Dave Chappelle accused Donald Trump of winning the 2024 election by misappropriating his controversial jokes.
“I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes. I felt that they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing,” Chappelle, 52, said in an interview with NPR on Wednesday. “It’s not what I was doing.”
Chappelle himself has been accused of spewing transphobic hate throughout his multiple Netflix specials over the past several years. The comedian, however, maintains his innocence.
“Any of you who have ever watched me know that I have never had a problem with transgender people. If you listen to what I’m saying, clearly, my problem has always been with white people,” Chappelle joked in his 2021 special, The Closer.
In the new interview, Chappelle directly called out MAGA for misusing his controversial comedy as the foundation of their politics, citing Lauren Boebert’s incendiary Capitol Hill selfie as a prime example.
Three years ago, the Colorado Representative, 39, posted a selfie with Chappelle with the caption, “Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders.”
“I’d already taken 40 pictures, and I didn’t want to say ‘no’ in front of everybody, but I didn’t know the phrase ‘I respectfully decline,’ so I just took the picture. And then she posts the picture before I could even get from there to the show,” Chappelle recalled. He tore into the MAGA politician during his sold-out D.C. show later that night.
“She instantly weaponized it, or politicized it,” he continued. “So I got to the arena, and I lit her a-- up for doing that. She should never do that to a person like me.”
Trump, 79, centered much of his 2024 presidential campaign around his war on transgender people. He spoke about stripping them of medical care, denying them from participating in sports, and reducing Title IX protections for transgender students.
Even this week, Trump awkwardly halted an unrelated publicity stunt to push anti-transgender rhetoric.
During a promotion with DoorDash for his new no tax on tips policy, Trump awkwardly asked a delivery driver for her opinion on transgender athletes in female sports.
“I really don’t have an opinion on that,” the DoorDash driver deflected.
“You don’t? I’ll bet you do,” the president persisted.
In the same interview, Chappelle stated bluntly that Trump was not funny.
“Maybe if he wasn’t president, I’d think that was funny,” Chappelle replied when asked. “I do think that that’s wearing thin.”
“There are funny things about him, like if I were to talk about him it would be funny,” Chappelle continued, “but I think what he does is so consequential.”
During his 2016 Saturday Night Live monologue, just after Trump’s first election win, Chappelle vowed to “give Trump a chance.” In his monologue directly following Trump’s re-election, Chappelle took a harsher tone against the returning president.
“The presidency is no place for petty people. So, Donald Trump, I know you watch the show. Remember, whether people voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you,” Chappelle stated.
