Obama and Biden Never Attended White House Correspondents Dinner Together

Dr. Jill Biden ... President Obama speaks at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, offering a sneak peak of a sequel to the film the King’s Speech that touches close to home.

For many Trump chroniclers, the dinner holds a fabled place in his story. As a private citizen in 2011, Trump attended ​the dinner when Democratic President Barack Obama ​roasted him from the stage.

They didn't attend any of the dinners while he was president. Christy Bowe/ImageCatcher News Service/Corbis/Getty Images · Obama drops the mic after speaking at his last correspondents' dinner in 2016.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington April 30, 2022, accompanied by comedian Trevor Noah.

But at the Washington Hilton, Obama had the lectern — and he used it with Trump sitting in front of him. READ MORE: Relive the top White House Correspondents' dinner moments

File photo: A portrait of President Donald Trump hangs in a gallery of presidents in a hallway at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, on April 29, 2017. Trump did not attend that year's event. Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters. I have attended several of these dinners, first as a White House producer for CNN back in 2017 and most recently when former President Joe Biden attended in 2024.

Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, attended the 2011 White House Correspondents' Association dinner as a guest of Lally Weymouth, left, whose family owned The Washington Post. (Clint Spaulding/Sipa Press/AP) The Post invited Donald Trump to the 2011 dinner. The barbs that President Barack Obama and Seth Meyers hurled at him created a political narrative that persists.

The White House correspondents’ dinner, attended by the president and several Cabinet members, was not given top security status that would have unlocked the full weight of federal resources.

According to officials, magnetometers used to screen attendees were already being dismantled. No new guests were permitted to enter the ballroom at that time. ... Former President Barack Obama on Sunday condemned political violence in a post on X. "Although we don't yet have the details about the motives behind last night's shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it's incumbent upon all [of] us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy," Obama wrote.