Some of Obama's best jokes involve his potential GOP challengers and birthers. | REUTERS Obama jokes about GOP rivals

President Barack Obama is historically very diplomatic — even when discussing his most vociferous opponents. But at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night, he poked fun at many of his prospective 2012 GOP challengers, including Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and of course, Donald Trump.

His best barbs:


“Michele Bachmann is here. She is considering running for president. Which is weird, because I hear she was born in Canada. Yes, Michele, this is how it starts.”

“Jon Huntsman is with us. There’s something you might now know about Jon. He didn’t learn to speak Chinese to go there. Oh no. He learned English to come here.”

“There’s a vicious rumor floating around that I think could really hurt Mitt Romney. I heard he passed universal health care when he was governor of Massachusetts. Someone should really get to the bottom of that.”

Tim Pawlenty’s real name? According to President Obama, it’s Hosni, as in ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. “That’s unfortunate,” the president deadpanned.

As for Trump, the president said his decision to release his original, long-form birth certificate this week must have been a big relief for the New York real estate mogul. “He can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”