'Comedian-In-Chief' Obama to Deliver Final White House Correspondents Dinner Speech
President Obama will participate in his final White House Correspondents Dinner.
— -- It's a comedy routine two presidential terms in the making, with Saturday marking the final time President Obama will don his "Comedian-In-Chief" hat to roast the press, politicians and celebrities at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.
Over the years, President Obama has used the dinner to cast a comedic light on some of the day's political headlines and laugh off his critics.
In his first dinner speech back in 2009, Obama opened by telling the audience he wanted to speak "from the heart," which was immediately followed by two teleprompters rising up from the floor.
"Pause for laughter," he joked.
In 2014, Obama chose to laugh off the disastrous rollout of his signature healthcare.gov website, simply saying, "that could have gone better."
"In 2008 my slogan was, 'Yes We Can,'" Obama said. "In 2013 my slogan was, 'Control-Alt-Delete.'"
But among his most notable roasts was that of now-GOP frontrunner Donald Trump at the height of the "birther" controversy in 2011 that resulted in Obama holding a press conference to release his birth certificate.
"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," Obama said. "And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter –- like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"
Trump has again dominated political headlines over the past year, but inside the Obama administration, it has been no laughing matter. Obama himself has called out Trump's rhetoric against Mexican immigrants and Muslims as "dangerous" and detrimental to U.S. interests around the world.
Two weeks ago, Trump blamed the media for his decision not to attend this year's dinner, saying, "I would have a good time and the press would say I look like I wasn't having a good time."
Asked whether Trump would be a prime target in Obama's routine this year, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Friday he didn't want to give away any spoilers.
"I don't think that ducking in the room means that you are going to avoid some attention in the speeches," Earnest said. "But we'll see."
In a Friday preview of the president's speech in The New York Times, former Obama speechwriter and writer at "Funny or Die" David Litt walked through what it's like pitching jokes to the president and offered up what he expected to hear in his final speech.
"For weeks, writers in and outside the White House have submitted hundreds of jokes, and only a handful of my former colleagues know which 35 or 40 will make the final cut," Litt said. "A safe bet, however, is that at least a few of the president’s one-liners will look back on the last eight years. He’ll have plenty of material to work with."
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