Roseanne Barr showed why she was once the queen of TV comedy on Wednesday evening, delivering a blistering routine on why female soldiers were better than men before describing herself as a ‘hateful’ Jew and sarcastically thanking Christians for their understanding of Judaism.
As one onlooker said, it was probably the first time that menstrual cycle jokes had been made during a ritzy fundraiser at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Barr, who was dropped from her own show after being accused of racism, was part of an evening of uncanceled comedians in support of Kari Lake. The Trump ally is locked in a tough battle for the Arizona Senate seat vacated by Kyrsten Sinema.
‘Kari, it’s time for a woman in the Senate. It’s time for a woman everywhere,’ she told the crowd assembled around the resort’s swimming pool as the sun set. ‘You know why?
‘Because anything a man can do, a woman can get another man to do even better.’
Roseanne Barr appeared at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Wednesday evening to raise funds for Kari Lake’s Senate campaign. It was part of a night of comedy
Barr ran for president in 2012, and is now an outspoken supporter of Trump.
She could not help but skirt the sort of controversial territory that saw her career derailed. But first riffed on some of the policy ideas she would have implemented if she had ever won power.
‘First of all, I would institute an all female army. That’s what I do. Think about it,’ she said. ‘We might win some of these damn wars for a change, you know what I mean?
‘Everybody’s on their period at the exact same time. Chugging back those Red Bulls drinks … “I’m looking for a man to blame all my problems on …” can you imagine that … just be so great.
‘Especially [if] we’re fighting against women who are thinner than us.’
She said Trump was the last hope to defend the country and then she touched on some of the antisemitism controversies that have gripped the nation during the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
‘Every single day I got to stay positive. Because I’m not like a really positive person,’ said Barr. ‘I’m kind of because I’m Jewish.
‘So I’m very, very negative and bitter and hateful. But I am so glad to be here for Kari, who’s a wonderful woman of God, a wonderful Christian woman.
‘And I have to say as a Jew, I just love the Christian people so much because they are the only people who know anything about Judaism. Go figure.’
Lake poses with supporters. She is locked in a tough battle for Arizona’s vacant Senate seat
Former President Donald Trump put in an appearance to support Lake
Mar-a-Lago is the go-to fundraising destination for Republican 2024 candidates
The line brought laughter although more than one person later admitted nervously double checking that Barr was raised in a Jewish family.
Other jokes were classic Roseanne territory. She joked about her age, 71, and the importance of adult diapers, and her morning routine of waking, peeing, and then getting out of bed.
But the harder edge to the comedy was also part of the point of the night.
‘God gave us our sense of humor to get through times like this, and the left appears to be humourless,’ said Lake, as she introduced Barr.
‘And I’ll tell you what, they’re given us a lot to make fun of them and they’re given us a lot to laugh about right now, believe it or not.’
Lake campaign officials said the night raised $1 million for their fight in Arizona, with ticket prices topping out at $100,000 for a couple
Also on the bill were former Saturday Night Live star Jim Breuer and Chad Prather.
The whole night raised $1 million, according to organizers.
But the host got some of the biggest laughs. Trump talked up the political skills of Lake, but could not resist slamming President Joe Biden.
‘He’s a horrible guy. He’s a horrible president,’ he said before looking around the terrace where he was standing.
‘He doesn’t know where the hell he is. He could not figure his way off this stage … you got one, two, three, four … lots of doors.’