>> before we introduce you to our scholars, we like to say on behalf of the board, we are honored to serve alongside jeff mason, who has led our board with such dedication this year. >> [applause] >> this year the white house correspondents association is pleased to award scholarships to 23 students from eight universities. thanks to the generous contributions of journalists in this room, each of these scholars will be working alongside a mentor from the white house press corps for the following year. we are excited to introduce the scholars to you know and ask you

to hold your applause until they have been introduced. from howard university, anthony brown junior. beryl kessio. merdie nzanga. from columbia university, riham alkousaa. from northwestern university, nia prater. from u.c. berkeley, sawsan morrar. from the university of maryland, becca king. >> from the university of missouri, adam aton. jinghong chen.

brittany crocker. jasmine han. kasia kovacs. molly olmstead. jill ornitz. kouichi shirayanagi. francisco vara-orta. xuejiao wang. from the george washington university, teniola ayomide ayoola. from ohio university, megan henry. please join us in congratulating all of this year's scholarship winners. >> [applause] >> thank you and congratulations again to our 2017 winners.

it is heartening to know that such a great group of journalists is coming through the ranks. they are not the only young journalists in the room tonight making an impact. we are delighted that there are many students here, including those hosted by cnn and yahoo! news. >> [applause] jeff: but i would like to highlight a special group of students hosted by the huffington post. earlier this year at pittsburgh high school in kansas, this group of students was doing research on the school's newly hired principle, when they uncovered some red flags about

her educational and professional background. their tenacious work for a student newspaper led to the resignation of that school official. congratulations. please stand so we can recognize you. >> [applause] jeff: journalists like those students witness and sometimes impact history with the work that they do. the same is true of us at the white house press corps. one way we recorded history is through reports written by dedicated print journalists.

tonight we are excited to give an update on the whca's work too great an archive on those reports. i would like to give it to those who have spearheaded these projects for more. >> [applause] >> subject: white house travel pool report number one, joint base andrews, april 29, 2017. president trump sets off on a seven night visit to harrisburg pennsylvania to celebrate 100 days in office. one day, maybe five years from now, maybe 50 years, when somebody wants to go back and figure out what president trump was doing on his first 100 days in office, and what they served for the meal on air force one, and who was with him on the plane, they will go back and read the new york times report file that 5:20 p.m. -- filed at

5:20 p.m. when they left to harrisburg on the tarmac. [applause] when we were covering president obama we realized there was no way to figure out, what was that woman's name in that diner that told him that thing one time? that sort of thing. the pool reports run from what president bush was doing during the 9/11 attacks to obama's election night and everything in between. the board and i hope very soon to be able to announce the university partner in the next step on this project. in the meantime we want everyone to know we are undertaking an effort to create a searchable permanent ongoing future database that will record this bit of history, which is not part of the archives on a

rolling basis, so that scholars and journalists can, with a couple of keystrokes, commanded that attention that has been such a special part of what happens in the white house every day. with your support and patience, we look forward to having an update for use in. this is a project that will be a available to everyone in the country that wants to clean -- to glean information from this part of history. thank you for your support. we will have an update soon. >> [applause]

jeff: thank you margaret. she will succeed me as president in july. she will do a terrific job. >> [applause] jeff: we have spoken a lot about the first amendment tonight. i would like to take just a second to read its text. "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances." that great amendment protects so many things that are part of u.s. democracy. it protects our ability to write and report, and it protects other's abilities to criticize, praise, or make fun. i am thinking of satire. we now have a special message of support from someone who engages in satire, and wants to share it with the journalists in this room. >> live from new york, it is saturday night. ♪

alec: keep up the good work. >> [applause] jeff: thank you alec baldwin for those quick but meaningful words of encouragement. >> [laughter] jeff: the next portion of our program is a bit of a surprise, too. but not for those of us sitting on the dais, it is for the person helping to make the program run flawlessly backstage. julia whiston, our executive director, has supported this association with heart and soul and guts for more than 20 years. presidents, journalists, and thousands of guests in washington look effortless. she has supported the principles

of the first amendment by keeping the trains of our association running on time. this will be the last dinner that she oversees as our executive director before she retires next month. i would like to invite her on stage as we salute her now with this video. >> [applause] ♪ >> this dinner will not happen without julie, period. we would not get the work we need to get done without julie, period. and we would not have as much fun. >> julie got us all together. >> julie is truly irreplaceable. we want to thank not only her, but every president. >> kind, generous, and capable beyond belief. >> smart, tough, and indispensable. no matter how hot things get, i never see her break out in a sweat.

