“Nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do. It’s not even close,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at the annual Gridiron Dinner this weekend.
Trump, who skipped last year’s dinner, kicked off an evening of good-natured banter with political rivals and the press by saying he “was very excited to receive this invitation and ruin your evening in person. That’s why I accepted.”
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Trump largely shelved his ongoing criticism of the media and remained in good spirits throughout the event, though occasionally slipped into his recurring talking points about the 2016 election and media bias.
The annual dinner of the Gridiron Club and Foundation, now in its 133rd year, traces its history to 1885, the year President Grover Cleveland refused to attend.
Every president since has come to at least one Gridiron dinner. Active membership in the Gridiron club is limited to 65 Washington-based journalists.
Controversies fair game
Trump poked fun at several members of his own administration, which has been embroiled in controversy since he took office, throughout the night.
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On his son-in-law’s recent security clearance downgrade, the president joked, “We were late tonight because Jared could not get through security.” Trump also hinted that his former chief strategist Steve Bannon “leaked more than the Titanic.”
Another crowd favourite was Trump’s comment on Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the investigation into Russian collusion with his campaign. “I offered him a ride over and he recused himself. What are you going to do?” the president jibed.
Poked fun at ongoing feud with the media
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Toward the end of his remarks, Trump laughingly revisited his election-night victory.
He recalled the close race in Michigan, saying the media wouldn’t call it for him, and chided reporters to be impartial in their coverage. He assured journalists however, that it was all in good fun.
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“I just want to say this — this is one of the best times I’ve had with the media. This might be the most fun I’ve had since watching your faces on election night.”
While he largely stayed away from raising his issues with the press, the president’s true feelings seeped through every now and then.
“I’m a New York icon. You’re a New York icon. And the only difference is I still own my buildings.”
Musical skits depicted Pelosi, Clinton
As part of the dinner’s tradition, journalists performed musical skits and parodies of well-known songs, masquerading as newsmakers.
One attendee playing Hillary Clinton offered her version of the song “You’re So Vain,” with the title referring to her, but the lyrics aimed at the president: “You walked into my West Wing/My White House or so I thought/Your tie strategically dropped below your belt/Your hair it was apricot.”
Another performed a rewrite of “I’m Against It,” a song from the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup, in their depiction of Nancy Pelosi.
Dreamers and the 2020 election
The president also joked about the ongoing Dreamers issue during his remarks, looking ahead to the next U.S. election.
“But we were talking about the Dreamers and quite honestly, Democrats can fantasize all they want about winning in 2020 … those are the dreamers,” he said.
North Korea came up — once or twice
While Trump and the other guests largely stayed away from the topic of tensions with North Korea, the president made a few select comments about the hostile regime that may or may not have been part of the joke.
“As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine,” Trump said.
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He added that North Korea had “called up a couple of days ago” to say they would be open for talks. “I said so would we, but you have to de-nuke.”
— With files from the Associated Press
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