Don Rickles Was Roasting Presidents When Colbert Was Still In College

Back when presidents didn't skip events where people told jokes about them.

Legendary comedian Don Rickles died Thursday at the age of 90. He may not have invented insult comedy, but he certainly was closer to perfecting it than anyone.

Here’s a video of Rickles performing at Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural celebration in 1985. It’s wonderful for a few reasons.

Rickles is a lifelong Democrat, but shows a incredible amount of class considering the venue and his style of comedy.

He also roasts a president of the United States and the celebrities of the day pretty harshly, something we sort of take for granted these days, where the line between entertainment and politics continues to blur.

It’s a lesson to human beings in general: you may be able to dish it out, but it’s almost as important to be able to take it.

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