>> julie brought this organization into a modern era. >> she is one classy lady. >> julie is family. in her quarter-century with us, we rejoiced in her marriage, we mourned when she mourned, and every year we got to celebrate watching her daughters grow into great women. >> julie has been the heart and soul of this organization. she bailed me out quietly more times than i can count. >> fiercely committed to journalism. >> to me, julie is an unsung hero of the first amendment. >> julie is the kind of person who knows what you need before you even know what you need. >> she is a friend now and forever. >> it is julie's dinner. the rest of us are just her guests. >> she is an incredibly hard act

to follow. >> when i say white house correspondents dinner, who does it remind you of? julie. >> there are not a lot of people in this business that you honestly look at and say, i'm going to miss that customer, or the individual. she is someone i will truly miss. >> congratulations julie. we are so grateful. >> congratulations julie. >> congratulations julie. >> [applause] jeff: congratulations julie. >> [applause] >> that's so sweet of you. thank you so much. can i go now? jeff: nope.

>> [applause] jeff: julie did not know about that video. and keeping that a secret may rank up as one of our proudest accompaniments tonight. i would like to welcome julie's great family, her husband, who has been a great supporter of the whca, to join us here. julie, on behalf of all the journalists you have supported over the years, thank you. happy birthday. and we will miss you. >> [applause] >> thank you so much. i feel like miss america now. thank you. it has been a privilege to work with so many wonderful people. i will miss you all. thank you. [applause]

jeff: we are lucky to have people like julie and so many strong supporters that make the work of the whca possible, starting with the board members on this stage. these are the elected representatives of the white house press corps. they work day in and day out to make sure reporters can get into briefings, photographers have space to take pictures, videographers can run video on news events, and getting the sound we need for airtime. thank you board members. margaret. olivia, and [applause] jeff: i would like to give a special shout out to olivia, who

helped me in choosing a new director. we are happy that steve, who just handed out the flowers to julie, will be filling that role. [applause] next i would like to thank george, our terrific attorney who donates his and his firm's time to the cause of protecting journalism. i will never forget a day early in the presidential transition last year when we had push back about having journalists in the lobby of trump tower in new york. i called george, who immediately mobilized colleagues to go to the scene to advocate for our right to be there. it was real advocacy in motion, and it made a difference. thank you george. [applause] thank you too to the journalism groups that have been part of the fight for press freedom and in support of the whca tonight,

including reporters from reporters without borders, the national press club, and washington press foundation. [applause] jeff: i would like to offer a personal thank you to those in this room who have been so supportive of me this year, especially my family and dear friends for joining me tonight. lastly i would like to thank the members of the white house press corps. it is a privilege to work with each and every one of you every day. thank you for having my back and the backs of the whca board. this is your dinner. this is our dinner. will all of the white house reporters in the room please stand and be recognized? [applause] [cheering] [applause]

jeff: and that brings me to the toast. tonight we salute white house reporters. please raise a glass to them, to freedom of the press, and to journalists here and around the world. >> here here. jeff: the next speakers really need no introduction. bob woodward and carl bernstein

changed the course of history with their reporting on watergate. their work led scores of journalists to enter our profession. and it continues to serve as a shining example of the importance of strong reporting and holding leaders at the highest levels of government accountable. it is a true honor to have them here. i would like to invite them to the podium now to speak and present our journalism awards. >> [applause] >> thank you. shortly after richard nixon resigned the presidency, bob and i were asked a long question about reporting. we answered with a short phrase we have used many times since to

describe our reporting on watergate and its purpose and methodology. we called it the best obtainable version of the truth. the best obtainable version of the truth. it is a simple concept, yet something very difficult to get right because of the enormous amount of effort, thinking, persistence, push back, removal of ideological baggage, and the sure luck that is required, not to mention some unnatural humility. underlying everything that underlying everything that reporters do in pursuit of the best obtainable version of the truth, whatever our beat or assignment, the question is, what is news? what is it that we believe is important, relevant, hidden perhaps, or even in plain sight

