President Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents' dinner
President Barack Obama took aim at presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney during his speech at the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner.
As The Times (£) pointed out, “it is meant to be Washington’s night of bonhomie, when the Capitol Hill elite put aside their political differences for a party known as the Nerd Prom”. But Obama still found room in his speech for a swipe at Romney’s vast personal fortune: “It’s great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton ballroom. Or as Mitt Romney would call it, a little fixer-upper.” Obama also referenced the notorious incident in which the former Massachusetts governor strapped the family dog to the roof of his car.
The Democrat incumbment included some self-deprecating humour, pointing to the recent Secret Service sex scandal: the president joked that he had to finish his speech because “I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew.” Obama opened his speech with a “hot mic” skit, making comments while pretending he didn’t realize his microphone was on: “What am I doing here? I have the nuclear codes, why am I telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian?” Political commentators were quick to note this was a reference to the president’s open-mic error with outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in March.
See below for President Barack Obama’s White House Correspondents’ dinner 2012 speech.
At the White House Correspondents’ dinner in 2011, Obama hit back at Donald Trump over the business mogul’s comments over his birth certificate. And the president didn’t let Trump forget it: “Last year at this time, in fact on this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world’s most notorious individuals,” said Obama, as the ballroom’s screens showed a picture of Trump.
Watch President Barack Obama’s swipe at Donald Trump and the “birthers” at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ dinner.