The Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj is set to headline the White House Correspondents' Association dinner this month ... except U.S. President Donald Trump won't be making an appearance.
The president and his staff previously announced that they will be skipping the dinner, a first in decades, due to their hostile relationship with the press.
Jeff Mason, President of WHCA, said they are not "looking for someone to roast the president in absentia," while speaking on MSNBC, going on to say that it is not the message they want to send across.
The Indian-American Muslim comedian has regularly passed jokes addressed at the U.S. president, but Mason expressed confidence that Minhaj would "strike the right balance" between entertaining people with political jokes and celebrating the first amendment and journalism, all in all.
"I was looking for somebody who is funny and who is entertaining, because I want the dinner to be entertaining, but who can also speak to the message that the whole dinner is going to speak to: the importance of the press," Mason said, according to the New York Times.
The dinner is set to take place on April 29 at the Hilton in Washington.
Minhaj called the opportunity "a tremendous honor to be a part of such a historic event even though the president has chosen not to attend this year," according to the New York Times.
"Now more than ever, it is vital that we honor the First Amendment and the freedom of the press," Minhaj added.
"I’m not there to try to skewer people. I’m just trying to come at it with some human empathy. I consider myself to be an angry optimist," Minhaj said, according to The Washington Post.
The fact that Minhaj is the child of immigrants, a Muslim and funny ... seriously makes him the perfect fit to host the dinner. But, some couldn't help but think what an odd coincidence it is.
Minhaj will be joining the likes of other comedians who have hosted the WHCD in previous years including Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart.
And for those wondering whether or not Minhaj will do some roasting ... here's a simple answer:
Of course, it wouldn't be a first for Minhaj. He's been pretty outspoken in addressing Trump's policies and Islamophobic rhetoric with humor.
When speaking on Trump's statement on "keeping Muslims out of America," Minhaj turned the statement around in a segment with Trevor Noah in 2015.
"Muslims are in danger. One-third of a major political party in America is backing a racist maniac.
This place is scary right now. And that's why Trump said we can't have any Muslims enter the US - until we figure what the hell is going on," he said at the time.