President Obama has hosted his final White House Correspondents' Dinner (or as the POTUS dubbed it, Nerd Prom) and the affair was one that had no shortage of glamorous attire, jokes, dogs and mic drops, yes mic drops.
In attendance at the star-studded gathering were journalistic luminaries like Ariana Huffington, Melissa Harris-Perry, Matt Viser and Norah O'Donnell. Viser received the Merriam Smith Memorial Award for deadline reporting, while O'Donnell received the award for broadcast journalism according to Boston.com. The who's who of Hollywood was also well represented at the dinner. DJ Khaled, Steve Aoki, Karlie Kloss, Emily Ratajkowsi and Kendall Jenner were just some of the celebrities who graced 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with their presence. Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher attended and brought her therapy dog Gary along too. Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders made an appearance as did John Kerry. But noticeably absent were Sanders' fellow Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton and Republican front runner Donald Trump. The absences did not go unnoticed by President Obama.
"I am a little hurt [Donald Trump] is not here tonight. We had so much fun the last time. And it is surprising. You've got a room full of reporters, celebrities, cameras and he says no. Is this dinner too tacky for The Donald? What could he possibly be doing instead? Is he at home, eating a Trump steak, tweeting out insults to Angela Merkel," he said adding, "There is one area where The Donald's experience could be useful, and that is closing Guantanamo — Donald knows a thing or two about running waterfront properties into the ground."
Speaking of jokes, the shade was in abundance at this year's dinner and no one was safe. Not even Hillary Clinton, a candidate for Obama's own party and his former secretary of state. According to US, the President felt that Hillary's attempt to appeal to younger voters was not unlike “your relative who just signed up for Facebook," he said. "Dear America, did you get my poke? Is it appearing on your wall? I’m not sure I’m using this right," he joked.
Despite the fact that the POTUS was on a roll with his jokes, he was not the comedian of the night. That honor went to host Larry Wilmore although some of his jokes fell a bit flatter.
"All I’m saying is that in less than eight years, Mr. President, you've busted two time-honored stereotypes: Black does crack and, apparently, once you go black, it looks like we are going back. Thanks, Ben Carson," Wilmore said.
However, near the end of his speech, Wilmore did have a moment of sincerity. "I've always joked that I voted for the president because he's black. But behind that joke is the humble appreciation for the historical implications for what your presidency means. When I was a kid, I lived in a country where people couldn't accept a black quarterback. Now think about that. A black man was thought, by his mere color, not good enough to lead a football team. And now to live in your time, Mr. President, when a black man can lead the entire free world. Words alone do me no justice," he said. Wilmore then closed a bit more controversially by saying, "Yo Barry, you did it my n***a."
Another starstruck celeb was none other than Kendall Jenner. According to Cosmopolitan.com President Obama apparently asked her to say hi to Kim and Kanye for him. "I was like 'Okay,'" she said.
"She's already Instagrammed it," Kris Jenner said, "I know she's proud. She's all over it." But a meeting with the President wasn't exactly what got captured on Kendall's Insta.
honored to be here #WHCD #RockTheVote
A photo posted by Kendall Jenner (@kendalljenner) on
Easily the most memorable moment of all happened during the final words spoken by the leader of the free world during his speech.
"So this night is a testament to all of you who have devoted your lives to that idea, who push to shine a light on the truth every single day. So I want to close my final White House Correspondents’ Dinner by just saying thank you. I’m very proud of what you’ve done. It has been an honor and a privilege to work side by side with you to strengthen our democracy. And with that, I just have two more words to say -– Obama out," he said before blessing us with the first and most epic presidential mic drop. Ever.
Watch the full dinner here:
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