White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Bryan Cranston, Tom Hiddleston & More Indie Celebs Attend ‘Nerd Prom’
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place last night, with President Obama taking to the podium for the last time. He’s proven a talented zinger-in-chief at past editions of the event, and lived up to his reputation this time around: Obama ended his remarks with a mic drop that would impress even the most jaded of MCs.
“If this material works well,” Obama said early on in a dig at Hillary Clinton, “I’m gonna use it at Goldman Sachs next year — earn me some serious Tubmans.” The other side of the aisle wasn’t spared either, of course. Obama mentioned how his poll numbers keep rising, joking that no one can figure out why — and then showing a picture of Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Of the latter, the president joked that “The guy wanted to give his hotel business a boost, and now we’re praying that Cleveland makes it through July.”
Obama was followed by “The Nightly Show” host Larry Wilmore, whose jokes were more cutting and elicited fewer laughs from the journo-heavy crowd. Wilmore took aim at the media, referring to Don Lemon as “an alleged journalist” and Wolf Blitzer as a drone. After poking fun at the president as well, he ended on a more sincere note: “Words alone do me no justice. So, Mr. President, I’m going to keep it 100: Yo Barry, you did it my n—a. You did it.”
Among this year’s celebrity guests were Helen Mirren, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hiddleston, Kendall Jenner, Rosario Dawson and Miles Teller. (“I don’t even have a joke here,” Obama said after mentioning Mirren, who was seated next to Vice President Joe Biden. “I just think Helen Mirren is awesome.”) Photos of the stars, below, were taken by Ben Droz for USA Today‘s cocktail reception.
