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The White House Correspondent’s Dinner 2016: President Obama’s Speech And What People Wore

By Danielle McGaw
Published on: 15:54 PST, Apr 30, 2016

Tonight is the last White House Correspondent’s Dinner of the Obama administration and people are coming out in droves to attend. The White House Correspondent’s Dinner is one of the biggest events in Washington.

Some call it prom for nerds, or a nerd gala, but whatever you choose to call it, there is no doubt that anyone who is anyone will be there. CBC News describes the event well by saying that, “U.S. President Barack Obama has described the annual event as Washington celebrating itself.”

The first White House Correspondent’s Dinner was in 1920 and it has been held annually ever since. It is usually held on the last Saturday evening in April and it traditionally takes place at the Washington Hilton. Usually, the president and vice-president are in attendance.

While the White House Correspondent’s Dinner does have a certain appeal to those who want to see and be seen in their finest formal wear, that is not the main focus of the event. The White House Correspondent’s Dinner is actually a benefit to fund scholarships for students that are in college journalism programs.

Typically, the event is filled with actors, musicians, athletes, and political names. The White House Correspondent’s Dinner is attended by the most famous people and their spouses.

This year, the White House Correspondent’s Dinner was hosted by Larry Wilmore. He is well known to Comedy Central fans who have likely seen him hosting his own show, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

The White House Correspondent’s Association talked about about Larry Wilmore.

“Larry’s edgy, even provocative, brand of humor means he’s certainly up to the task of skewering politicians of all ideological stripes, and we don’t expect the nation’s news media to escape unscathed, either. We are thrilled that Larry has accepted our invitation to be the featured comedian at our annual dinner, which will be the last during the Obama White House.”

One of the draws of the White House Correspondent’s Dinner is the performers that attend and entertain for the guests. In past years, the dinner has had some amazing people perform. Some of the past hosts and performers have included Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Merv Griffin, Richard Pryor, Jay Leno, Paula Poundstone, Drew Carey, Jon Stewart, Cedric the Entertainer, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Kimmel. With talent like that, you can’t blame everyone for wanting to attend such an interesting dinner!

Of course, President Obama had his moment to speak at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Some may remember in 2011, when he had his moment in front of the crowd and he took the opportunity to start off with a video montage that played the song, “I Am A Real American” and flashed his birth certificate on the video monitor several times. No one can deny that President Obama has a sense of humor! He called it his official birth video and showed clips from The Lion King, which resulted in a great deal of laughter and applause.

This will be President Obama’s last White House Correspondent’s Dinner as president so what can you expect?

He did not speak until 10 p.m. EST, but the New York Post hinted at the president’s speech.

“White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday not to rule out surprises from Obama, who has polished his comedic timing over seven prior dinner appearances.”

President Obama did take some time to make some fun jokes, including one about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Check out his speech, courtesy of Global News. While he does have a serious note, he also takes time to make some fun jabs at himself, Donald Trump (who interestingly enough was not there), Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and others.

Now, the big question: who was there and what did they wear?

[Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images]

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