Trump on the mind at the Oscars in jokes, protest
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump was never far from mind on Oscar night, but with one exception Sunday, the political speeches were left at home.
Midway through the evening, host Jimmy Kimmel tried to get a rise out of Trump by tweeting to him on the air. By the show’s end, the leader of the free world hadn’t taken the bait.
Kimmel joked about Trump several times, and made an elaborate point of calling attention to Trump target Meryl Streep. For the most part, Academy Award winners thanked mom, their directors and seemed — or acted — overwhelmed by the honour. Streep, whose Golden Globes attack on the soon-to-be president overshadowed those awards, stuck to her script when she appeared on stage to give an award.
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, winner of the Oscar for best foreign film, boycotted Sunday’s ceremony, citing Trump’s travel ban of several predominantly Muslim countries, including his own. He sent Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari to read a statement for him.