A video is shown as President Barack Obama speaks about Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington on April 30, 2011. | AP Photo 2016 31 times Trump got roasted The real estate mogul is skipping this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, but is expected to be skewered in absentia.

Five years ago to the day this Saturday, Donald Trump walked into the glitzy Washington Hilton with wife Melania in tow, ready to hobnob with D.C.'s political and media elite at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

As it turned out, Trump had walked into a buzzsaw.


In the months preceding the dinner, Trump had not so subtly flirted with a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, not taking himself out of the running until deciding weeks later in May that he was not yet ready to trade in the amber glow of Trump Tower for the harsh glare of the White House. Trump had also whipped up a frenzy of rumors and conspiracy theories that Obama was not born in the U.S. — a conspiracy theory that sucked up an inordinate amount of the White House's attention.

Obama, who revels in his sharp comedic timing, had his ultimate punchline, and he took it, hammering the real estate mogul again and again from the stage as Trump first offered a tight smile, and then sulked.

Flash forward five years and Trump now has the Republican nomination within his grasp. And while he’s said he’ll be skipping this year’s Washington-meets-Hollywood bash, Trump is expected again to be skewered, sliced and roasted.

With that in mind, here are 31 of the most incisive jokes from that night in 2011 and in the years that followed, on the campaign trail and off, all of them using Trump as a way to generate laughs at his expense:

President Barack Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner

1. "Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald. And that’s because 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?"

2. "But all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example—no, seriously, just recently, in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice—at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team cooking did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. And so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil’ Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. (Laughter.) And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled."

3. "Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there." (The screens show a White House with a sign, “Trump White House Resort and Casino.”)

Obama namechecks Trump in 2012 debate

4. "... under Governor Romney's definition, there are a whole bunch of millionaires and billionaires who are small businesses. Donald Trump is a small business. And I know Donald Trump doesn't like to think of himself as small anything, but that's how you define small businesses if you're getting business income." - Oct. 3, 2012, Denver, Colorado

Obama at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Discussing the nascent 2016 race

5. "Already, we’ve seen some missteps. It turns out Jeb Bush identified himself as Hispanic back in 2009, which, you know what, I — look, I understand. It’s an innocent mistake. It reminds me of when I identified myself as American back in 1961. Ted Cruz said that denying the existence of climate change made him like Galileo. Now that’s not really an apt comparison. Galileo believed the Earth revolves around the sun. Ted Cruz believes the Earth revolves around Ted Cruz. And just as an aside, I want to point out, when a guy who has his face on a Hope poster calls you self-centered, you know you’ve got a problem. The narcissism index is creeping up a little too high. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum announced that he would not attend the same-sex wedding of a friend or loved one, to which gays and lesbians across the country responded, that’s not going to be a problem. Don’t sweat that one. And Donald Trump is here. Still."

Hillary Clinton zings Trump on his hair

6. "Well, at least he doesn't have just one strand that he twirls over his head like a soft serve at Dairy Queen." - Sept. 17, 2015, on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, after the host pointed out that Bernie Sanders could go bald.

And on his multiple marriages

7. Fallon, playing Trump on the same show: "I haven't seen you since my last wedding."

Clinton: "Well, I'm sure I'll see you at the next one."

Commentary editor John Podhoretz on Trump's hair

8. "THEORY: Trump did shows by phone because the cotton-candy machine that spins his hair up was on the fritz" - Aug. 10, 2015, Twitter

9. "Reason Trump calls into morning shows: It takes an hour for the cotton-candy machine to whip up his hair into place." - Nov. 16, 2015, Twitter

10. "One thing Trump and Putin have in common--unnaturally colored hair. Sign of a strong leader." - Dec. 18, 2015, Twitter

Jeb Bush misses his 'little teddy bear'

11. "I kind of miss Donald Trump. He was a little teddy bear to me. We always had such a loving relationship in these debates and in between and the tweets. I kind of miss him. I wish he was here." - Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Trump's absence from the Fox debate stage

Obama at a DNC reception in March 2016

12. "I mean, imagine what Trump would say if he actually had a record like this. Instead of selling steaks. Has anybody tried that wine? How good can that wine be? I’m sorry. Where was I?" - March 11, 2016, in Austin, Texas

Ted Cruz jokes about running him over

13. "I will say, I was watching the early part of the show, and if I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I’m not confident which pedal I’d push." - March 30, 2016, on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Joe Biden's two-for-one

