Donald Trump Ally Scott Jennings Concedes President's White House Correspondents' Dinner Jokes 'Didn't' All Land
Scott Jennings admitted not all of Donald Trump's White House Correspondents' Dinner jokes landed with the audience.
July 26 2026, Published 5:50 p.m. ET
Even one of President Donald Trump's most vocal defenders admitted not every punchline hit the mark during the commander-in-chief's speech at the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Scott Jennings, a CNN conservative commentator, gave a measured assessment of Trump's hour-long speech, noting that while some moments drew laughs, others fell flat as the president mixed jokes with pointed attacks on members of the media.
Not Every Joke Was a Winner
Scott Jennings spoke on CNN after the dinner.
Appearing on CNN following the dinner, Jennings admitted Trump's performance was far from flawless despite defending parts of the address.
"Some of the jokes landed, and some of the jokes didn't," Jennings said while reflecting on the president's remarks.
Scott Jennings Defends Donald Trump
Scott Jennings praised Donald Trump's RFK Jr. joke but conceded much of the routine drifted into personal insults.
However, he singled out one line as the night's standout moment, praising Trump's joke about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"I thought the best joke was the RFK joke," Jennings said, referring to Trump's quip suggesting dinner guests were eating roadkill that had allegedly been struck by Kennedy's vehicle.
Still, Jennings acknowledged the speech eventually lost momentum.
"As for the rest of the routine, Trump veered off into very, sort of ornery insults, and that's not going to land for many audiences," he said.
Donald Trump's Joke Falls Flat
Donald Trump was met with awkward silence after telling a joke about an elderly senator.
Trump's routine hit an awkward moment when one of his jokes about aging lawmakers was met with near silence from the crowd.
While arguing in favor of congressional term limits, the president launched into a story about an elderly senator.
"The other day, a senator I knew got a text, a great guy, from his wife, and she said, when you get home, I want to have you immediately come up the stairs and make love to me," Trump said. "And he said, I can't do both."
The punchline failed to spark much laughter, prompting Trump to pause and ask the audience: "Does anybody get that one? I thought that was actually pretty good."
Donald Trump Mocks His Own Speech
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Donald Trump blamed speechwriters for what he called a 'freaking stupid' address.
Rather than moving on, Trump poked fun at himself after the joke bombed, blaming the speechwriters for what he called an underwhelming performance.
"That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole freaking stupid speech that they wrote," Trump told the audience. "That was the only good one. And that went down with not exactly great laughter."
The president then attempted to explain the joke, adding: "In other words, you can't go up the stairs and make love — too old. So we're looking for term limits. Does anybody understand this stuff?"