and ignored by conventional journalistic wisdom or governmental wisdom? i would say this question of what news is becomes more relevant and essential if we are covering the president of the united states. richard nixon tried to make the conduct of the press the issue in watergate instead of the conduct of the president and his men. we tried to avoid the noise, and let the reporting speak. during our coverage of watergate and since, bob and i have learned a lot from one another about the business of being reporters. let me list a few of the primary elements of bernstein's reportorial education. one, almost inevitably, unreasonable government secrecy

is the enemy. unusually the giveaway about what the real story might be. >> [applause] carl: and when lying is combined with secrecy, there is usually a pretty good roadmap in front of us. yes, follow the money, but follow also the lies. >> [applause] carl: two, sources are human beings whom we need to listen to and empathize with, not use objectively as a means to get a story. we have to go back to our sources time and again. the best obtainable version of the truth is about context and nuance, even more than it is about simple existential facts.

the development and help of deep throat as a source was a deeply human enterprise. when we were working on our second book, "the final days," woodward did 17 interviews with richard nixon's white house lawyer. sustained inquiry is essential. you never know what the real story is until you have done reporting, as woodward says, exhaustively, gone over and over to our sources, ask ourselves what is missing, what is the further explanation, what are the details? what do they think it means? our assumption of the big isn't enough. our preconceived notions of where the story might go are

almost always different then where the story comes out when we have done the reporting. i know of no import story that i have worked on in more than half a century of reporting that ended up where i thought it would go when i started on it. the people with the information we want should not be pigeonholed or prejudged by their ideology or their politics. almost all of our sources in watergate were people who had at one time or another been committed to richard nixon and his presidency. incremental reporting is essential. we wrote more than 200 stories on watergate. whenever i would say, let's go for the big picture, bob would say, here is what we know now and are ready to put in the paper. then inevitably one story led to

another and another, and the larger tale extended because of this reportorial dynamic. the best obtainable version of the truth became repeatedly clearer, more developed, and understandable. we are reporters, not judges, not legislators. but the government -- what the government and citizens do with the information we develop is not our part of the process nor our objective. our job is to put the best obtainable version of the truth out there, period. especially now. >> [applause]

>> thank you. i am honored to be standing here with carl, who has, over the decades, taught me so much about journalism. as he says, journalism is about connections, finding the people that know what is hidden, and establishing relationships of trust. that was the first lesson from carl in 1972. he obtained a list of drupal -- of people who worked at nixon's campaign committee, not surprisingly from a former girlfriend. >> [laughter] bob: he is finally embarrassed.

>> [laughter] bob: no one would talk. carl said, here is what we have to do. launching a system, knocking on doors when we did not have an appointment. we later wrote, the nighttime visits were frankly fishing expeditions. the trip was getting inside someone's apartment or house. bits and pieces came. we saw fear at times. we heard about document destruction, a massive housecleaning at the nixon reelection committee. a money trail, an organized well-funded cover up. clark mcgregor, then the nixon campaign manager, called the editor of the washington post to complain.

mcgregor reported, they knocked on doors late at night and telephoned from the lobby. they hounded 5 women. bradley's response -- that is the nicest thing i have heard about them in years. >> [laughter] bob: and maybe ever. in 1973, i recall standing on pennsylvania avenue with carl after a court hearing. we watched 3 of the watergate burglars filling a cab, front and back seat. carl was desperate, desperate that he would lose them in this opportunity. he was short on cash and didn't know where he might be going. i gave carl $20.

there was no room in the cab, but carl, uninvited, got in any way, piling in on top of these people as the door slammed. he ended up flying with the lawyer to new york city and came back with another piece of the puzzle. i never got my $20. >> [laughter] bob: the point -- very aggressive reporting is often necessary. bradley and the editors of the washington post gave us the precious luxury of time to pursue all leads, all people who might know something, even something small. now in 2017, the inpatient and

speed of the internet and our own rush can disable and undermine the most important tool of journalism. that luxury of time to inquire, to pursue, to find the real agents of genuine news, witnesses, participants, documents, to dive into the cab. any president and his administration in washington is clearly entitled to the most serious reporting efforts possible. we need to understand, to listen, to dig. obviously our reporting needs to get both facts and tone right. the press, especially in the so-called mainstream media, comes under attack, particularly

