President Barack Obama spoke at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner (also known as the nerd prom) and as has been standard, made some edgy jibes at himself, the Republicans, network news, pop culture and host Conan O’Brien.
Obama has always been pretty skillful at casually joking about the controversies and issues that surround his presidency, and the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was no exception.
Obama opened joking about conservative fears for his second term, taking the stage to a rap track and quipping “second term, baby!” while knocking Rush Limbaugh.
Out of the gate, the President took off the gloves and made some pretty pointed cracks, with many to follow. Below are nine of President Obama’s best one-liners from the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner:
“Now, look, I get it. These days, I look in the mirror and I have to admit, I’m not the strapping young Muslim socialist that I used to be … Time passes. You get a little gray.”
” … maybe I have lost a step. But some things are beyond my control. For example, this whole controversy about Jay-Z going to Cuba – it’s unbelievable. I’ve got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one.”
“And of course, the White House press corps is here. I know CNN has taken some knocks lately, but the fact is I admire their commitment to cover all sides of a story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate.”
“But the problem is, is that the media landscape is changing so rapidly. You can’t keep up with it. I mean, I remember when BuzzFeed was just something I did in college around 2:00 a.m.”
“Did you know that Sheldon Adelson spent $100 million of his own money last year on negative ads? You’ve got to really dislike me to spend that kind of money. I mean, that’s Oprah money … You could buy an island and call it ‘Nobama’ for that kind of money … Sheldon would have been better off offering me $100 million to drop out of the race … I probably wouldn’t have taken it, but I’d have thought about it. Michelle would have taken it. You think I’m joking?”
“Of course, even after I’ve done all this, some folks still don’t think I spend enough time with Congress. ‘Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?’ they ask. Really? Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell? I’m sorry. I get frustrated sometimes.”
” … the point of my charm offensive is simple: We need to make progress on some important issues. Take the sequester. Republicans fell in love with this thing, and now they can’t stop talking about how much they hate it. It’s like we’re trapped in a Taylor Swift album.”
[Visual gag: Obama cuts to an image of a sign next to the recently opened Bush Library, of the “Blame Bush” library.]
“I’m also hard at work on plans for the Obama Library. And some have suggested that we put it in my birthplace, but I’d rather keep it in the United States. Did anybody not see that joke coming? Show of hands. Only Gallup? Maybe Dick Morris?”
Below is the full speech — did you find Obama funny at the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner?