The Littlest Man
It happened on April 30, 2011.
On this date, the White House Press Corps held its annual Correspondents' Dinner. The event, dubbed the "nerd prom," was an annual celebration where the President of the United States was both the roaster and roastee of an evening dedicated to the celebration of a free and fair press in this country. There would be a host comedian, who would take some pot shots at the president, and the president, in turn, would dish it back out in a fun, light-hearted evening. The evening is designed to highlight the unique role the media plays in American politics, one where they can be critical of a president and not face repercussions for their words. The role of humor is specifically used to show that the First Amendment is a powerful tool and one that is necessary for a thriving democracy. While both the host comedian and the president enjoy the opportunity to engage in joke-telling, they also acknowledge how critical it is to have press freedom in this country. By the end of the night, the jokes give way to an appreciation of the culture that the United States has, where the press and president can engage in healthy dialogue and information sharing that helps educate and engage the American people.
In 2011, the event didn't seem that much out of the ordinary. In addition to elected officials and media figures, there were also celebrities in attendance, as was the annual tradition. The year 2011 just happened to be one where a certain celebrity was making waves, and knowing this individual would be in the audience proved to be a godsend for both Meyers and President Obama. Recall that early 2011 was the height of the Birther Movement, based on a racist conspiracy theory created to try and delegitimize the country's first Black president. At the apex of that movement was Donald Trump, who was using the platform provided to him through The Apprentice to make the rounds and amplify the lie. It had gotten to the point where it was becoming a distraction, so Barack Obama went ahead and released his long-form birth certificate a mere three days before the event. Knowing that Trump himself would be in the audience that night and that he was potentially considering a run for president, the opportunity was there to have a little fun at the Donald's expense.
First up was host Seth Meyers, who gave Trump some good-natured ribbing to the president during his 24-minute speech:
And then, of course, there’s Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been saying he will run for President as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke. Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a Fox often appears on Donald Trump’s head. If you’re at the Washington Post table with Trump and you can’t finish your entree, don’t worry – the Fox will eat it. And if I can for a moment talk about the birther issue – when did we get so suspicious about where people were born? A USA Today poll last week said 38% of Americans think the President was definitely born in the US. In the same poll – in the very same poll – only 5% more said Donald Trump was definitely born in the US. Has it reached the point where Americans only think someone was born here if they saw it? I know I was born here, and I know my younger brother was born here, but when it comes to my older brother, I can only take him at his word. Gary Busey said recently that Donald Trump would make a great President. Of course, he said the same thing about an old rusty birdcage that he found. Donald Trump owns the Miss USA Pageant, which is great for Republicans since it will streamline their search for a Vice-President. Donald Trump said recently he has a great relationship with the blacks, but unless the blacks are a family of white people I bet he is mistaken. I like that Trump is filthy rich, but nobody told his accent. His whole life is models and gold leaf and marble columns, but he still sounds like a know-it-all down at the OTB. Mr. Trump may not be a good choice for President, but he would definitely make a great Press Secretary. How much fun would that be? ‘Kim Jun Il is a loser – his latest rally was a flop. I feel bad for Ahmadinejad – the man wears a windbreaker, he has no class. I, on the other hand, sell my own line of ties. You can find them at Macy’s in the flammable section.’
If the night had ended there, then nothing would have come of Meyers' comments. But then Barack Obama stepped up and delivered the zinger to end all zingers:
And I know just the guy to do it -– Donald Trump is here tonight! 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?
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. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir. Well handled.
Donald Trump wasn't the only person to be on the receiving end of jokes that night. Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and even Michelle Bachmann also received President Obama's good-hearted ribbing. But Donald Trump was the only person whose ego was irreversibly harmed. Up to this point, with Trump flirting with a potential presidential run (something he had previously done multiple times), he had never received any sort of public criticism. He was raised to bully others and to "win" every deal he took part in. It's why he enjoyed The Apprentice so much; it gave him the power to publicly humiliate those who would do anything to work for him. His aura was built on being a successful businessman. It was his brand. He was never selling the product or the property; he was selling himself. So when Barack Obama publicly poked fun at him, it was a huge blow to both his ego and his brand. Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker observed as much:
What was really memorable about the event, though, was Trump’s response. Seated a few tables away from us magazine scribes, Trump’s humiliation was as absolute, and as visible, as any I have ever seen: his head set in place, like a man in a pillory, he barely moved or altered his expression as wave after wave of laughter struck him. There was not a trace of feigning good humor about him, not an ounce of the normal politician’s, or American regular guy’s “Hey, good one on me!” attitude—that thick-skinned cheerfulness that almost all American public people learn, however painfully, to cultivate. No head bobbing or hand-clapping or chin-shaking or sheepish grinning—he sat perfectly still, chin tight, in locked, unmovable rage. If he had not just embarked on so ugly an exercise in pure racism, one might almost have felt sorry for him.
This past weekend's involvement of American forces in Iran is a direct result of this fateful night in 2011. In four years, Donald Trump did everything he could to damage Barack Obama's legacy. From removing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement to ripping up the Iran Nuclear Deal to his administration's constant attempts to undo the Affordable Care Act, Trump and his party were more than happy to reverse Obama's achievements. They did so with zero foresight and planning. There was never an alternative to the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump's "concepts of a plan" on how to repeal and replace Obamacare became a running joke. And Trump, the self-annointed "dealmaker," never put into place a replacement plan for the Iran Deal and now believes he can bully his way into one after this weekend's three strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
That 2015 Iran Deal, more formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was the result of two years of negotiations conducted by the Obama Administration and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country limiting its nuclear enrichment program. Monitoring Iran to ensure that it couldn't create nuclear weapons had long been a United States foreign policy goal, and it was the Obama Administration that finally got this done. Two years into the deal, and all indications were that it was working exactly as was intended. Despite the urging of the fellow members of the UN Security Council to remain in the deal, Trump refused to listen and withdrew the United States from the deal in May 2018. And when the Trump administration assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January of 2020, Iran officially ended its compliance with the agreement and restarted its enrichment program. Despite having three years spread out over two terms to create a replacement deal, Trump has yet to do so.
But that's by design. Because Donald Trump never cared about getting a better deal. All he cared about was getting back at Barack Obama and terminating his deal. This tangerine twat in the White House has made the world infinitely less safe because the country's first Black president told a few jokes at his expense at a public event 14 years ago. Rather than let it go, as 99.99% of people would have done, Trump held a grudge. And his grudge led to his election and re-election, and now to an obviously avoidable conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump never cared about getting a better deal on Iran. He only cared about making sure the one Obama made failed.
This is what happens when a country elects a human grievance factory who is put on a pedestal by his entire political party. Today's Republican Party only cares about settling old scores and not good governing. It's why they are so effective at being the party out of power, but fail to do anything of note while being the party in power. They know their base needs to be told who to hate and who to blame, and Democrats are always the problem, no matter what is actually going on. Republicans and Donald Trump own this current Iran crisis. They ripped up the deal and didn't bother to even try to get a new one in its place. Trump himself campaigned on a promise of no new wars and has already broken that promise five months into his term. He never thought about the repercussions of breaking up the Iran Deal; he only thought about making Barack Obama look bad on the world stage. That was the sole reason we ended up in this mess.
All because Donald Trump's fragile little ego couldn't stand being the butt of a few jokes for a single night back in April of 2011.