Obama Out
May 1, 2016 8:53 AM   Subscribe

 
The killer one liner was 'welcome "comrade" Bernie'.
posted by sammyo at 9:03 AM on May 1, 2016 [5 favorites]


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

We should've ended this national embarrassment a long time ago. Instead we get to watch every year as our allegedly adversarial media figures yuck it up with the government they're supposed to be holding accountable. The great American novel that every Washington reporter dreams of writing in their mind's eye isn't about uncovering the story of the century, it's about the time they got invited to sit at the head table while the President told jokes. The Fourth Estate, everybody.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:05 AM on May 1, 2016 [32 favorites]


Wilmore's delivery was about 50% horrible, but when he hit, he HIT. The "Obama hair is so white it tried to punch me at a Trump rally" was the best one. Or the stuff about Wolf Blitzer.

Also, I am going to miss having a president this goddamn cool so so so much.
posted by lattiboy at 9:09 AM on May 1, 2016 [28 favorites]


Oh and if you were watching on CSpan there was a brief shot of Don Lemon throwing the finger at Larry Wilmore's kinda lame dig at CNN and Lemon.
posted by sammyo at 9:09 AM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


His charisma continues to astound me. He's hilarious and I'll miss his presence dearly.

The Boehner bit was a total flop, all the more coming after so many class-A zingers. And as much as I love the mic drop at the end, it didn't feel like those last remarks warranted it. You gotta spit fire before a mic drop. Not "hey press all that stuff I said about you I didn't really mean it you're great luv forever <3"

To whatever degree Obama's acquiescence to the evils of military and financial rule is his fault I can't speak. But I know I want fire, not parlor tricks and allusions to professionalism. For all the shit he's gotten from Republicans, it's a damn shame he wasn't left enough to counter it all with meaningful tit-for-tat progressivism.

"Death panels huh? Medicare just got 10 million citizens wider."

The Obama that jokes about young people while he throws them under the bus can fuck right off.
posted by an animate objects at 9:10 AM on May 1, 2016 [9 favorites]


Also, I am going to miss having a president this goddamn cool so much.

I dunno, Clinton is delightfully dorky, and her campaign/public image is finally accepting that. She'll do great.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:13 AM on May 1, 2016 [19 favorites]


Every time he mentioned a group of people by name, if it wasn't an all-male group, he said the women's names first.
posted by KathrynT at 9:22 AM on May 1, 2016 [42 favorites]


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

Thanks, Obama!
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 9:28 AM on May 1, 2016 [31 favorites]


This piece from Clinton's final dinner is still one of my favorite things.

Helen Thomas: "Are you still here?"

Can't wait for the barrage of breathless thinkpieces from the press about how Larry Wilmore said a word. Wait, no, I can wait for a very long time indeed.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:31 AM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


The single funniest bit in the Wilmore transcript is:

No, but it is good to be on C-SPAN. Glad I’m not on your rival network, “No input, HDMI1."
posted by wenestvedt at 9:32 AM on May 1, 2016 [86 favorites]


Obama's delivery was 100% better than Wilmore's, even though Wilmore had some really good jokes. Maybe they should give Obama a late-night fake news program.

I can hardly wait to see President Trump's set next year. It's going to be YUUUUGE! And extremely, extremely classy!
posted by briank at 9:33 AM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


I LOVE the silence after he calls out the media for making Trump's campaign successful.
posted by little onion at 9:33 AM on May 1, 2016 [28 favorites]


Can Obama and Biden star in a buddy movie next year?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:50 AM on May 1, 2016 [9 favorites]


If nothing else I'm going to miss having a head of state that can tell a joke.
posted by The Whelk at 9:58 AM on May 1, 2016 [22 favorites]


I'm going to miss that man.

A LOT.
posted by Mooski at 10:06 AM on May 1, 2016 [14 favorites]


Yeah, I'm going to need Elizabeth Warren to run for vice president, as I'm fairly sure she can tell a joke, and maybe she can take over the dinner next year.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:09 AM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


"Nerdy Fight Breaks Out At WHCD Afterparty Between Fox News and Huffington Post Reporters"

They've devolved into straight up fistfights. They also REALLY want it to be the "nerd prom," nope.

