Resurfaced 2011 Video Of Obama and Seth Meyers Trolling Trump Over Presidency Hits Different Now

It is no secret by now that Donald Trump always wanted to run for president, though he rarely openly admitted it. Before winning the white house in 2016, the former real-estate mogul was brutally roasted by Barack Obama and host Seth Meyers for running for office in a resurfaced clip from 2011 — and Trump followers called them out in the comment section. 

Trump showed up at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011 where Obama and Meyers made brutal jokes at his expense. The duo left no stone unturned to leave Trump humiliated, mocking him for his hair, taste, his reality TV show The Apprentice, his fixation with the infamous 'birther movement,' and of course, his desire to run for the United States' biggest office, per NBC News.  

For instance, Meyers joked, "Donald Trump has been saying that he will for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke." Meanwhile, Obama, who was at the center of the 'birther movement,' quipped, "Now I know that he's taken some flak lately,  but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald. And that’s because he can finally get back to the issues that matter, like: did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And—where are Biggie and Tupac?"

The video, which has now resurfaced after Trump's historic 2024 win, received flak from Trump loyalists. On X, formerly Twitter, one user, @RoyCalbeck, clapped back, "And then they ran Clinton against him. "Well handled, sir. Well handled."" @AnnaMaeJ echoed, "In the end, the bullied victim gets the loudest laugh." @stepoya referred to the Bible to hail Trump's 2016 victory, "The stone the builders rejected has become the chief stone..that's the Bible for you." 

Meanwhile, @NBatcheller, noted, "This is probably the moment he decided to run for president." And others have also hypothesized something similar. Though Trump announced that he wouldn't be running for president in 2012, the humiliation at 2011's correspondent dinner may have ignited a fire in him to force his critics to take him seriously as a politician.

The New Yorker editor Adam Gopnik once penned that Trump may have decided to have the last laugh that night: "One can't help but suspect that, on that night, Trump's own sense of public humiliation became so overwhelming that he decided, perhaps at first unconsciously, that he would, somehow, get his own back—perhaps even pursue the Presidency." 

However, if one goes back to the old clips, it becomes clear that Trump may have been toying with the idea for far longer than many think. Back when he running a successful real-estate business, Trump directly or indirectly expressed a desire to serve the nation; he was confident, smart, and full of enthusiasm in those interviews. In one of the sit-downs with Playboy Magazine in 1990, Trump accurately predicted if and when he'd run for the White House, he'd receive the most support from the working class. This rings true to this day with his resounding victory in the 2024 elections, defeating Kamala Harris, and securing the popular vote, per NPR.