Former President Donald Trump has responded to a widely shared incident from the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which he was famously made fun of by then-President Barack Obama. Trump was present at the time and had recently been a prominent figure in spreading the false “birther” conspiracy, which cast doubt on Obama’s U.S. citizenship. In order to quell claims that he was not born in the US, Obama released his complete birth certificate after the dinner. Trump claimed to have succeeded where others had failed, and he had claimed credit for the release. Obama made Trump the focus of a scathing comedy segment and used the occasion to publicly mock him.
Obama mockingly praised Trump in a now-viral video from the dinner for resolving the birth certificate controversy so he could concentrate on more important matters, such as the moon landing and Biggie and Tupac’s whereabouts. He also made fun of Trump’s leadership style by making jokes about his choices on Celebrity Apprentice. Seth Meyers, a comedian, responded with more insults, implying that Trump was only running for president as a joke. Trump was clearly uncomfortable as the event swiftly devolved into a roast, and many people think it was a major factor in his decision to run for president later.
In a recent video on Truth Social, Trump addressed the incident, portraying the dinner as the catalyst for his political aspirations rather than his public humiliation. The event was referred to as “the beginning,” not “the end,” of Trump’s journey in the video. This post comes after Trump launched fresh attacks on Obama, including treason charges and a deepfake video purporting to show Obama being taken into custody.