Jokes Aside, Donald Trump Wants To Get Back To The Real Fake Issues

Jokes Aside, Donald Trump Wants To Get Back To The Real Fake Issues: Gothamist 56° our cities: AustinBostonChicagoLondonLos AngelesNew York CitySan FranciscoSeattleShanghaiTorontoWashington DC  PolarBearCon 2011: Riding Bikes With Ursus Maritimus featured  Big Soda Not Happy About Bloomberg's Food Stamp Soda Ban  Politicians Want To Ban NYPD From Handcuffing Children At Schools Jokes Aside, Donald Trump Wants To Get Back To The Real Fake Issues

 
The Donald with his current counterpart (AP) The White House Correspondent's dinner is a long-running Washington tradition, a way for politicians and the journalists who cover them to unwind for an evening in sympatico. But this year, it was mostly a chance for everyone to pile on Donald Trump and his "enormous balls." Well, Trump was absolutely flattered to be the "sole focus" of the night, but he just feels the pain of the American people too much to take any real pleasure in the yuks: "I guess when you're leading in the polls that sort of thing tends to happen. But I was certainly in a certain way having a good time listening. I don't think the American people are having a good time with $5 gas...I was thinking to myself as they were doing this, you know, the American people are really suffering," he told "Fox and Friends" today.

Trump, who was booed when he arrived at the dinner, definitely didn't look like he was having a fun time during the impromptu-roast; the camera caught him looking dead-eyed during several of the monologues. "I had no idea it would be to that extent, where you know, it was just joke after joke after joke. It was almost like, is there anyone else they could talk about?" he humbly opined. Trump did praise President Obama's jokes, but had some tough advice for Seth Meyers: "I thought Seth's delivery was terrible. He had marbles in his mouth. His presentation was not good. The president was far superior."

Trump also defended his F-bomb-laden Las Vegas speech from this past week, which he was almost universally criticized for...although he didn't see it that way: "Well, it was a speech in Las Vegas, in front of a rough group of folks, and a great group of folks, and I got standing ovation...It was really well received. The fact is it's a word of emphasis with that group. Probably I won't do it anymore, to be honest with you."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips. By Ben Yakas in News on May 1, 2011 6:00 PM donald trump humility jokes president obama seth meyers white house correspondent's dinner Other Interesting Stories Comments [rss] chris87654Another article sez: "Trump said he will focus on “making our country rich and respected,” by creating jobs, boosting the economy and stopping China and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from taking advantage of the U.S. "

First I've heard other than birther and grades/papers gossip from Don, but I'd like to know how he plans to accomplish his ideas, along with what cuts he'll make to reduce fed spending, who will be affected, and what he plans to do about Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. Nothing new - same questions I'd have for Palin, Bachmann, other sideshows, and more realistic candidates.DonnaHThat Las Vegas event Trump cursed so prolifically in front of was put on by the Spring Mountain Republican Women's Group and other Republican Women's groups; the people Trump calls a "rough group of folks."

Can the man say two sentences without one of them being a lie? --Apparently not.Inconcievable de ImpublishableCon Artist In Chiefsluggitaearly onset alzheimers? Seriously, seems like Mr. Trump is suffering from some mental disease that disconnects him from most peoples reality. kind of sad to see him act out so publicly, Sheenlike.blog comments powered by Disqus ? PreviousHome send a tip Got something to share? Let us know! From tips@gothamist.com The day's most popular stories from Gothamist every evening in your inbox from our newsletter. Plus weekly event listings on Mondays! EMAIL (required) about staff / advertising / contact / newsmap contribute  subscribe Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist. add gothamist Yahoo NewsGator Bloglines Feedster Google new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'profile', rpp: 4, interval: 6000, width: 300, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#666666', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#FFFFFF', color: '#1a1a1a', links: '#990000' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: false, live: false, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: false, behavior: 'all' } }).render().setUser('gothamist').start(); c 2003-2010 Gothamist LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. ?

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Laugh Lines

JAY LENO

President Obama’s approval rating falling again. It has gotten so bad that at the White House Easter Egg Roll, instead of rolling the eggs, the kids egged the White House.

