The last time most Americans saw Keegan-Michael Key’s Luther, he was serving as “anger translator” for the real President Obama at 2015’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Since then, Key & Peele ended its five-season run on Comedy Central and Donald Trump was elected as Obama’s successor.
So there was plenty to be angry about when Key’s Luther and Jordan Peele’s Obama came together again on The Daily Show Thursday night, just 14 days before the 44th president’s second term will come to an end.
As Key told Trevor Noah, one of the sketch show’s former writers decided to write a final Obama and Luther sketch and the guys jumped at the chance to perform it. “We thought it only apropos, and everybody on Twitter was, like, ‘What are you doing? You have to do something!’” he said. “So we’re doing it, and it’s happening right now.”
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Introducing his anger translator one last time, Peele’s Obama said, “I’ve told Luther he can join me for this last address but that his being on his very best behavior is crucial to healing the divide in this country.”
“Keep it chill, Luther,” Key told himself. “Go against every natural instinct in your body.” When Obama brought up the election, Luther held it together for a couple of seconds before screaming, “Trump!? How did this happen, man? Get the fuck out of here!”
As Obama said, the country is going to have to accept “somebody else calling the shots.” Luther added, “Vladimir Putin! We’ve got a naked Ruskie on horseback who’s going to be running the show.” In Obama’s words, “the people have spoken,” but as Luther put it, “They voted for Hillary Clinton but this outdated Electoral College mumbo jumbo bullshit…”
Obama told the country that he “enjoyed” his time as president, before Luther clarified, “except for when the Republicans wouldn’t let me do shit and that one dude said I wasn’t born here, but then y’all elected him, so you know what? Didn’t love that part so much. So pretty much the beginning, middle, and end sucked!” Obama wants Trump to succeed, but Luther added, “Unless he succeeds with all the shit he promises to succeed with. In that case we’re fucked.”
Luther even read aloud Obama’s confidential note to incoming President Trump: “Go fuck yourself.” And just when you thought he was done, he threw in one last threat: “I got my eye on you, pussy-grabber.”
And that’s when it hit America: The end of the Obama era is also the end of the Key & Peele era.
