Because magic—I love magic—but magic, you know there’s a trick. What I’m doing, you know there’s a trick also, but there’s no focal point to direct the trick on. So when you watch somebody cut a woman in half, you say to yourself, “Well, there’s something about that box. I don’t know how it works, but if I had that box, could I do that trick?” That’s the linear thought process.
With mine, there is nothing to look at. It’s a skill, because I show up with nothing and I can do this to some of the most intelligent, successful people in the world, and they’re blown away. So you’re watching this and you go, “Well, how’s he doing this? Because I don’t know how he’s doing it.” And that’s a lot of the fun.
Let’s talk about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner next week. What can you tell us about what to expect from your performance?
I’m all about creating very memorable moments that people talk about. If you distill what I try to do, it’s that. It’s not fooling you. It’s going to create moments that are long-lasting.
I believe that right now, Weijia Jiang, who picked me, and CBS, who made, I think, a very bold choice this year, somewhat unprecedented, just saw the landscape and said to themselves, “I think what we need right now is something which in a difficult time for our country in a lot of ways, brings us together, is going to unite us.”
Where humor people enjoy, but humor is very subjective. What’s funny to you might be very offensive to someone else, and vice-versa. Wonder and awe are universal. It’s like a core emotion in humans that’s the same way in sports. When the comeback happens, you score a goal, you go nuts. [It’s the same] when you do something that shatters someone’s worldview of how the world works. “How could you possibly have known that?”
There’s a different feeling in response to it. And I think that’s what they were looking for this year. I know my lane. I know what I was brought in to do. I’m going to create one moment that I hope will be career-defining, that will blow everyone away.
How do you prepare for a show like this? Is it the same as every other show, or are you treating it differently?
No! No, it’s not the same as every other show, because I’ve been studying Donald Trump for months. Instead of doing what I normally do, and focusing on all different people—I’m on TV probably two-to-five times a month, sometimes much more. I can’t really put that type of energy into one person, because I’m just going to be doing shows for thousands and thousands of people.
But this is different. This is arguably the most famous and most powerful person in the world. And I guarantee you, Donald Trump’s not going to fake anything for me or for anyone else for that matter, as far as I can tell. So if you see a real, genuine response, the world knows: “Oh my God, how did that just actually happen?” And that’s what I’m looking for.
You’ve been studying Trump for months. What have you learned about him?