Today was the big Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Things were a little different this year, because every time one of the kids would find an egg, First Lady Michelle Obama would make them trade it in for a low-cholesterol egg beater.

DAVID LETTERMAN

Excited about the royal wedding? Some people not invited to the wedding. Gordon Brown not invited to the wedding. Tony Blair not invited to the wedding. Also not invited but going anyway, the Salahis.

JIMMY FALLON

A new study found that Americans spend $1.2 trillion every year on stuff they don’t need. Or as Republicans call it, “health care.”

JON STEWART

President Obama has released a copy of his long-form birth certificate. I repeat, for those just tuning in, the current president of the United States, who after being born in the United States and becoming that country’s president, has released the nonlegally required version of the legally required birth certificate he had previously released.

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Champers, cake and jokes

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- President Obama's birth certificate took center stage during his appearance Saturday night at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington.

He was introduced with the song "Real American" with shots of the certificate cut into a South Park-style montage, Politico reported. The president also said he really wanted to put the issue of his birth to rest -- and showed a brief clip from the Disney cartoon "The Lion King."

Obama also took aim at Donald Trump, who has become of the country's best-known "birthers" in the past few weeks and a possible Republican candidate for president next year.

"Now, I know that he's taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder

Sunday Reading: Jokes from the White House

Obama at the White House Correspondence Dinner, makes fun of Donald Trump.

2012: GOP Establishment wants Mitch Daniels and others to enter the race, thanks to unimpressive field. [Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg]

White House Correspondence Dinner: Full video of Obama and Seth Meyers. [C-SPAN]

Trump Jokes: There's a lot of them; Eliot Spitzer in attendance too. [Rich Schapiro]

Trump Jokes:?After birther issue, "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?" said Obama. [Tim Perone]

Trump Jokes: "[A]lmost painful to watch, the juxtaposition of the president, flexing his new post-birther comedy chops, and the real estate mogul-cum-politician, grimacing at his table." [Helen Cooper]

WHCD Pics: Bloomberg points a finger at Rupert Murdoch. [Vanity Fair]

WHDC Pics: Colin Powell kisses Madeleine Albright. [The Caucus]

WHCD Pics: Wolfson hangs with Cee Lo Green. [Howard Wolfson]

WHCD Pics: Weiner chats with Steve Buscemi. [Vanity Fair]

Trump: After bumping into him, Joyce Purnick's mother warned her, "Stay away from that snot-nosed kid." [Joyce Purnick]

Cuomo Hides: Keeping a low profile and is just working. [Michael Goodwin]

Cuomo Campaigns: raised money in Soho from prominent LGBT supporters; April 13 fund-raiser at Howard Rubenstein's house. April 15 fund-raiser meeting at Regency. [Adam Lisberg]

Bloomberg Speeches: Goes to Oklahoma May 21 for Oklahoma Foundation. [NewsOK.com]

Michael Grimm: Says he made peace with Tea Party. [Tom Wrobleski]

NY26: Jack Davis pulling 23 percent. [Robert McCarthy]

Property Tax Cap: Cuomo tells reporters "I'm trying, I'm trying" to get it passed. [Brian Amaral]

State Senate: 303 staffers cut since Republican took over. [Joseph Spector]

Alan Hevesi: Says Hank Morris is an enemy. [Ken Lovett]

NYPD: Cop pulled over car carrying Dennis Walcott; no ticket given. [WABC]

NYPD Escort: The dry cleaner who connected P. Diddy with cop escort. Maureen Callahan]

Ticket Fixing: Cops pressured by union delegates. [Sean Gardiner]

Taxi Politics: Fare hike in exchange for permitting street hails for livery cabs. [David Seifman]

Food NYC: Coca-Cola opposes Bloomberg's push to ban food stamps from buying sugary drinks. [Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinksy]

Charter School: New Geoffrey Canada project aims to educate students and the neighborhood. [Susan Edelman]

Buffalo: Federal government wants $700 million in misspent anti-poverty funding. [James Heaney]

St. Vincent's Hospital: Rally for one year anniversary of its closing. [astoria25]

And Michael Daly pays tribute to Hope Reichbach.

