Highlights From The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Last Saturday’s line-up on C-SPAN was the best reality television I’ve seen in a long time. In what could have easily been a special on Comedy Central, the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner had my boyfriend and me laughing out loud. I have always found the childlike behavior during the State of The Union address particularly entertaining, but this was flat-out funny.

For those of you who missed it, I have taken the time to re-watch the speeches and pull the best quotes of the night from President Obama and guest speaker Seth Meyers:

 

President Obama

“I’ve even let down my key, core constituency: movie stars…. Just the other day, Matt Damon said he was disappointed in my performance. Well, Matt, I just saw the Adjustment Bureau, so right back at ‘ya, buddy!”

“We made a terrific team at the Easter Egg Roll this week . I would give out bags of candy to the kids, and she would snatch them right back out of their little hands… Snatched ‘em!” – President Obama on his wife’s campaign to end child obesity

“All kidding aside, obviously we all know of your credentials and breadth of experience.” – A sarcastic President Obama to Donald Trump

“And so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey. These are the decisions that would keep me up at night! Well handled, sir!” – President Obama on Donald Trump’s experience

 

Seth Meyers

“Everyone knows how the MSNBC party works, President Obama makes the kool-aid and everyone there drinks it.”

“The New York Times party used to be free, but tonight, apparently there’s a cover. So, like everyone else, I’ll probably just go to the Huffington Post party. And the Huffington Post party is asking people to go to other parties first and just steal food and drinks and bring it from there.”

“Katie Couric was known for asking the tough questions like, ‘Name a newspaper.’ ”

“But when’s he’s in the child-sized white t-shirt, bullets are flying, he’s getting punched, he’s pulling kittens out of the rubble.” – Seth Meyers relating Anderson Cooper’s clothing to levels of danger

“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for President as a Republican, which is surprising because I just assumed he was running as a joke.”

“Donald Trump owns the Miss USA pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for a Vice President.”

“Donald Trump said recently he has a great relationship with the blacks, though unless the Blacks are a family of white people, I bet he’s mistaken.”- Seth Meyers, which had President Obama doubled over in laughter

“Now you on the other hand, Mr. President, have aged a little. What happened to you? When you were sworn in, you looked like the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Now you look like Louis Gossett Sr.”

 

Those were my favorite jokes of the night, but there’s many more. Watch for yourself:

President Obama’s speech at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Seth Meyers’ speech at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

 

Fun Fact from the Editor:  Every year since 1920, Presidents have attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to maintain health relationships with the people who report on them. Some of the proceeds from the dinner pay for journalism scholarships for college students.