White House Defends Wilmore Dropping The N-Word At Correspondents’ Dinner

White House press secretary Josh Earnest speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington, Monday, May 2, 2016. Earnest discussed Puerto Rico's default on a bond payment and other topics. (AP P... White House press secretary Josh Earnest speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington, Monday, May 2, 2016. Earnest discussed Puerto Rico's default on a bond payment and other topics. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) MORE LESS
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended comedian Larry Wilmore on Monday after the black comedian called Obama “my nigga” at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Earnest called the performance a tough job and said that the President himself “appreciated” Wilmore’s sentiments.

“I think the first thing that I would observe is that any comedian who signed up to follow President Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is assuming one of the most difficult tasks in comedy,” Earnest said at his daily media briefing. “Just by the nature of the engagement—that’s a tough job following the President of the United States.”

Wilmore said at the end of his speech on Saturday night that he had a “humble appreciation” for the significance of Obama’s presidency, noting what it once meant to be black in the United States.

“A black man was thought by his mere color not good enough to lead a football team—and now, to live in your time, Mr. President, when a black man can lead the entire free world, words alone do me no justice,” Wilmore said. “So, Mr. President, if I’m going to keep it 100: Yo, Barry, you did it, my nigga. You did it.”

When a reporter asked Earnest if he thought Wilmore crossed the line by calling Obama “the n-word,” Earnest said that it wasn’t the first time a comedian’s performance at the correspondents’ dinner had made headlines.

“(Obama) said that he appreciated the spirit of the sentiments that Mr. Wilmore expressed,” Earnest said. “I’m confident that Mr. Wilmore used the word by design. He was seeking to be provocative. But I think any reading of his comments makes clear he was not using the President as the butt of a joke.”

Wilmore has received criticism from political leaders and commentators, including from Rev. Al Sharpton, who said Wilmore’s remark was made in “poor taste.”

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