This event makes me wish I was a believing man, because then I could pray for a precisely aimed meteor of just the right size to bring us salvation.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 10:10 AM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

You say that like it's a bad thing.
posted by daveje at 10:18 AM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


But sure, I'm the foreign one!
posted by hippybear at 10:35 AM on May 1, 2016 [12 favorites]


So was Biden trying to do a take off on his whole Onion persona with the aviator glasses gag? Either way, it was awesome.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 10:50 AM on May 1, 2016 [8 favorites]


You say that like it's a bad thing.

Let's wait till mid-November to stop taking him seriously, mmkay?
posted by T.D. Strange at 11:04 AM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


Let's wait till mid-November to stop taking him seriously, mmkay?

President or no (and Trump won't become President, I'm calling it now), there isn't much reason to take Trump seriously.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:17 AM on May 1, 2016 [9 favorites]


As a Canadian, I loved the Trudeau shot.
posted by raider at 11:20 AM on May 1, 2016 [8 favorites]




I am truly going to miss this President. Sure, he has great comedic delivery but he also has shown great leadership in many many ways, not the least of which was decisive action after the great recession.
posted by bluesky43 at 11:32 AM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


Obama was great, Wilmore was good but threw a few too many into the dirt, but one of the funniest things of the night was CNN's immediate post-speech coverage where they promptly validated every joke made about them. "Let's talk about the results of our did-Larry-bomb online instant-poll!" (And that's setting aside the three hour pre-speech/red carpet coverage.)
posted by jimw at 11:46 AM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


I thought Wilmore was every bit as much a truth-teller as Colbert was, only his target was the audience he was facing and not the guy on the podium, so it was more uncomfortable for everyone involved. It's an amazing speech, it just was difficult.
posted by hippybear at 11:49 AM on May 1, 2016 [10 favorites]


Wilmore's CNN and print media jokes were so derivative they could pass AP calculus.
posted by humanfont at 11:59 AM on May 1, 2016 [12 favorites]


I don't think I've seen a single US media source mention the Trudeau joke, but boy is it all over Canadian media. Once again, hey! the cool guys noticed us, *swoon*. It's funny to read conservatives react to it as if it was Obama's true feelings revealed.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 12:12 PM on May 1, 2016


The man has some great comic timing
posted by octothorpe at 12:17 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


This whole year must be weird as shit for Obama. "This is the last time I speak at the dinner, this is the last time I ride in the Beast" etc.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:20 PM on May 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


I mean, normally when you're scheduled to leave a job you kinda wind down a bit, can chill out. His job goes right up until 11:59am next January whatever, 20th, and then BOOM. Over. Weird.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:21 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


Did Obama edit that Boehner video himself?! You're the leader of the free world and you can't get someone to polish your video? LOL

Hillary Clinton on the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

I bet she's a great cusser in private.
posted by sallybrown at 12:24 PM on May 1, 2016 [5 favorites]


Staff from The Sunlight Foundation asked the journalists, celebrities and Beltway power brokers leaving a White House Correspondents Dinner party at the St. Regis Hotel on Friday night if they would donate the pricy swag bags doled out at the party as charity to the organization. Donations were not exactly forthcoming.
posted by T.D. Strange at 12:38 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


I could be wrong, but I saw the mic drop as being a coda to his entire presidency, not just his speech.
posted by Splunge at 12:50 PM on May 1, 2016 [17 favorites]


"I reported on Washington's biggest party for journalists. Now I'm an outcast":
I covered the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner for a decade as a reporter for Politico, the Washington Examiner and mediabistro’s FishbowlDC website, and I watched it grow from a relatively tame event during the George W. Bush administration into what it is nowadays: A nearly week-long affair that brings in an endless parade of celebrities, corporate sponsorships and “related” parties (two dozen at this point). ...

