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Trump Offers A Dose of Self Deprecating Humor at Annual Gridiron Club

March 5, 2018 By Tammy Haddad

Donald Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Photo Courtesy AP

President Donald Trump is (finally) in on the joke. Trump launched a number of zingers aimed at himself and his staff at the annual Gridiron Club dinner held in Washington, DC on Saturday, March 3rd.

The longstanding dinner hosted by the Gridiron Club, an exclusive club for Washington’s most prestigious journalists and newsroom bureau chiefs, is part of a presidential tradition dating back to 1885. In fact, every president except Grover Cleveland has spoken at the dinner at least once. The program is in the same vein as the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where presidents poke some fun at themselves in a stand-up comedy routine.

Upon the White House’s announcement that President Trump was attending the dinner, many in Washington speculated as to whether the president would be as willing to joke about himself or his administration. Donald Trump addressed those concerns right from the top saying, “My staff was concerned heading into this dinner that I couldn’t do self-deprecating humor. They were worried about it. They said, ‘Can you do this?’ And I told them not to worry. Nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do.”

He saved the best line of the night for his embattled White House senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose security clearance was recently downgraded, saying, “You know, we were late tonight because Jared could not get through security. Ivanka, you’ve got to do something.”

The Washington Post tracked responses to President Trump’s jokes. The reviews were decidedly mixed, noting that Trump was in a “room full of reporters, no few of whom he openly despises.”

You can find more highlights and reviews of the roast here.

Filed Under: News Media Tagged With: Gridiron Club, Grover Cleveland, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump, Tammy Haddad, The Washington Post, White House

"Dean of DC Press Corps" David Broder Dies

March 9, 2011 By WHC Insider

David S. Broder, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist and pundit whose political analysis and influence earned him the respect of the Washington press corps, has died at the age of 81.

The Washington Post announced Broder passed away Wednesday at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes.

Broder covered every presidential convention since 1956 and was a fixture on NBC’s “Meet the Press” since the 1960’s. He was lured away from The New York Times in August 1966 by The Washington Post’s managing editor, Benjamin C. Bradlee, who sought Broder’s help in transforming The Washington Post for a new era. Broder and The Post won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for coverage of the Watergate scandal. Broder worked on The Post’s national staff and wrote two columns a week for most of the past 40 years. His final column appeared on February 6.

For more on Broder’s notable career, read Robert Kaiser’s remembrance on WashingtonPost.com.

As TIME’s James Poniewozik points out, Broder “helped create an emerging, and hugely influential, profession: the modern electronic-media pundit.” In 2008, Broder marked a milestone with his 400th appearance on “Meet the Press.”

Filed Under: News Media Tagged With: Ben Bradlee, David Broder, Meet the Press, The Washington Post

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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
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