When President Donald Trump announced he would attend the annual Gridiron Club Dinner last month, many wondered whether he would be able to joke about sensitive subjects like himself and his administration.
The dinner, hosted in Washington and attended by hundreds of journalists, is similar to the White House Corespondents’ Dinner in that it is replete with roasts and laughter. But for a president who rarely provides the country with laughs — and who opted out of attending both dinners last year — the spotlight on his jokes at the dinner was all the brighter.
Add to the mix his administration’s struggles in some key policy areas, Trump’s harshly critical tweets, and an ongoing investigation Russian meddling in the 2016 election that has inched closer to Trump’s orbit, and one question jumps out: Does the President ever stop to joke about it all?
Indeed he does, as only Trump can.
“My staff was concerned that I couldn’t do self-deprecating humor,” Trump said. “And I told them not to worry, nobody does self-deprecating humor better than I do.”
Before launching into a litany of humorous jokes at both his and his administration’s expense, Trump told the room of journalists that even Sen. Orrin Hatch — the Utah Republican whose over-the-top praise of Trump after the GOP passed its tax cut bill garnered him some notice — even agreed that he is the best at self-deprecating humor.
“Orrin said that ‘Donald Trump is the best at self-deprecation in the history of America. Better than Washington and better than Lincoln,'” Trump said.
Here are five of the President’s top jokes from the dinner:
On Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Russia investigation:
“I offered him a ride over, and he recused himself. What are you gonna do? But that’s OK.”
On the “failing New York Times”:
“You, The New York Times, are an icon. I’m a New York icon, you’re a New York icon. And the only difference is, I still own my buildings.”
On Vice President Mike Pence’s “Graham rule:”:
“The other day we were in line shaking hands with men and women, and a woman came over to shake his hand and he said, ‘I’m sorry I can’t do that, my wife is not here.’ He’s 25 years ahead of his time, folks.”
On talk of impeachment:
“Lately, [Pence has been] showing a particularly keen interest in the news these days. He starts out each morning asking everyone, ‘Has he been impeached yet?’ Mike, you can’t be impeached when there’s no crime, please remember that.”
On Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton:
“We’re also honored to be joined by Secretary Steve Mnuchin. You saw him and his beautiful wife on stage before. A lot of energy in that room. When she asked whether or not she could sign the money, I said, ‘Steve, you’ve got a lot to handle.’ I said, ‘You can’t do that, Steven.'”