I left my job at Politico at that time to work on my first documentary, “Nerd Prom: Inside Washington’s Wildest Week,” and what I initially intended to be a rather simple, innocent portrait of an interesting event turned into a critical look at Washington’s biggest annual event as my reporting inevitably revealed some ugly truths. What was billed as a celebration of journalism, political correspondents and college scholarships was nothing more than a fabulous business, marketing and branding opportunity for endless entities.
I thought Wilmore killed it with his fantastic set, and Obama had a pretty good set, too. CNN, MSNBC, Don Lemon, Wolf Blitzer, and Morning Joe all got exactly what they had coming to them, and it was a rare joy to see that sea of uncomfortable faces staring back at Wilmore from the audience. Cheers to Wilmore for afflicting the comfortable. Shades of Colbert in 2006.
posted by dialetheia at 12:50 PM on May 1, 2016 [14 favorites]


I agree with the posts contending that Wilmore brought it like Colbert. He kept it one hundred and that audience could not bear it. At least Don Lemon had a sense of humor but the rest, fuck you all you joyless, clueless pack of simpering charlatans and sycophants.
posted by Ber at 12:56 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


I dunno, Clinton is delightfully dorky, and her campaign/public image is finally accepting that. She'll do great.

This. She's Leslie Knope. That's not a bad thing.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:25 PM on May 1, 2016 [10 favorites]


I think Clinton is a lot more Selena Meyer than Leslie Knope.
posted by an animate objects at 1:29 PM on May 1, 2016 [8 favorites]


Next year at this time, someone else will be standing here in this very spot and it’s anyone guess who she will be.

Heh.
posted by happyroach at 1:47 PM on May 1, 2016 [6 favorites]


This. She's Leslie Knope. That's not a bad thing.

Now I want her VP pick to be Nick Offerman.
posted by beerperson at 1:52 PM on May 1, 2016 [11 favorites]




Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign.

Kendall Jenner glowers and begins planning her 2032 presidential campaign.
posted by Knappster at 1:57 PM on May 1, 2016 [8 favorites]


That joke about Reince Priebus thinking he had earned a night off killed me.
posted by 4ster at 2:51 PM on May 1, 2016 [7 favorites]


Comedy isn't funny until Vox shows up to explain it to us!
posted by incessant at 3:02 PM on May 1, 2016 [12 favorites]


Now I want her VP pick to be Nick Offerman.

I would actually vote for that ticket.
posted by entropicamericana at 3:42 PM on May 1, 2016


Obama got in some good, if mild, digs. The Boehner bit was clumsy but hilarious when no fucks left to give Boehner gladly accepted the wine glass, and had my sides splitting when he was trying to entice Obama with smokes.

"9 more months, Michelle."

He WILL be missed and handled the job better than the loyal opposition or the press corps, for that matter, handled theirs.
posted by Max Power at 3:42 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


Excellent work, Mr. Wilmore. The Zodiac killer and Super Predator Mike jokes were on point.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 3:50 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


Obama got in a real good one with that Red Wedding bit. Massacres at weddings is a theme for the guy, I guess.
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 4:14 PM on May 1, 2016 [8 favorites]


If Trump ends up cratering the Republican party for a decade, then you'd have to credit Obama for getting him to run.
posted by rdr at 4:15 PM on May 1, 2016 [7 favorites]


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

Disputed.
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:41 PM on May 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


8 MORE YEARS! 8 MORE YEARS!
posted by vrakatar at 5:35 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


Nothing against Dame Helen Mirren--I love her--but what kind of juice has she got to be sitting at Biden's table right next to him?
posted by fuse theorem at 5:40 PM on May 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


Nothing against Dame Helen Mirren--I love her--but what kind of juice has she got to be sitting at Biden's table right next to him?

For an answer to that, I point you to her Wikipedia page, not her actual Wikipedia page, but her awards Wikipedia page (awards include Emmy, Tony, Golden Globes, Academy, SAG, BAFTA TV, BAFTA Film).

