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FLASHBACK: Obama tried to make Trump a punchline at 2011 dinner before rise stunned Washington

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President Donald Trump will attend the White House Correspondents‘ Dinner on Saturday, marking his first appearance at the annual event as commander in chief after skipping it throughout his first term.

The decision puts Trump back at a Washington ritual long tied to his fraught relationship with the press and political establishment. His return also revives memories of the 2011 dinner, when then-President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers mocked him from the dais at a moment that later became a widely discussed part of Trump’s political story.

“Donald Trump is here tonight,” Obama said at the 2011 dinner. “Now, I know 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.”

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“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?” he continued. Trump had publicly called for the release of Obama’s birth certificate, which the State of Hawaii did release that year. 

The exchange underscored longstanding tensions between Trump and the Washington establishment that predated his entry into politics

Speculation mounted that the jabs helped fuel Trump’s eventual decision to launch a presidential run, culminating in a stunning upset victory in 2016. Trump had denied that Obama’s 2011 jokes prompted his candidacy, telling The Washington Post in 2016 that “there are many reasons I’m running, but that’s not one of them.” 

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“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he’d be running as a joke,” comedian Seth Meyers added when he took the podium that night.

Trump told Fox News’ “The Five” earlier this year he was treated “rudely and crudely” during the dinner, which he said influenced his decision not to attend while he was first in office.

“The press was so nasty, I just – so I didn’t do it,” said Trump.

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He once again denied it was the 2011 dinner that sparked his interest in running for office.

“There is this theory: I was there while Barack Hussein Obama was speaking, and he was hitting me a little bit. Actually, it was very nice, and I was actually – I loved it. I really loved it,” said Trump.

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Trump announced he would attend this year’s dinner as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. The first lady will join him.

“The White House Correspondents Association very nicely asked the President to join them at their annual dinner this year as the Honoree, which he gladly accepted,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle previously told Fox News Digital.

Trump did not attend during his first term due to a contentious relationship with the media at the height of coverage of the Russia investigation.

The banquet was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and revived in 2022 during President Biden’s administration. Trump also did not attend last year.

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How Trump survives: Battling the media, former allies and assassination attempts

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Donald Trump has been written off a thousand times and always managed to bounce back.

He hung on when he first got in the race and was mocked as a sideshow. When the “Access Hollywood” tape came out. When his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. 

He outlasted two impeachments and four criminal cases. He won reelection when that seemed like a long shot. He’s the Harry Houdini of Washington. 

And on Saturday night, he survived his third assassination attempt. At a dinner that was expected to feature the president mocking the media, his calm response to being targeted by a heavily armed shooter generated enormous sympathy for him. It’s a dangerous job, he said.

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In fact, he “fought like hell” to continue with the Correspondents’ Association dinner, but the Secret Service – one of whose members was shot but saved by a protective vest – insisted on clearing the room. 

At the same time, Trump has such mounting political problems that it’s hard to avoid the conclusion he’s in a free fall. 

The president is bogged down in an unpopular war and canceled the latest talks. Rising gas prices are inflicting pain at home. He may be losing the redistricting wars. Some of his most prominent supporters in the conservative media have turned on him with a vengeance, even apologizing for having supported him.

That’s not all. The Democrats are virtually certain to win the House. They are talking about impeaching Trump the day they’re sworn in. Sure, he’d be acquitted in the Senate, but his last two years would be a blizzard of investigations and payback.

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What’s more, the president can’t run again. He’ll still have the power of incumbency, but the House can block most of what he wants to do (and this is beyond the media fantasy that the opposition party could take the Senate as well).

In the ever-present polls, Trump has dropped as low as 33% approval in an AP survey, his worst numbers ever.

More eye-popping is a new survey with a large sample, from Strength in Numbers/Verasight, which says 21% of Republicans support impeachment, with 72% opposed. Among independents, 50% back impeaching the president.   

And a Fox News poll found more respondents trusting the Democrats over the Republicans on the economy, by four points, for the first time in 15 years.

This comes against the backdrop of Trump having fired three women in his Cabinet, creating a sense of disorder, and his wife giving a televised speech to deny any involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

But let’s have a reality check.

Trump’s relentless attacks on the press have taken their toll, with many dismissing the coverage as fueled by personal hostility. And Democrats, with few exceptions, aren’t helping themselves by appearing to root for the Iranian terrorists when our service members are at risk.

By November, the Iran war could be a distant memory. The economy might enjoy an uptick. Even now, with the ceasefire collapsing over the Strait of Hormuz blockade, the stock market has hit record highs.

Trump will use his media mastery to dominate the news agenda. He already takes calls from reporters at all hours. 

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The Democrats, meanwhile, are leaderless. Even if Hakeem Jeffries is speaker, the president will make far more news. That won’t change until the 2028 primaries, when a front-runner or two emerges.

Trump can make news with executive orders, such as moving marijuana to a lower classification and boosting research into psychedelic drugs.

The betrayal being voiced by his onetime allies on the right, who embraced his pledge of no new foreign wars, may be less important for those not immersed in the online world. But it is a bellwether for the splintering of the MAGA coalition.

Now some of its leading members are calling him erratic and reckless.

No one is loving this more than the Democrats and the Never Trumpers, who say wait, you’re just noticing this now? We’ve been telling you this for years.

“Trump looks desperate to run for the hills,” says New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. “He constantly says he has defeated the mullahs and ‘obliterated’ their military power, and yet Iran refuses to be subdued.”