during presidential campaigns like this one and its aftermath. like politicians and presidents, sometimes, perhaps too frequently, we make mistakes and >> mr. president, the media is not fake news. [applause] table's take that off the

as we proceed. as the executive editor of "the post" said in recent speeches, reporters have displayed modesty and humidity, bending over backwards and sincerely not only to be fair but to demonstrate to people that we intend and will be fair. in other words, that we have an obligation to listen. at the same time, marty said when we have done our job thoroughly, we have a duty to tell people what we have learned. and to tell it to them forthrightly without masking our findings are muddling them. dognalists did not have a

in the political fight except to find the best obtainable version of the truth. centrality ofble fact-based reporting is careful, scrupulous listening and an open mind. theident nixon once said problem with journalists is that they look in the mirror when they should be looking out the window. that is certainly one thing nixon said that carl and i agree with. theever the climate, rather best whether the middle -- is whether the media is revealed -- revered or reviled, we must persist. realityneed to face the that polling numbers show that

most americans disapprove of and distrust the media. this is no time for self-satisfaction or smugness but as ben bradley said in 1997, aggressiveo the more pursuit for truth, the more some people are offended by the press. so be it. so be it. may it continue. then continued, i take great strength knowing in my experience the truth does emerge. it takes forever sometimes but it does emerge and any relaxation by the press will be

extremely costly to democracy. grandfathers, perhaps a great grandfathers in american journalism but we can see that the three journalists that we are recognizing tonight are some of the finest examples of that craft of persistence. thank you. >> [applause] bob: we are going to give out these awards. they are cash awards. i believe the cash is redeemable through shares in amazon.

>> [laughter] bob: which may be a better investment. where are the winners? they are ready, okay. thank you. the aldo beckman memorial award goes to greg jaffe of the washington post. >> [applause] bob: it is for his coverage of the last days of the obama presidency. the contrast which he demonstrated between the realities of 2016, and the hopes of 2008. he examined quite brilliantly the political divisions in the obama years. the merriman smith memorial award goes to edward-isaac

dovere of politico. >> [applause] bob: this is the award for his deadline coverage of the meeting between president obama and cuban president raul castro. it demonstrated -- i think he did the story 90 minutes after this happened, and it showed the importance of having reporters on the ground who actually knew what was going on. >> [applause]

carl: finally, the edgar a. poe award goes to david fahrenthold of "the washington post." >> [applause] carl: and as many in this room know, david is being honored for his comprehensive investigation of candidate donald trump's charitable giving and the real numbers. >> [applause] carl: congratulations. jeff: thank you bob and carl, and congratulations award winners. a special thank you to our

judges. >> [applause] jeff: it is now time to get to the entertainment portion of our program. and i couldn't be more pleased to introduce hasan minhaj. i have had the pleasure of getting to know him there the course of the last few weeks and i am psyched to say that he is keenly interested in what we do and the causes we fight for. hasan is a correspondent on "the daily show," and his one-man show "homecoming king" will debut on netflix. that's on ladies and gentlemen, may 23. hasan minhaj. >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the series finale of the white house

correspondents dinner. oh man. [laughter] my name is hasan minaj, or as i will be known in a few weeks number 830. who would have thought? with everything going on in the country, that a muslim would be standing on this stage for the ninth year in a row baby. [applause] we had eight years of barack, was another year? i see you, very. what you doing. jet skiing. that is cool. [laughter] for those of you who do not know me, i am a correspondent on the "daily show" on comedy central. i see some of you whispering to each other, what is comedy central? it is basically an internship for netflix.

[laughter] i would like to thank jeff mason in the white house, i would say -- jeff mason and the white house correspondents association for helping me. i would say it is an honor to be here but that would be an alternative fact, it is not. no one wanted to do this. so of course it lands in the hand of an immigrant, that is how it plays out. [applause] don rickles died so you would not ask him to do this. the only man with thick enough skin to take a joke like that. that is my only trump joke. i was told not to go after the administration, that is my only trump joke. believe me. [laughter] it is amazing to be among the greatest journalists in the world and yet when we all checked into the hilton we all got a usa today.

