I Am Hopeful That Soon I Will Be Able to Laugh at This Video Again

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The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is usually one of the worst nights in DC, a chance for the city’s elite to hobnob and congratulate each other while pretending that politicians can successfully land a joke. It’s one of the few norms of the city that Donald Trump has thankfully broken. But back in 2011, when he still had some of his first-term groove and on the same night that he ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Barack Obama managed to nail some actual zingers. 

Sadly, though, those jokes have been cringeworthy to watch for the past few years since the humiliation of Obama’s takedown might have been the catalyst the imbecile-in-chief needed to start his future presidential campaign. But I hope someday soon, I might be able to just enjoy this video again without fretting over the current state of the world, not having to think about the all-too-real predictions of how a President Trump would debase the White House, because damn, Obama’s jokes slap. (And honestly, given his interest in A$AP, it is a shame that Trump hasn’t devoted any energy these past four years to figuring out what happened to Biggie and Tupac.) —Patrick Caldwell

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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