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What’s obvious, says veteran columnist Andrew Sullivan: “Trump is completely out of his depth. He went to war impulsively. He never expected the Iranians to close the Strait of Hormuz; and then they did. And he can’t re-open it. In fact, he decided to close it again. Or something.”

Throw in the AI image of Trump as Jesus, which offended many Catholics, and the list of unforced errors just grows. He’s even attacked the Supreme Court, a third of which he appointed.

And there is growing concern about the health of the president, who will soon turn 80, with television running footage every time he closes his eyes at a meeting.

Trump regularly talks about building his massive ballroom, which reminds people of his surprise demolition of the East Wing and plans for a monument that would dwarf the Arc de Triomphe. He brought it up after the gunfire on Saturday night, saying the ballroom would be bulletproof and extremely secure.

Trump also used the gunfire at the Washington Hilton to underscore his own importance. Having studied assassinations, he said, “the most impactful people, the people that do the most… they’re the ones they go after.”

Politically speaking, Trump is clearly struggling. But anyone who rules out a rebound for this president is ignoring history.

There will be all kinds of twists and turns in the remaining six months before the midterms, and the Democrats are unpopular as well. 

But here’s a moment of rare consensus: We can all be grateful that the Secret Service did its job well.

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New York woman convicted for throwing dynamite at boyfriend, blowing off his hand as he tried to get rid of it

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A New York woman was convicted after authorities said she threw a handmade stick of dynamite at her boyfriend while he was sleeping, causing his hand to be blown off as he attempted to get rid of the explosive.

Keyonna Waddell, 35, of Deer Park on Long Island, was found guilty by a jury on Friday of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the March 2024 incident.

Waddell had threatened the victim with dynamite several times in the months leading up to the incident, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

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“Domestic violence can escalate to deadly levels, and this case is a sobering reminder of that reality,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.

On March 22, 2024, Waddell and her boyfriend were involved in an argument inside his apartment, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

After the dispute, the man left the apartment and told Waddell to leave. When he arrived back home, Waddell did not appear to be there, and he went to sleep.

He was later woken up by a hissing sound and noticed a flame on the floor of his bedroom. He then realized that a stick of dynamite had been thrown into his bedroom and attempted to toss the explosive device out of the window, but it detonated and blew off most of his hand before he was able to throw it out of harm’s way.

The victim then ran out of his home to the driveway, at which point he saw Waddell running away.

He was subsequently rushed to the hospital, where the remainder of his hand and part of his arm were amputated.

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Waddell was arrested the following day, officials said. Her sentencing is scheduled for May 27, and she could face up to 25 years in prison.

“Thanks to the outstanding work of our prosecutors and the Suffolk County Police Department, a dangerous individual has been held accountable and will face a lengthy prison sentence for this horrific act,” Tierney said in his statement.

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Diego Pavia accepts Ravens rookie minicamp invite after making unfortunate NFL Draft history: reports

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Diego Pavia, the polarizing former Vanderbilt quarterback who was runner-up in Heisman voting last season, has reportedly found a home in the NFL after going undrafted this weekend.

Pavia accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, per multiple reports. He doesn’t have a spot on the roster yet, but it’s a start as he looks to crack into the NFL with Baltimore.

Of course, Lamar Jackson, the two-time MVP quarterback, is cemented as the team’s starting quarterback, but perhaps Pavia can stand out enough in rookie minicamp to earn an invitation to training camp this summer.

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Pavia was not expecting to be undrafted this weekend, but he became the first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2014 to not hear his name called through the seven rounds in Pittsburgh.

Pavia won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award for best upperclassman quarterback after throwing for 3,539 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, both of which single-season school records, to give the Commodores its first-ever 10-win season.

Vanderbilt just missed out on the College Football Playoff after finishing 10-3.

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Pavia ultimately finished second in Heisman voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza – the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. So, what ultimately led to Pavia not getting drafted?

While his personality may have factored in, Pavia’s official height at the NFL Scouting Combine turned some heads. Vanderbilt had him listed at 6-foot, but he was measured at 5-foot-9 7/8, which would make him the shortest quarterback in the NFL if he were to step foot on the gridiron today. The average height is 6-foot-2 for an NFL quarterback.

However, those shorter than the average have seen success, including Minnesota Vikings newest member, Kyler Murray, who went first overall to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 coming out of Oklahoma. He’s listed at 5-foot-10.

Pavia barked back at critics during the Senior Bowl in January regarding his height.

“Yeah, my size has been doubted my whole life,” he said at the time, via AL.com. “I feel like the only thing the NFL cares about is can you win, and I view myself as a winner. I’ve been fortunate with all these great teams that I’ve had — we’ve never had a losing season. So that’s something to look forward to, I hope, for the rest of my career, that’s how it’s going to be.

“I feel like God has blessed me in so many ways to be a connector, and I feel like that’s one of my superpowers that I’ve got — I can connect. We unite, and then once you unite, you want to play for one another, and once you give 120% effort, there’s no one that can stop your team.”

Pavia’s personality, viewed by some as more cocky than confident, may have played a factor as well. After finishing runner-up to Mendoza in Heisman voting, Pavia was spotted at a New York City nightclub next to a sign that read, “F— Indiana.” Then, he posted on social media a photo with friends and a caption that read, “F— ALL THE VOTERS, BUT…FAMILY FOR LIFE.”

Pavia later apologized for his decision to post that on his socials.

No matter the case, Pavia has a shot now with the Ravens and new head coach Jesse Minter, as he aims to show enough to join the quarterbacks group in training camp. Other than Jackson, the Ravens have Tyler “Snoop” Huntley on the roster to start the season.    

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