[laughter] every time a "usa today" flies at my door they are saying hey you are not that smart, right? , usa today as what happens when the groupon section takes over the newspaper. [laughter] is this an article about global warming or $.50 off tires, either way the pictures are so pretty. [laughter] tonight is about defending the first amendment and the free press. i am honored to be here even though all of hollywood hold -- hollywood hold out now that itg joffrey is president feels like the red wedding in here. for the record the w hca are not king joffrey's goons, i am glad you are here to honor a american tradition because we all know

this administration likes to delete history faster than anthony weiner when he hears footsteps. thank you for being here. ok, listen. i get it. we have to address the elephant that is not in the room. [laughter] the leader of our country is not here. that is because he lives in moscow, it is a long flight. ill be hard for vladimir to make it. he cannot just make it on a saturday. as for the other guy, he is in pennsylvania because he can't take a joke. for the nine people watching on c-span, there was another elephant in the room, donald trump junior shot it and cut off its tail. [laughter] a lot of people told me, hansa

n if you go after the administration it will be petty. unfair, and childish, otherwise, presidential. here we go. i get why he did not want to be roasted, he has been roasted for the past 70 years. historically he usually performs at the correspondents dinner but i speak for all of us he has done far too much bombing this month. a lot of people in the media say that donald trump goes golfing too much. which raises a very important question, why do you care? do you want to know what he is not doing when he is golfing being president. , let the man putt-putt, teach badminton, the longer you keep him distracted, the longer we are not at war with north korea. every time he goes golfing, the

headline should read trump golfing apocalypse delayed takes the w. this is great. i love this. even if you guys grown, i have already hired kellyanne conway to tell everybody that i killed. i like that everybody is drinking and having a good time. donald trump does not drink, right? he did not touch alcohol which is oddly respectable area -- respectable. think about that. that means -- [laughter] every statement -- [laughter] every interview -- [laughter] every tweet -- completely sober. [laughter] how is that possible? we have all had that excuse, haven't we? i was hammered, that is not who i really am.

what does donald trump tell melania? listen, that bus on billy bush that is exactly who i am. [laughter] [applause] he tweets at 3:00 a.m. sober. [laughter] who is tweeting at 3:00 a.m. sober? donald trump because that is a.m. in- it is past 10 russia those are business hours. now that a professional wrestler is our president anything is , possible. you that statement anything is possible used to have a positive connotation, now we are like anything is possible. [laughter] anything. the news coming out of the white house is so stressful, i have been watching "house of cards" just to relax. [laughter] a congressman pushed a

journalist in front of a train, that is quaint. [laughter] it is not just the president who decided not to show up, his entire administration is not here. that is because michele bachmann is showing children her collection of tears. -- betsy devos, she is busy showing children her collection of tears. a lot of people think betsy devos is out of touch with america but you listen to me every morning she is up at 5:00 , a.m. putting children on their bike to school, don't you tell me she is out of touch. has anyone seen rick perry the energy secretary? i have a feeling he is sitting in a room of plutonium hoping to become spiderman. [laughter] now a lot of people think that steve bannon is the reason donald trump dog whistles to

racists. that is not true. is steve bannon here? i do not see steve bannon. i do not see steve bannon. not see. nazi steve bannon. nazi steve bannon. [laughter] frederick douglass is not here, that is because he is dead. somebody please help the -- someone please tell the president. [applause] mike pence wanted to be here, his wife would not let him take -- would not let him because apparently one of you ladies is ovulating. good job, ladies, because of you we cannot hang out with mike pence. [laughter] ivanka trump is not here either, i wish she was. if she was here, i would ask her

a question we are all thinking, why? why do you support this man? i get it, we all love our parents. but we would not endorse them for president. should your dad be president of the united states? i would say, my dad -- [laughter] the guy who tried to return used underwear at cosco? no. jeff sessions could not be here tonight, he is doing a pre-civil war enactment. -- he was busy doing a pre-civil war reenactment.

on his rsvp he wrote no, that happens to be his second favorite n-word. even hillary clinton could not be here tonight, i think someone told her that it was happening in wisconsin and michigan. what? nate silver told me that joke would kill. he said there was a 74% chance of that happening. i believe you. and enough about how full of slytherin. house we are here to talk about the truth. it is 2017 and we are living in the golden age of lying. you are his biggest enemy.