A better question, perhaps, is what makes Biden think he's got the juice to be sitting at Dame Helen Mirren's table?
posted by el io at 5:46 PM on May 1, 2016 [28 favorites]


I remember an interview with Bill Clinton where he said one of the unexpected post-Presidency moments was being driven somewhere by the secret service and his driver stopped for a red light. It was an example of the kind of perspective warp that comes as President. The Presidential motorcade doesn't stop.
posted by humanfont at 5:47 PM on May 1, 2016 [21 favorites]


Even In DC, the Presidential motorcade coming by is a spectacle. Street cops close down the route about an hour before the President comes through, then you'll see the first advance motorcycles making sure the route is secure, followed by the lead police escort coming through at full speed. Then a never ending parade of black SUVs, two giant black limos, more SUVs, and finally the trailing ambulance and police end escorts, all flying through the streets of DC at 45-50mph+ like it was occupied Baghdad. The first time I saw it come by, I was surprised they were filming the whole time out of at least one of the SUVs equipped with a top mounted movie camera. Im sure Im on a tape labeled "April 2010" someplace in the Secret Service archives, drinking a beer on the bar patio with a stupid look on my face as they whipped by on the way home from the Women's Voter Value Lunch or something.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:56 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


So it turns out for once - just once - I'm more easily offended than metafilter... The joke about Michelle being a prisoner in the white house?

Well actually I thought it's probably harmless and moderately funny. But I fully expected it to take over this thread by the time I checked in. Well, well.

Also, can somebody explain the C.P.T. joke to me?
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 6:12 PM on May 1, 2016


In SF the path to the hotel goes right by the Hotel Utah, so you can get a seat and a pint of Anchor and watch it all go down.
posted by rhizome at 6:13 PM on May 1, 2016


The CPT joke was a shot at Hillary.
posted by rdr at 6:17 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


The only time I've seen the motorcade was on the freeway here in LA. The direction I was headed in was completely backed up and not moving. Meanwhile all five lanes going the other direction were perfectly clear. I didn't even realize the president was in town, so I had no idea what was going on and it was the weirdest looking thing I'd seen. Then all of a sudden all the SUVs and police on bikes and limousines and such came driving by and I figured it out.

The traffic radio always seems to give warnings now about the president's visits because of the problems it causes, but I think they might be getting better about reducing the impact. Last time he was doing some fundraiser right by my apartment and it didn't delay me getting home too much. Road closings and detours, yes, but traffic at least was moving. I don't see why they can't just use a helicopter or something though. Seems like it'd be easier for everyone.
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:25 PM on May 1, 2016


Thanks for the pointer to the VSB page, that led to so many great articles!
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 6:41 PM on May 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


It just depends on where he's going. They do use the helicopters, I've seen the helicopter 'motorcade' flying overhead a bunch of times living a mile from the Pentagon for the last 7 years (four identical choppers in formation, if you're wondering). But if he's in LA, or St. Louis, or Topeka, there's only so many buildings with a helipad, and he's not going to land in a random Walmart parking lot and walk or rappel out of Marine One to speak to the Asian-American Alliance of San Francisco (well, actually W might have done that, but not Obama).
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:45 PM on May 1, 2016


Nothing against Dame Helen Mirren--I love her--but what kind of juice has she got to be sitting at Biden's table right next to him?

That's just the level of VIP treatment you earn when you arrive draped in purple lace and a Prince-symbol temporary [?] tattoo.
posted by sallybrown at 8:00 PM on May 1, 2016 [2 favorites]


The Literal Rage -

1) Endorsing Bernie six months too late. Because Obama straight up declared for Team Bernie right there. He had two sick burns on Bernie, and they were friendly and playful. Hillary got one boost. Just one. This was his Secretary of State.

2) I wonder if it was an accident of the camera, or did Obama, the most ruthless of whistleblower prosecutors kinda blend into the curtains, bloodvessels visible at his temples, when talking about the importance of a free press.

The Sweet Heat -

1) He is going to stick around DC a few years. He will be your next Supreme Court Justice, and he will mobilize his mighty machine if you do that for him.

