Obama, Spielberg debut ‘Obama’ movie spoof at White House Correspondents’ dinner (VIDEO)
President Barack Obama reacts to a joke told by comedian Conan O’Brien during the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) in Washington, District of Columbia, U.S., on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
President Obama was in fine form at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, enlisting Steven Spielberg and other big Hollywood names to "premier" a spoof documentary about him.
The "Obama" mocumentary clip featured Obama pretending to be Daniel Day-Lewis (who is method-acting as Obama, so the joke goes.) Joe Biden's role was played by Tracy Morgan.
"I mean, the guy's already a lame duck, so why wait?" Spielberg said of the president in the joke preview.
"Was it hard playing Obama?" the President asks in the short clip. "Well, his accent took a while."
"Understanding his motivations was hard," he says later. "Why did he pursue healthcare first? What makes him tick?"
The president didn't stop at himself, however: during his speech, he also managed to poke fun at Jimmy Fallon, Jay-Z, NBC, the History Channel, Michael Douglas, Taylor Swift, Oprah, Groucho Marx, Aaron Sorkin, and Conan O'Brien, the evening's host.
The dinner, attended by around 3,000 guests dining at the Washington Hilton, was originally conceived as a way for journalists to meet with government officials, but has recently become a full-on celebrity party — a "nerd prom" as some call it.
And of course, many take the opportunity to poke fun at the elite who attend the dinner. Here, some of the best reactions on Twitter:
Without federal support, local stations, especially in rural and underserved areas, face deep cuts or even closure. Vital public service alerts, news, storytelling, and programming like The World will be impacted. The World has weathered many storms, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to being your trusted source for human-centered international news, shared with integrity and care. We believe public media is about truth and access for all. As an independent, nonprofit newsroom, we aren’t controlled by billionaire owners or corporations. We are sustained by listeners like you.
Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World.