now is the time to be a liar, donald trump is liar in chief. remember you guys are public enemy number one, you are his biggest enemy. journalists, isis, normal length ties. [laughter] somehow you guys are the bad guys. that is why you have to keep your foot on the gas. especially with sean spicer because i think he is trying to google how to fake his own death. [laughter] sean spicer gives press briefings like someone is going through his browser history while he watches. stop it. stop it. stop shaking your head. it is the best. you guys are laughing but he has been in pr since 1999. he has been doing this job for 18 years. somehow after 18 years his go to move when you ask a tough question is to deny the holocaust. [laughter] that is insane. how many people do you know that

have a press briefing and -- presse briefing into a full on mel gibson traffic stop. only the spice man. do you know what is crazy? show" we on the "daily do these jokes all the time. the administration lies, trump flip-flops. it does not matter. his supporters still trust him. it has not stop the momentum at all. it is is almost like the daily show should be on c-span. it has no impact. it's true. i realized something maybe it is because we are living in this time where trust is more important than truth. supporters of president trump trust him and i know journalists , i know you guys are trying to do good work. i think a lot of people don't trust you right now, can you blame them?

unlike anderson cooper's bone structure, you guys have been far from perfect. [laughter] remember election night, that was your steve harvey miss universe moment. panes like walking into a ra bread and finding out your teacher has a part-time job, i was like what? [laughter] i guess you do not have all of the answers. it was all fun and games with obama, you were covering an adult who could speak english and now you are covering president trump. it is like a bunch of stripper cops have to solve a real-life murder. [laughter] fox news is here, i am amazed you guys showed up, how are you here in public?

it is hard to trust you guys when you manlike bill o'reilly for years, it finally happened , bill o'reilly has been fired. [applause] then you gave him a $25 million severance package, making it the only package she won't force a woman to touch. in o'reilly's defense he was told by a close friend that when you are a star you can do it, you can do anything. you guys are having a hard time with jesse watters right now. he is on a break. just like my childhood dog is on a farm upstate. i get it. i know that move. i know some of you are wondering, hasan, how do you know so much about fox news? as a muslim, i like to watch foxnews just like i like to watch: duty, sometimes i like to

turn my brain off and watch strangers insult my heritage. [laughter] msnbc is here tonight, i am glad, if there is a bombing you can describe it as stunning. it is hard to trust you guys when you are sending so many mixed messages. you say the prison industrial complex is the problem and then you air five straight hours of lockup. you cannot be mad at corporations profiting off of minorities in prison, but then be a corporation profiting off of minorities in prison. msnbc pleaseuest, tell rachel maddow to chill about trump's tax returns. there not going to be a line item that says brides from russia. russia.s from you are the liberal news outlet.

i want to root for you that you are turning into conspiracy theorists. the russians attacked our elections. everyone in the middle east is like a foreign government tampered with your election, what is that like? do tell. [laughter] just pump the brakes. we are only on day 100, by the end of the year you'll will have , jars of urine and tinfoil hats all of your desk. [laughter] [applause] now i have a lot more msnbc jokes but i don't want to ramble on or i may get a show there. [laughter] [applause] last but not least, my favorite entertainment channel is in the building tonight cnn is here. , you guys have some very weird

trust issues going on with the public. i am not going to call you fake news but everything is not breaking news. [laughter] you can't go to devcon one -- you can go to devcon one because fun to give death found go into anu can't emergency because we found a new moisturizer. every time a story breaks you have nine boxes on the screen, i am trying to watch the news not play street fighter created it gives me anxiety. if you have nine experts on a panel, what is your barrier of entry? [laughter] here to talk about transportation, when you got? it just says gary. let's go to the next countdown clock. [laughter] all you guys to do is stoke up conflict. every time i watch your show it feels like i'm watching a reality tv show.

cnn tonight should because wait a second, stop yelling at each other with don lemon. [applause] you know your news right? every time i watch cnn it seems like you are assigning me homework. is trumped a russian spy i don't , know, you tell me, tweet us. no you tell me. [laughter] i am watching the news. it feels like i am watching cnn watch the news. [laughter] [applause] just take one hour and figure out what you want to say. then go on the air. [laughter] [applause] every time i turn you guys on, it seems like a chicken just walked into a room and is trying

to tell a story. [chicken noises] breathe, take a minute drink , some milk. then tells the story, wolf. us the story,ll wolf. i know i am busting balls, i do not have a solution on how to win back trust. in the age of trump, i know that you guys have to be more perfect now more than ever. because the you are how the president is getting his news. [laughter] not from advisers, not experts, not from intelligence agencies, but you guys. that is why you have to be on your a-game, you cannot make mistakes.

