On March 23, 2025, Conan O’Brien was awarded this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, once again presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The event stood as the art institution’s most prominent and highly anticipated one since President Donald Trump bulldozed its existing board of directors and packed it with his own allies, who have since elected Trump as board chairman. In delivering his acceptance speech, O’Brien had no choice but to confront this reality—the question, however, was how.
The comedian’s solution was one of subtlety. This isn’t to say O’Brien’s speech lacked resolve or clarity: he managed to masterfully mask a tribute to Mark Twain as a sweeping renunciation of the Trump administration.
“Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age, and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance,” O’Brien said. “Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word. He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed.”
O’Brien commended on how much Twain “hated bullies,” remarking how his stories were often populated with “abusers” such as Huck Finn’s alcoholic father and Tom Driscoll in Pudd’nhead Wilson.
“He made us passionately hate those characters,” O’Brien noted. “He punched up, not down, and he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak. Twain was allergic to hypocrisy, and he loathed racism.”
Twain’s “core principles,” as O’Brien described them, objectively stand in stark contrast to those of the current administration. Since January, Trump has staged devastating and sustained attacks upon free speech, the education department, DEI and anti-discrimination initiatives, the humanities, literature, and much more, making even more perilous the landscape of arts and culture.
O’Brien continued: “Some of you might be thinking, What does this have to do with comedy? It has everything to do with comedy. Everything! The comedy I have loved all of my life is comedy that is self-critical, deflating, and dedicated to the proposition that we are all flawed, absurd, and wallowing in the mud together.”
Though not mentioning Trump or his administration by name at all throughout his speech, O’Brien still mounted a cutting political attack, all while examining Twain’s ideological underpinnings. Earlier during the ceremony, he also extended his thanks to the Kennedy Center’s former chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein, and its president, Deborah F. Rutter, who invited him months ago.
“I don’t know why they’re not here,” he said. “I lost Wi-Fi in January. I’m guessing they’re in traffic.”
He made an effort, as well, to recognize the precarity of the Center’s future and the increasing anxiety among its performers and staff.
“My eternal thanks for their selfless devotion to the arts,” O’Brien commented, receiving a 25-second standing ovation. He then joked: “That was plenty.”
Throughout his career, O’Brien has served as a writer and producer on several television shows, including Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, until 1993, when NBC tapped him to take over as host of Late Night. He’s since won five Emmy Awards, seven Writers Guild Awards, and the People’s Choice Award for “Favorite Television Host.”
The entire Mark Twain Prize ceremony will be available to stream on Netflix starting on May 4.
While accepting this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, renowned comedian Conan O’Brien gave a remarkable tribute to Twain while subtly criticizing the Trump administration.
Conan O‘Brien speaking at South by Southwest 2024. (Photo: Jay Dixit, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Sources: Conan O’Brien Accepts the Mark Twain Prize With ‘Unceasing Silliness’; Lionizing Mark Twain, Conan O’Brien Subtly Skewers Trump; Excerpt from Conan O'Brien's Mark Twain Prize Acceptance Speech
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