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Obama takes aim at Trump in White House dinner jokes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told jokes at the expense of real estate mogul Donald Trump on Saturday night, mocking his possible presidential ambitions in remarks at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

With Trump and some other potential 2012 presidential election rivals in the audience of celebrities, politicians and journalists, Obama suggested that the weightiest decisions Trump makes are firing people on his reality television show "Celebrity Apprentice."

"I think we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience," he said of Trump, drawing laughs.

Obama singled out a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice," in which Trump fired a contender in one of his trademark televised business challenges.

"These are the kinds of issues that would keep me up at night," Obama deadpanned. "Well handled, Sir, well handled."

"Say what you want about Mr. Trump," the president added. "He certainly would bring change to the White House."

Big video screens then showed an image of what was labeled "Trump, The White House." The mock-up showed bikini-clad girls frolicking in a fountain on the White House front lawn.

Trump led the so-called "birther" critics of Obama who challenged whether the president was born in the United States. The New York-based businessman took credit when Obama this week released his complete birth certificate to quell the talk.

Trump also ripped Obama and other U.S. political leaders in a profanity-laced speech in Las Vegas this week, calling them "stupid."

(Editing by Greg McCune)

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Citigroup Drops Ben Stein Speech After Complaint Over Jokes

April 27, 2011, 6:00 PM EDT By Bradley Keoun

(Updates with payment in ninth paragraph.)

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. canceled a planned keynote speech by writer, actor and TV personality Ben Stein after getting a complaint that he told jokes disparaging women at a private-equity conference in Dallas earlier this year.

Stein, 66, had been contracted by Citigroup to appear as a speaker at the May 17 event the bank is hosting in New York for pension and endowment funds. According to the agenda, other scheduled speakers include hedge-fund manager John Paulson and Peter Orszag, the former White House budget director who’s now a vice chairman in Citigroup’s investment bank.

“We have decided to present the conference without Mr. Stein’s participation,” said Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank. Stein, in an interview, said his jokes were mischaracterized and that the company didn’t call him before canceling.

Citigroup, accused in a gender-discrimination suit last year of being an “outdated boys club,” canceled the speech yesterday to avoid being associated with any inappropriate remarks, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The decision was made after Orszag received an e-mail from a woman who attended the March 2 event in Dallas and complained that Stein was “offensive and irresponsible.”

The woman, Lynda Villarreal, 41, had learned that Stein was scheduled to speak at the Citigroup conference, and e-mailed Orszag to ask him to reconsider, she said in interviews. Men and women at the March conference had told her they were offended by his remarks, she said.

Ferris Bueller

Orszag, 42, who wasn’t one of the organizers, forwarded the e-mail to the sales executives in Citigroup’s trading division who were overseeing the event, the person with knowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified because the deliberations were private. Those executives decided within hours to cancel Stein’s appearance, and the decision was relayed to Villarreal, the person said.

Stein, a Yale University-educated lawyer and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon who played the droning high-school economics teacher in the 1986 movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” said in an interview that his jokes at the Dallas conference had been incorrectly retold.

“I’ve been in this speaking-gig business for a number of years, I’ve told these jokes before, and I have never gotten one syllable of complaint,” he said. “I don’t think any woman in the world would call me a misogynist. For this woman to say this is just fantasy.”

‘Deadpan Humor’

Stein’s agent, Marcia Hurwitz, said Citigroup had initially contracted with Stein through a speakers bureau and that his typical corporate fee is $45,000, plus first-class travel for two. In the event of cancellation, he still gets paid, she said.

Stein delivers “deadpan humor and serious insights on the economy and human nature in talks that leave people laughing and thinking,” according to the Washington Speakers Bureau website.

Citigroup’s Romero-Apsilos declined to comment on whether the bank had given Stein a chance to respond before canceling or whether he may still be paid.

“I am delighted that Citi has taken this action,” said Villarreal, a Dallas resident and vice president of business development at Trident Trust, which has offices in London, Atlanta and the Cayman Islands and provides accounting services to hedge funds and private-equity firms. “It shows their corporate leadership and respect for women in the financial industry as well as their clients.”

