Avoid Giving a Speech at a Roast; Think of the Consequences

I have on other occasions warned public speakers never to speak at a roast. The recent election gives us one more illustration. What got Donald Trump interested in politics to start with? Maybe it was being humiliated at a roast. 

Indeed, at his recent CPAC panel, White House advisor Steve Bannon commented on President Trump's election victory, which overcome what Bannon called opposition from what he called the "mainstream media." Interpreting Bannon's comments, a recent article in the Guardian suggests that Trump had long resented being excluded from the mainstream. This exclusion hit a climax in 2011 when, during the White House Correspondents Dinner, President Barack Obama humilated Trump over his ridiculous birth certificate conspiracy theories.

Obama won round 1. Yes, speaking at the Correspondents Dinner, he humiliated Trump. He did a thorough job of it. Trump had been saying really, really silly things at Obama's expense, and Obama felt that it was right to retaliate. At the same time, sometimes it's better to let your opponent escape with some dignity. Making Trump angry was probably not a good idea. Making a powerful opponent angry leads to consequences, does it not?

So, to repeat: never speak at a roast, and never allow yourself to be roasted. Never. Trust me on this.