2) Biden is Option Zero. If the convention somehow gets contested, Biden will have one term while the Dems get their bench in order. It was all but explained in minute detail by Anne Rice that Biden, Dame Hellen Mirrem and Blomberg were A Thing. You would be horrified, but a sweet Corvette and a vintage Vincent Black Shadow and a man who had no idea what he was missing all met in the same seedy garage somewhere in Wilmington.

We will all reconvene at tumblr for their continued adventures.

3) Obama is gonna bring his machine to bear in the election anyway. I mean, I was cackling like one of the hyenas in "The Lion King" every-goddamn-time the phrase "The Donald" escaped his lips. There were so many black people in that audience... awesome.

4) Boehner straight up admitted a large segment of his own party was white supremacist, and he hated them for being white supremacist. He mocked and belittled them for it.

Kinda awesome.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:20 PM on May 1, 2016 [5 favorites]


He is going to stick around DC a few years. He will be your next Supreme Court Justice

Reservations on executive power aside, it would fucking serve the GOP right if they stonewalled the chance to confirm a moderate, even conservative leaning, milquetoast technocrat in Merrick Garland, and Hilary came in with a Senate majority to nominate NoFucks Obama instead.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:44 PM on May 1, 2016 [19 favorites]


"The guy wanted to give his hotel business a boost, and now we're praying Cleveland makes it through July. Heh. Heh heh."

That just captures this crazy election cycle.
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:02 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]


I love Obama, he is the first president that I felt great respect for even though he was not able to do all that I hoped and has done a lot that I hate. I am just so glad Obama was not assassinated. Seriously. I have spent the last eight years waiting for it. I've never expressed this to anyone before because I thought saying it would make it happen and I am not a superstitious person. At this point I feel like it just won't happen, it's too late for the meaning it would carry. I look forward to the good he will do in his post-presidency. I think he will be amazing.
posted by Belle O'Cosity at 10:57 PM on May 1, 2016 [12 favorites]


What really stood out for me about Wilmore's run was that his audience only seemed comfortable laughing about Trump, Cruz...or any joke Wilmore made about a black person or black people. Note how Wilmore's dig at Blitzer got a completely cold reception, but everyone felt fine about laughing at Don Lemon.

Blitzer is no better than Lemon. Honestly, Blitzer is as much an embarrassment to CNN as...well, most of the rest of CNN, to be honest. The fact that nobody laughed at so many of Wilmore's jokes said to me that the media can't actually take honest criticism, whether delivered with humor or seriousness.

Seriously: less than a year from now, our TV news media will be FULL of brow-furrowing and head-scratching conversations where they ask themselves, "How could Trump have POSSIBLY gotten so far?"

"Why didn't anyone hold his feet to the fire on anything?" Blitzer will wonder.

"How did Trump get away with so much free media coverage?" Scarborough will ask with a completely straight face.

Wilmore killed. His audience couldn't afford to admit it.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:49 PM on May 1, 2016 [15 favorites]


My favourite Reince Priebus joke is that if you take out the vowels, you get 'RNC PR BS'.
posted by adept256 at 12:41 AM on May 2, 2016 [22 favorites]


I was watching this at three am and let out a distressingly loud caw of laughter at the gag of Obama the skull with Michelle
posted by angrycat at 12:43 AM on May 2, 2016


I wonder if it was an accident of the camera, or did Obama, the most ruthless of whistleblower prosecutors kinda blend into the curtains, bloodvessels visible at his temples, when talking about the importance of a free press.

U.S. Ranks 41st In Press Freedom Index Thanks To 'War On Whistleblowers'
posted by homunculus at 12:44 AM on May 2, 2016 [5 favorites]


Obama’s War on Journalists

Attorney General Eric Holder has said that he doesn’t want the Obama administration’s leak prosecutions “to be his legacy.” But he has also trumpeted the cases—six and counting—in response to criticism from Senate Republicans. “We have tried more leak cases—brought more leak cases during the course of this administration than any other administration,” Holder said before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year.

