Legendary comedian Chris Rock told an audience of power brokers Sunday that arresting former President Donald Trump will only make him more popular.
Rock spoke at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where comedian Adam Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
“Are you guys really going to arrest Trump?” Rock said to roaring laughter, according to Daily Mail. (RELATED: Netflix Rescues Chris Rock’s On-Stage Fumble With A Quick Edit)
Chris Rock calls lawmakers ‘stupid’ for wanting Trump arrested https://t.co/Ssbv3Uh5Uq pic.twitter.com/JHdMjcBgVc
— New York Post (@nypost) March 20, 2023
“Do you know this is only going to make him more popular. It’s like arresting Tupac. He’s just gonna sell more records. Are you stupid?” Rock continued. Several Biden officials and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were in the crowd for Rock’s speech.
He jokingly characterized Trump’s alleged extramarital affair with former porn star Stormy Daniels as “romantic” because the former president allegedly paid Daniels to keep quiet about the purported affair.
“We’ve all been cheated on. Don’t you wish that the person that cheated on you paid off somebody so you wouldn’t find out?” Rock said. Trump announced Saturday he expects to be arrested by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for charges related to an alleged $130,000 payment he made to Daniels through attorney Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Rock joked about President Biden’s age and acknowledged Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, who also sat in the audience.
“Trump was so bad as a president, he was so bad that Joe Biden had to burst off a monument. Biden was dead for 16 years,” Rock quipped. “Paul Pelosi only got it. He knows how I felt,” he continued.
Rock’s newest special, “Selective Outrage,” live streamed on Netflix on March 4. It was his first stand-up special since Will Smith infamously slapped him at the 2022 Oscar’s ceremony.