Dave Chappelle Says He’ll Give Donald Trump A Chance

"And we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one, too."

In a long-awaited return to television, Dave Chappelle opened Saturday Night Live with some seriously real thoughts on the election.

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"America's done it. We elected an internet troll as our president," he said, adding that he hasn't "seen white people this mad since the O.J. verdict."

Chappelle went on to say Obama "did a good job," and that "we're going to miss him when he leaves."

But after an expected slew of great jokes, the comedian paused. Before moving on with the show, he got real about his thoughts on the past, present, and future of America.

The final two minutes of that Dave Chappelle routine. Wow.

"Before I go, I do want to say one thing, and this is not a joke, but I think it's important that I say this because they're marching up the street right now as we speak," he said, referring to ongoing protests in New York City and across the country.

Chappelle described going to the White House for a party a few weeks ago, his first time being there in several years.

"It was a BET-sponsored party and everyone there was black, and it was beautiful ... Everybody in there was black, except for Bradley Cooper for some reason."

Chappelle, who is from Washington, DC, said he saw the corner where he used to catch the bus and dream about "nights like tonight."

"And on the wall were the pictures of all the presidents, and the past," he said.

With a disclaimer, "I'm not sure if this is true," Chappelle then told a story about the first black man invited to the White House being stopped at the gate, who had to be escorted in by Abraham Lincoln. He then described a story about Theodore Roosevelt inviting Booker T. Washington to dinner, before declaring a black man would never be "in this house again."

"I thought about that and I looked at that room, and I saw all those black faces and Bradley, and I saw how happy everybody was," he said. "These people have been historically disenfranchised and it made me feel hopeful, and it made me feel proud to be an American, and it made me very happy about the prospects of our country."

"So, in that spirit," he continued, "I'm wishing Donald Trump luck. And I'm going to give Donald Trump a chance. And we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one, too."

CORRECTION

President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House. A previous version of this post incorrectly said it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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