This shouldn’t be a source of pride, even the fake point-scoring kind. In light of the Justice Department’s outrageously broad grab of the phone records of reporters and editors at the Associated Press, the administration’s unprecedented criminalizing of leaks has become embarrassing. This is not what Obama’s supporters thought they were getting. Obama the candidate strongly supported civil liberties and protections for whistle-blowers. Obama the president risks making government intrusion into the investigative work of the press a galling part of his legacy.


Careful with that mic, Eugene.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:00 AM on May 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

This is a "false narrative," according to the Post and Trump, who claims he had a great old time sitting there while Obama ribbed him five years ago. But, it's all an echo chamber of meaninglessness anyway, so the broader point is well-taken.
posted by blucevalo at 7:06 AM on May 2, 2016


False narrative?! You just wait 'till Kendall Jenner runs in four years! Thanks Obama!
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by P.o.B. at 9:20 AM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


Endorsing Bernie six months too late. Because Obama straight up declared for Team Bernie right there.

I . . . what? Did we watch different performances? You realize his use of the terms "comrade" and "bright young face" were sarcastic, right?

I thought Wilmore was great. I am not surprised at all the room wasn't laughing, his performance was half a roast, half black comic routine. I think any stumbles or delivery issues were totally outweighed by the spectacle of a whole room of fancy White people getting uncomfortable and pissed, and someone calling Obama out on drone strikes on stage to his face.
posted by Anonymous at 9:51 AM on May 2, 2016


Obama: "Next year someone else will be in this very spot, and it's anyone's guess who she will be"

feckless fecal fear mongering: "Clinton is delightfully dorky, and her campaign/public image is finally accepting that. She'll do great"



May the great Atheismo hear you both. I am going to miss Obama, and I really want to like Hillary. I have made peace with the fact that Bernie won't make it. Please Hillary don't disappoint!
posted by Tarumba at 10:25 AM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


I totally enjoyed the whole thing. Wilmore said exactly what he always say on his show, except now it's to their face; I can't wait to see his episode tonight. The jokes that bombed are the same ones that would bomb on his show, but that's still above average compared to your typical late night shows.

Obama was so good. I could watch him do so much more standup.
posted by numaner at 5:09 PM on May 2, 2016


I watched Wilmore last night, and Obama tonight. Obama has me... bored? He clearly has the room in his hand, and I'm pretty sure that most of Wilmore's jokes didn't amuse the room because Obama was generous enough to laugh at Wilmore's jokes about himself, but also generous enough to Wilmore's other targets not to laugh at jokes about them. Obama dominated the room even when he wasn't behind the microphone. So Obama's cool politeness is part of why Wilmore bombed, I think. But I enjoyed Wilmore much more anyway.
posted by clawsoon at 5:56 PM on May 2, 2016


The US has improved from 48th to 41st in the rankings since 2008 during the Obama administration. We now rank above France.
posted by humanfont at 6:05 PM on May 2, 2016


Sure, we're all laughing now, but it was Obama's ridicule in 2011 that sparked Trump's 2016 campaign. So.

Charles Pierce: For My Money, Donald Trump Has Never Gotten Over This Event From 5 Years Ago: Remember the White House Correspondents' Dinner? The bin Laden one?
posted by homunculus at 6:48 PM on May 2, 2016


Huh, the story I heard is that Trump decided to run when Christie announced, and that it was supposedly a revenge plot (based in something I can't find right now) to prevent Christie from ever becoming President.
posted by rhizome at 7:10 PM on May 2, 2016


Terry Gross interviewed Larry Wilmore on Fresh Air and they talk about the WHCD speech. I'm listening now.

Larry Wilmore On 'Breaking Taboos' At The White House Correspondents' Dinner
posted by kyp at 2:45 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]




Obama is (clearly) actually quite gifted when it comes to charisma and sense of comedic timing, but man this event always really just sticks in my craw. For some reason the Red Wedding joke in particular was bothering me, and I finally just realized why: because if a regular person had made a joke like that anywhere near the Correspondent's Dinner, he or she would probably be stashed away somewhere deep in Guantanamo Bay by now.
posted by threeants at 3:22 PM on May 4, 2016






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