Colin Jost Honors Late Grandfather Through Biden's 'Decency' At White House Correspondents' Dinner

Ben Blanchet
Updated ·2 min read
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“Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost took time out of his roast at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday to pay tribute to his late grandfather by reflecting on his final vote in a presidential election.

The “Saturday Night Live” comedian honored his grandfather, William Kelly, a longtime firefighter in Staten Island, New York, who painted houses and worked as a substitute teacher.

“My grandfather, a Staten Island firefighter, voted for you, Mr. President,” Jost told President Joe Biden before jokingly suggesting that someone would “vote twice” in November using Kelly’s name.

“He voted for you, and the reason that he voted for you is because you’re a decent man,” he continued. “My grandpa voted for decency, and decency is why we’re all here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to be here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to make jokes about each other, and one of us doesn’t go to prison after — we go to the Newsmax after-party.”

Jost noted that his grandfather, who died last year, was “another rare Irishman” who didn’t drink because he lost his father and brother to alcoholism.

“And I swear, Mr. President, this is not an age comparison — you remind me of him. Some of your best qualities remind me of his, and I will say, he was 95 and he was still great at stairs,” said Jost, in a likely nod to Biden falling on his way up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One in 2021.

“I think it’s because he didn’t try to run up them,” the comedian bantered.

Jost added that Staten Island firefighters are not “normally” part of Biden’s demographic, joking that the borough voted for either former President Donald Trump or former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the last election.

“But Staten Island also sided with the British during the Revolutionary War, so we’re not always on the right side of history,” quipped Jost before pointing to Biden and remarking, “You remember.”

You can watch more of Jost’s remarks at the dinner in the video below.

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