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Almost 50 years ago, comedian Johnny Carson chose unity over line after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
A clip comparing Carson’s 1981 Oscars monologue and the reaction to the latest attempt on President Donald Trump’s life has drawn nearly 800,000 views online.
“I’m sure all of you here and most of you watching tonight understand why we delayed the show for 24 hours,” Carson said in the video. “Given the amazing events of yesterday, that old saying, the game must go on, has become irrelevant.”
Carson and others postponed the Academy Awards 24 hours after John Hinckley Jr.’s attempt. of March 30, 1981 of Reagan’s life. This attack happened in the same place where people were shot on Saturday, at the Washington Hilton Hotel, more than 40 years ago.
There are clear differences between Reagan’s effort and Trump’s. Reagan was seriously injured and returned to the White House after 12 days in the hospital.
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“The Academy, ABC television and all of us associated with the program felt because of the uncertain outcome as of this time yesterday, it would not be appropriate to celebrate,” Carson added.
The host noted the president’s resilience, saying he is “in excellent shape” and “still running a business.” He revealed that Reagan was making jokes in his hospital bed when he was trying to talk.
“You have to remember, this is the man who yesterday, when he was in the hospital, unable to speak, wrote on a piece of paper, ‘All things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.’ So tonight, the show goes on,” Carson said.
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Johnny Carson hosted the 53rd Academy Awards broadcast on March 31, 1981. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
The video resurfaced as late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel faced criticism for a joke made before the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. During his show last Thursday, Kimmel parodied the event and made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump: “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, she’s so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, she has the glow of a pregnant widow.”
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Clips of the comments circulated online after what authorities described as another assassination attempt over the weekend. The first lady asked ABC to fire Kimmel for what she described as hateful language.
Kimmel defended the remark as “a lighthearted roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 years old, and younger than me.”
First lady Melania Trump called on ABC to take action against Jimmy Kimmel on Monday. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
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“It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, an assassination call — and they know that,” Kimmel said Monday night.
“I’ve been very vocal for years against gun violence in particular, but I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and almost every weekend is very stressful in that house,” he added.
