Dave Chappelle stopped by The Late Show on Wednesday to discuss his August residency at Radio City Music Hall and revisit his famous Saturday Night Live monologue from last November. At the time, the comedian said he was willing to give President Trump the benefit of the doubt.
Its not like I wanted to give him a chance that night, Chappelle clarified to Colbert [But] I feel like a lot of white Americans finally got to see what an election night looks like for many black Americans every cycle.
Chappelle believes Americans will not only weather Trumps presidency, he suggested that his policies will create better voters. In the last six months I think were all getting an education about the presidency, Chappelle added. I dont know that Ive ever heard in the popular discourse people discussing ethics this much. And I didnt even realize how ethics were necessarily supposed to work at that level of government, and hes putting all this stuff on the forefront.
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I think [Trump]s gonna make a more informed and better voter, Chappelle said. Hes a polarizing dude. Hes like a bad DJ at a good party.
Last November, just days after Trumps election win, Chappelle delivered a remarkable opening monologue on Saturday Night Live. The comedian remembered attending a White House party where the majority of the revelers were black during the final weeks of President Obamas tenure. I saw how happy everybody was, he recalled. These people who had been historically disenfranchised. It made me feel hopeful and it made me feel proud to be an American and it made me very happy about the prospects of our country.
In that spirit, he continued, Im wishing Donald Trump luck. And Im going to give him a chance, and we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one too.
Chappelle is performing at Radio City Music Hall for much of August. A wide range of musical guests will join him onstage, including Chance the Rapper and Lauryn Hill.