14. "Donald has attacked every person of color – except John Boehner. And he has demonstrated that he has a very difficult time when he has to deal with bright women of authority, like Megyn Kelly and Governor Nikki Haley. Can't you picture it? Can't you picture his reaction watching Hillary take the oath of office? It’s going to be worth the price of admission." - March 5, 2016, at the Gridiron Dinner

15. "But folks, on a serious point, Trump said he likes 'people who don't get captured.' What a terrible thing to say about my friend and a genuine war hero, John McCain. So tonight I call on Donald Trump to be a man of his word – and release Chris Christie right now." - March 5, 2016

Lindsey Graham

16. "Donald Trump gets his foreign policy from watching television - the Cartoon Network." - Sept. 16, 2015, Twitter

17. "I ran for president, and I had to get out ... I endorsed Jeb Bush, and he had to get out. I am the Dr. Kevorkian of the Republican primary ... I endorse Donald Trump and hope the Graham magic still exists!" - Feb. 25, 2016, at the Washington Press Club Foundation Dinner

Marco Rubio goes 'Don Rickles'

By late February, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was apparently through with Trump, unleashing on his rival with a series of remarks taking on his personal appearance. In response, Trump said the comments aren't "who he is," telling Fox News that his opponent was emulating insult comic Don Rickles. Rubio later said he regretted the remarks, telling MSNBC less than a week before he dropped his bid that his kids were "embarrassed."

18. “He called me Mr. Meltdown. Let me tell you something, last night in the debate during one of the breaks, two of the breaks, he went backstage and he was having a meltdown ... First he had one of those makeup things applying around his mustache because he had one of those sweat mustaches." - Feb. 26, 2016, in Dallas

19. "Then, then he asked for a full length mirror, I don’t know why because the podium goes up to here (gestures to chest). I don’t know why, maybe to make sure his pants weren’t wet.” - Feb. 26, 2016, in Dallas

20. “How does this guy — not one tweet, three tweets — misspell words so badly? And I only reach two conclusions — number one, that’s how they spell those words at the Wharton School of Business where he went, or number two, just like Trump Tower, he must have hired a foreign worker to do his own tweets." - Feb. 26, 2016, in Dallas

21. "He’s learning how to spell, I guess. But he’s flying around on Hair Force One and tweeting.” - Feb. 27, 2016, in Kennesaw, Georgia

22. “So here’s the one tweet he put out, he put out a picture of me having makeup put on me at the debate ... which is amazing me to me, that the guy with the worst spray tan in America is attacking me for putting on makeup.” - Feb. 27, 2016, in Kennesaw, Georgia

Donald Trump attends the 101st Annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2015, in Washington, D.C. | Getty

23. “Donald Trump likes to sue people. He should sue whoever did that to his face.” - Feb. 27, 2016, in Kennesaw, Georgia

24. "He doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged with the spray tan he uses." - Feb. 28, 2016, in Roanoke, Virginia

25. "Donald is not going to make America great, he's going to make America orange." - Feb. 28, 2016, in Roanoke, Virginia

26. "The other thing he says is he's always calling me little Marco. And I'll admit, he's taller than me. He's like 6'2", which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of a guy that's 5'2". I just see his hands -- they're like this. And you know what they say about men with small hands — you can't trust them!"- Feb. 28, 2016, in Roanoke, Virginia

Bill Kristol on his 'stubby fingers'

27. "By the way: Trump didn't raise his hand in 1st debate because he didn't want to expose his stubby little fingers." - March 3, 2016, Twitter

Mitt Romney takes on Trump

28. "This recklessness is recklessness in the extreme. Now, Donald Trump tells us that he is very, very smart. (crowd laughs) I’m afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart." - March 3, 2016, in Salt Lake City, discussing Trump's statement that he would not mind the Islamic State taking out Bashar Assad in Syria.

29. "Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities. The bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics. You know, we have long referred to him as 'The Donald.' He’s the only person in the entire country to whom we have added an article before his name, and it was not because he had attributes we admired." - March 3, 2016, in Salt Lake City

30. "Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat." - March 3, 2016, in Salt Lake City

Obama's parting shot

31. "In 10 months, I will no longer be president of the United States. But in 10 months, I will — contrary to Mr. Trump's opinion — still be a citizen of the United States." - April 8, 2016, at a DCCC dinner in San Francisco