11:33:20 | 2012-05-03
(New York, NY) — Donald Trump does not have high praise for President Obama’s job performance — but he likes him as a comic.
The curiously coiffed real estate mogul offered his compliments on Obama’s Saturday performance at the White House Correspondents dinner, even as Trump took a poke from the leader of the free world.
Obama kicked off his speech by noting that “last year at this time, this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world’s most notorious individuals,” a setup that had the audience expecting a mention by Obama about Osama Bin Laden.
Instead, a photo of a menacing-looking Trump from his March 2011 Comedy Central roast (right) popped up on the screen, sending the audience into fits of laughter.
Obama famously savaged Trump during his speech at last year’s dinner, as payback for Trump’s belaboring of the Obama birther issue while he toyed with a presidential run.
Trump said he gave a real estate speech rather than attend this year’s dinner, but added that he watched the performance with his daughter Ivanka and laughed.
The Donald did not say where he watched Obama, but if he was with his daughter, which seems unlikely, he must have been in D.C.
Ivanka and her husband, New York Observer owner Jared Kushner, were among the VIPs at the post-dinner party that Vanity Fair and Bloomberg threw at the French Consulate, and were listed as having been at the dinner.
“I was honored,” Trump told The Daily News’ Ken Lovett. “It was done in a very nice fashion and well delivered.”
Trump, who like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tends to subscribe to a there’s-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity school of hype, also noted his prominence in Obama’s shtick.
“He is the President, and his first words were uttered about Donald Trump,” he added.
Trump said he had no problem being equated with a dead terrorist. “It was done in a joking fashion,” he said. “I would say look at the forum and where it is taking place.”
Despite his kind words for the President, Trump said he wasn’t backing off his endorsement of GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney,
He explained that his opposition to Obama was policy-related, not personal.
“It’s China taking advantage of us,” he said. “It’s OPEC laughing at us.”
Obama, who got in some good jabs at Romney as well, also won high marks from talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, who followed the President.
Kimmel told us that the commander-in- chief exhibited the “real confidence and an ease” that were trademarks of the late Jonny Carson. [NY Daily News)
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