Donald Trump is rarely at a loss for words, but the roasting he got from President Obama and Seth Meyers at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner made the voluble alleged billionaire pause for at least a moment. When asked shortly after the speeches ended whether he liked the fusillade of jokes which mocked his hair, TV show, real-estate business, and newfound birtherism Trump searched for an answer before replying, quite seriously: “No, not really. Some were fun, but not the greatest.” According to multiple guests who sat near Trump during the dinner speeches, his mood shifted from playing along to unvarnished anger. Perhaps he simply wasn’t prepared?
Before the speeches began, we talked to Trump briefly at the Fox News Washington Post table. Did he think it was hypocritical to show up at this dinner after Obama released his long-form birth certificate? “No, I don’t think so at all,” he answered, refusing to elaborate in typical Trump style. Had he thought of any jokes about President Obama? “No, you always have to respect the office of the President.” Trump then talked about the new issues he wanted to focus on, like, “stopping China from pillaging our country, stopping OPEC from pillaging our country, those are the important things,” Shortly afterward, Obama would joke that Roswell and the authenticity of the first moon landing are more likely Trump targets.
Update: On Fox and Friends Sunday, Trump said, “I didn’t know that I’d be virtually the sole focus. I guess when you’re leading in the polls that sort of thing tends to happen. You raise to a certain level in the polls and boy does the world come after you. But I was certainly in a certain way having a good time listening. I don’t think the American people are having a good time with $5 gas … I was thinking to myself as they were doing this, ‘You know, the American people are really suffering and we’re all having fun at a gala.’” He added: “I thought Seth Meyers — his delivery frankly was not good. He’s a stutterer.”
