He poked fun at some of Hollywood's top stars, including Kim Kardashian, the cast of Glee and Donald Trump, sending him up with a seemingly serious allusion to the attack on Osama bin Laden, which took place during last year's dinner.
"My fellow Americans, we gather during a historic anniversary. Last year at this time, in fact on this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world's most notorious individuals," Obama told the audience of journalists and celebs before showing an unflattering photo of Trump on t he big screens inside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton.
The gag got huge laughs, as did a bit where Obama said he'd look like Morgan Freeman in a few years and poked fun at himself and Mitt Romney and their relationships with their respective dogs.
He ended his clever speech, by saying he had even more material to share, but there was just one catch. "I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew," he joked, referring to the agency's recent prostitution scandal.
Even the entrance to his speech was part of his schtick. The president walked off stage just before he took the podium with an alleged "hot mic," making fun of getting caught last month on an open microphone with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
"What am I doing here," he asks off stage. "I'm opening for Jimmy Kimmel and telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian."
The official comedian of the evening, Jimmy Kimmel, got plenty of big laughs of his own. He took a number of jabs at the president, opening with "Remember when the country rallied around you in the hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious," Kimmel said as Obama smiled on. "That was your best one yet."
Pop culture targets like Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Keith Olbermann and Rush Limbaugh were not spared in Kimmel's lengthy routine either, as he advised heroic airplane pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to be careful when giving Lohan a ride home. "Make sure you don't run into a goose - a Grey Goose," he said.
Before the dinner, Kelly Ripa (one of USA TODAY's guests) said she was thrilled to be in D.C. and was surprised at the magnitude of the event. "It's much bigger than I anticipated it," the petite star, in Peter Som, said. "I thought we'd be in the Obamas' kitchen, sitting around with just a few USA TODAY reporters, and us, but it really is very glamorous."
Big Bang Theory star Johnny Galecki, another USA TODAY guest, said that his first time at the Correspondents Dinner was special because of his family history.
"It's absolutely surreal. For me, honestly, it's incredibly touching to call my mother in the car on the way here, and tell her, 'Mama, I'm going to the presidential dinner.' It's really amazing," said Galekci, who brought Pan Am actress girlfriend Kelli Garner along as his date. "My parents were very political and did a lot of protesting in Chicago and Detroit and raised me with an idea that dissent is not only your right, but your obligation when you're passionate about something. I hope I've done them proud."
An Yves Saint Laurent-clad Kris Jenner sat with daughter Kim Kardashian at the front of the ballroom and said she was having the time of her life at her first Correspondents Dinner, where she looked forward to rubbing elbows with plenty of Washington movers and shakers. "I would love to see Colin Powell; I think he was my dinner partner when Bruce (Jenner) and I came to the White House in the '90s."
The intersection of Washington and Hollywood comes into sharp focus, as members of Congress, governors and the president hobnob with stars such as Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige, Reese Witherspoon, Claire Danes, Daniel Radcliffe, George Clooney and many more.
"It's very interesting; I like the mesh of people," said Alicia Keys, who stayed close to husband Swizz Beatz. "The convergence of all politics and entertainment, it's very interesting."
Proceeds from the dinner go toward scholarships for aspiring journalists and awards for distinction in the profession.
The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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