“Do better next time”

Dave Chappelle shared a powerful message during his opening monologue on the latest episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

After the comedian performed a lengthy standup set in which he joked about Sean “Diddy” Combs, among other topics, Chappelle shared a moving story about a time when the late President Jimmy Carter inspired him, which led to sending out a prayer to President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office on Monday.

“I was in the Middle East years ago after I quit my show. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” the comedian said. “While I was there, Jimmy Carter flew to Israel, so everybody in the region was talking about a former US president being in the Middle East.”

Chappelle added that while Carter was in Israel, he published his controversially titled 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” and decided that he would visit a Palestinian territory, even though the Israeli government at the time advised against it, telling him that it would not be able to adequately protect him.

“And man, Jimmy Carter went anyway. I’ll never forget the images of a former US president walking with little to no security while thousands of Palestinians cheered him on,” Chappelle said. “And when I saw that picture, it brought tears to my eyes. I said, ‘I don’t know if that’s a good president, but right there, I’m sure, is a great man.’

The sentiment drew cheers and applause for Chappelle, who then addressed Trump directly, saying, “the presidency is no place for petty people.”

He told Trump to remember that whether people “voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you.”

“I mean it when I say this: Good luck. Do better next time. Please, everyone, do better next time,” he said.

“Don’t forget your humanity and please have empathy for displaced people, whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine,” he added, referring to the wildfires in Los Angeles that have largely destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoodamong other areas.

Chappelle’s speech was of course preceded by a lot of jokes.

He first went onstage smoking a cigarette and began his set joking about how he turned down “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels’ first offer to host the first episode after the 2024 election. “Nah, I have that’s good,” he recalled replying.

Chappelle saw joked he was eventually convinced to return as host when he realized he would be able to use it as an opportunity to “get rid of” old jokes about Trump, so he agreed.

He also joked about how he was trying to understand why it seemed like everyone else in Hollywood was invited Combs‘ “freak-off” parties ahead of the embattled rapper’s arrest except him.

Chappelle chalked it up to having “snap energy,” adding that “I look like I want to tell.”

GloRilla was the musical guest in the episode. Timothée Chalamet will serve as host and musical guest on next week’s episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

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