that he’s being compared to Donald Trump... and they cast me as Hitler”.

“They chose me and it’s this way of thinking that makes Conan great again,” she continued, before turning to O’Brien to say: “I just really miss the days when you were America’s only orange a**hole.”

Later in her speech she jokingly warned audience members: “The guy who took over loves grabbing p*ssy.”

Silverman’s remarks may have been the most widely-covered of the evening but she was far from the only speaker to reference the current administration. Mulaney joked that is was an honor “to be here at the Kennedy Center or, as it will be known next week, the Roy Cohn Pavilion for Big, Strong Men Who Love Cats.” While Ferrell told the crowd: “I’m supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education”.

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