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Favreau Funny Factory

April 30, 2010 By WHC Insider

Jon Favreau, Graydon Carter at the 2009 Bloomberg & Vanity Fair Cocktail Reception
Photo - BILLY FARRELL/PatrickMcMullan.com

President Obama owned the room at the 2009 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner before some 3,000 elites in the Washington Hilton Ballroom. While the President’s charisma and innate comic timing carried him through the night, he did have a little help from his scribes.

Speechwriters Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett led the charge with timely references, including a video where the President welcomes a “Pirate” to the Oval Office (a tip of the feather-topped hat to Bloomberg Media guest Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk ship who was captured by Somali pirates in April 2009 and valiantly rescued by US Navy SEALS).

Senior Advisor David Axelrod was one of the top presidential aides who helped come up with the visual joke.

Tom Vietor, Jeff Nussbaum, Jeff Shesol, and a few other outside joke writers helped polish the President’s speech. This year, it will also be a team effort to make sure WHCA Dinner host Jay Leno will not be the only one getting laughs.

No pirates this year, but there’s bound to be a health care joke or two tickling the crowd’s funny bone.

Politico has more on what it takes to make a president funny – on purpose.

Filed Under: WHCD History Tagged With: David Axelrod, Jeff Nussbaum, Jeff Sheshol, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Richard Phillips, Tom Vietor, WHCA Dinner

Bloomberg Scores Maersk Alabama Captain for WHCD

May 8, 2009 By WHC Insider

 

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Alabama Maersk

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Alabama Maersk

Captain Richard Phillips and his wife Andrea will attend the White House Correspondents Dinner as guests of Bloomberg. Phillips, who was held hostage by Somali pirates along with his crew just weeks ago, will be among the more prominent guests at this year’s correspondents dinner — definitely one of the big “gets” for 2009.

Filed Under: Washington Events, WHCD 2009 Guests Tagged With: Andrea Phillips, Bloomberg, Richard Phillips

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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We're still reminiscing about the 2022 White House Correspondents' #GardenBrunch. Thank you, John McCarthy, Elizabeth Milias, Liz Johnson, and the UK's embassy's Senay Bulbul for joining us in supporting the media and our military veterans!
Thank you, Susan Wojcicki, Alexandra Veitch and Craig Newmark for your support of the 2022 White House Correspondents' #GardenBrunch!
Karine Jean-Pierre will replace outgoing Jen Psaki as #WhiteHouse Press Secretary on May 13, President Biden announces. Seen here at the @paramountco #WHCD #paramountafterparty
Members of the media and the administration came together to shine a light on the work of journalists and our military veterans at the 2022 White House Correspondents’ #GardenBrunch. Thank you, @tonydokoupil @jenrpsaki and @gayleking for your support! #WHCD2022 #WHCD #WHCA
We’re so grateful to the FLEX Association for their support of the 2022 #GardenBrunch. #WHCD2022 #WHCD #WHCA
Thank you to #AngelaDalton and #PeterMauric of the @web3foundation (pictured here with Alexander Vindman and daughter) for your support of the 2022 #GardenBrunch.

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