Mistress Joke

Citigroup has described the allegations in the October 2010 gender-discrimination suit, which was filed by six former and current employees, as “totally inaccurate or selectively incomplete.”

Villarreal’s e-mail to Orszag told of three jokes at the Dallas conference she said were disparaging to women. One joke was about a wealthy man, his wife and his mistress, she said.

Another involved a female airline passenger who, realizing the flight is about to crash, takes off her clothes and asks if there is a man aboard who will “make me feel like a woman,” according to Villarreal’s e-mail, which was also sent to Bloomberg News. A cowboy in a hat removes his shirt, hands it to the woman, tells her to iron it and fetch him a beer.

Villarreal said the jokes she sent to Citigroup were versions found on the Internet based on her recollection of what Stein said.

Stein, who has written columns for Bloomberg News and appeared as a guest on Bloomberg Television, said in the interview that the joke targeted the man, not the woman, and that in his Dallas telling the woman didn’t remove clothing.

‘Cloddish, Dopey Guy’

“It’s usually a joke understood to be making fun of a kind of cloddish, dopey guy,” Stein said. “When I was finished with this speech, dozens of women in the room came up to me and wanted their pictures taken with me, wanted autographs from me. Dozens of them. I got fan mail from women who had been at the group saying how much they liked the speech.”

The jokes are not original, he said.

“Every one of those jokes are thoroughly vetted with my wife,” said Stein. According to his website, she is a former lawyer, and they live with six cats and three dogs in Beverly Hills, California. Stein’s father, Herb Stein, was a member and later chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

In August 2009, the New York Times dropped Ben Stein as a columnist for its Sunday business section because he was simultaneously working as a pitchman for a credit-monitoring company, according to an Associated Press report at the time.

‘Encouraging to Women’

Earlier in 2009, Stein withdrew as the University of Vermont’s commencement speaker over complaints about his critical views of evolution in favor of intelligent design, according to the AP. He discussed those views as host of the 2008 documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

Stein said he is “very involved in helping women’s groups,” including ones supporting unwed mothers and wives and widows of people in the military.

“I didn’t think I had an enemy in the world, except for the people who didn’t like my movie about evolution,” Stein said. “I am super, super, super encouraging to women. I support an awful lot of women who are trying to make their way in the world.”

An agenda for the Citigroup conference agenda accessed on the bank’s website yesterday afternoon listed a keynote lunch with Stein, billing him as a “noted financial expert and economist” and a “popular film and TV star.” By early today, Citigroup had updated the agenda to remove him.

--With assistance from Lisa Kassenaar in New York. Editors: David Scheer, William Ahearn.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bradley Keoun in New York at Bkeoun@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net

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Citigroup Axes Ben Stein Speech as Texas Woman Objects to Jokes

April 27, 2011, 6:00 PM EDT By Bradley Keoun

(Updates with payment in ninth paragraph.)

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. canceled a planned keynote speech by writer, actor and TV personality Ben Stein after getting a complaint that he told jokes disparaging women at a private-equity conference in Dallas earlier this year.

Stein, 66, had been contracted by Citigroup to appear as a speaker at the May 17 event the bank is hosting in New York for pension and endowment funds. According to the agenda, other scheduled speakers include hedge-fund manager John Paulson and Peter Orszag, the former White House budget director who’s now a vice chairman in Citigroup’s investment bank.

“We have decided to present the conference without Mr. Stein’s participation,” said Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a spokeswoman for the New York-based bank. Stein, in an interview, said his jokes were mischaracterized and that the company didn’t call him before canceling.

Citigroup, accused in a gender-discrimination suit last year of being an “outdated boys club,” canceled the speech yesterday to avoid being associated with any inappropriate remarks, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The decision was made after Orszag received an e-mail from a woman who attended the March 2 event in Dallas and complained that Stein was “offensive and irresponsible.”

The woman, Lynda Villarreal, 41, had learned that Stein was scheduled to speak at the Citigroup conference, and e-mailed Orszag to ask him to reconsider, she said in interviews. Men and women at the March conference had told her they were offended by his remarks, she said.