once you mess up, he will plan your entire group. -- once when he messes up, he blames your entire group. now you know what it feels like to be a minority. [laughter] [applause] and i see some of you guys complaining, remember you are a minority. [laughter] you guys have a lot more experience than me, i have three decades of being brown, you have to think like a minority, as a minority everyone is going to expect you to be a mouthpiece for the entire group. i hate to say it but somewhere right now all of you are being represented by geraldo rivera. [laughter] see, now that you are a minority, there is an express, -- and there is a distorted version of you. panda express for chinese culture.

huffington post for journalism. then when you actually manage to do great work you get the most condescending line. hey, you are actually one of the good ones. then you have to smile and say thank you. that kind of sucks, doesn't it? you guys are really minorities, you are super white. -- you guys are not really minorities you are super white. ourbc is like get out minority card. but your work is invaluable, i mean that as a fake journalist. we are 100 days in, 1360 days to get. -- to go. you guys are at the half-mile and i am wishing you nothing but the best. [laughter]

you chafe? it is a long way to go. this has been one of the strangest events i have ever done in my life. [laughter] let me be honest with you, i feel like i am a tribute at the hunger games. if this goes south, steve bannon will get to beat me. -- he gets to eat me. i was asked to not roast the president and the administration, i can understand that. we are in a strange situation where there is a very combative relationship between the press, the president, but now that you guys are minorities just for this moment, you may understand the position i was in. it is the same position a lot of

minority kids feel in this country. do i come up here and try to fit in? not ruffle any feathers? or do i say how i really feel? because this event is about celebrating the first amendment and free speech -- [applause] free speech is the foundation of an open and liberal democracy from college campuses to the , white house. only in america can a first-generation indian-american muslim kid get on the stage and make fun of the president. [applause] the orange man behind the muslim ban. it is a sign to the rest of the world, this amazing tradition that shows the entire world that even the president is not beyond

the reach of the first amendment. [applause] but the president did not show up. because donald trump does not care about free speech. the man who tweets that everything that enters his head, refuses to a knowledge the -- the man who tweets everything that enters his head, refuses to a knowledge the amendment that allows him to do it. think about it. it is 11:00 p.m. in four hours donald trump will be tweeting about how bad nicki minaj bond nicki minaj bombed at this dinner. he will be doing that completely sober. [laughter] that is his right. i am proud that all of us are here tonight to defend that right, even if the man in the white house never would. i would like to thank the white house correspondents association for having me here. i want to thank all of you.

i want to thank woodward and bernstein for inspiring a generation of journalists and i would like to thank donald trump for inspiring the next. [applause] it has been an honor, good night, i love you. [applause] thank you, i really appreciate it. [applause] >> that concludes our evening, we hope you enjoyed the program and the food. [applause] >> that concludes our evening, we hope you enjoyed the program and the food. thank you to hasan, bob, carl, and the hilton staff. thank you all for coming and have a great evening. [applause]

[applause]

announcer: all newsmakers, the chair of the national resource committee talks about president trump's order on the designation of national monuments, forest fires and major spending issues. newsmakers, tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern on c-span. q&a, aer: sunday on washington political salon and the foundation of american liberalism, we talked to author brad snyder about his book on a group of intellectuals including louis brandeis and herbert hoover who met majorly in the early 1900 two debate politics and the future of the country. >> frankfurter, lichtman, brandeis, race was a failing

issue. they cared about the rights of workers. it took oliver wendell holmes junior and some of his opinions including a case known as moore versus dempsey which found for the first time that the mob dominated trials of southern blacks violated the due process walls. the first time the supreme court struck down criminal conviction under the due process clause. that was a huge moment in putting fair criminal trials on the liberal agenda and linking the idea. announcer: sunday eight eastern on c-span's q&a. annual whitew the house correspondents dinner. by theinment is provided daily show correspondent hassan manoj.