Ferris Bueller

Orszag, 42, who wasn’t one of the organizers, forwarded the e-mail to the sales executives in Citigroup’s trading division who were overseeing the event, the person with knowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified because the deliberations were private. Those executives decided within hours to cancel Stein’s appearance, and the decision was relayed to Villarreal, the person said.

Stein, a Yale University-educated lawyer and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon who played the droning high-school economics teacher in the 1986 movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” said in an interview that his jokes at the Dallas conference had been incorrectly retold.

“I’ve been in this speaking-gig business for a number of years, I’ve told these jokes before, and I have never gotten one syllable of complaint,” he said. “I don’t think any woman in the world would call me a misogynist. For this woman to say this is just fantasy.”

‘Deadpan Humor’

Stein’s agent, Marcia Hurwitz, said Citigroup had initially contracted with Stein through a speakers bureau and that his typical corporate fee is $45,000, plus first-class travel for two. In the event of cancellation, he still gets paid, she said.

Stein delivers “deadpan humor and serious insights on the economy and human nature in talks that leave people laughing and thinking,” according to the Washington Speakers Bureau website.

Citigroup’s Romero-Apsilos declined to comment on whether the bank had given Stein a chance to respond before canceling or whether he may still be paid.

“I am delighted that Citi has taken this action,” said Villarreal, a Dallas resident and vice president of business development at Trident Trust, which has offices in London, Atlanta and the Cayman Islands and provides accounting services to hedge funds and private-equity firms. “It shows their corporate leadership and respect for women in the financial industry as well as their clients.”

Mistress Joke

Citigroup has described the allegations in the October 2010 gender-discrimination suit, which was filed by six former and current employees, as “totally inaccurate or selectively incomplete.”

Villarreal’s e-mail to Orszag told of three jokes at the Dallas conference she said were disparaging to women. One joke was about a wealthy man, his wife and his mistress, she said.

Another involved a female airline passenger who, realizing the flight is about to crash, takes off her clothes and asks if there is a man aboard who will “make me feel like a woman,” according to Villarreal’s e-mail, which was also sent to Bloomberg News. A cowboy in a hat removes his shirt, hands it to the woman, tells her to iron it and fetch him a beer.

Villarreal said the jokes she sent to Citigroup were versions found on the Internet based on her recollection of what Stein said.

Stein, who has written columns for Bloomberg News and appeared as a guest on Bloomberg Television, said in the interview that the joke targeted the man, not the woman, and that in his Dallas telling the woman didn’t remove clothing.

‘Cloddish, Dopey Guy’

“It’s usually a joke understood to be making fun of a kind of cloddish, dopey guy,” Stein said. “When I was finished with this speech, dozens of women in the room came up to me and wanted their pictures taken with me, wanted autographs from me. Dozens of them. I got fan mail from women who had been at the group saying how much they liked the speech.”

The jokes are not original, he said.

“Every one of those jokes are thoroughly vetted with my wife,” said Stein. According to his website, she is a former lawyer, and they live with six cats and three dogs in Beverly Hills, California. Stein’s father, Herb Stein, was a member and later chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

In August 2009, the New York Times dropped Ben Stein as a columnist for its Sunday business section because he was simultaneously working as a pitchman for a credit-monitoring company, according to an Associated Press report at the time.

‘Encouraging to Women’

Earlier in 2009, Stein withdrew as the University of Vermont’s commencement speaker over complaints about his critical views of evolution in favor of intelligent design, according to the AP. He discussed those views as host of the 2008 documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

Stein said he is “very involved in helping women’s groups,” including ones supporting unwed mothers and wives and widows of people in the military.

“I didn’t think I had an enemy in the world, except for the people who didn’t like my movie about evolution,” Stein said. “I am super, super, super encouraging to women. I support an awful lot of women who are trying to make their way in the world.”

An agenda for the Citigroup conference agenda accessed on the bank’s website yesterday afternoon listed a keynote lunch with Stein, billing him as a “noted financial expert and economist” and a “popular film and TV star.” By early today, Citigroup had updated the agenda to remove him.

--With assistance from Lisa Kassenaar in New York. Editors: David Scheer, William Ahearn.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bradley Keoun in New York at Bkeoun@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net

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