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Interview with Donald Trump; Politics, Race & Trump; Washington One-Liners: Highlights of White House Correspondents' Dinner

Aired May 01, 2011 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us.

Let's begin the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

The biggest target of the White House Correspondents' Dinner would have to be Donald Trump. Both President Obama and Seth Meyers zinged him over and over again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER: Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So if the Donald thought that was funny, he should have told it on his face. Right now, we have Donald Trump live on the phone with us.

Mr. Trump, thank you so much for joining us. You didn't seem to like Seth's jokes that much last night.

DONALD TRUMP, POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Well, actually, I thought the President's performance was much better. I thought that Seth had a hard time getting the words out, marbles in his mouth. He had a hard time with his speech. But I hosted "Saturday Night Live" and I understand Seth and I never got him.

But his presentation was very poor and he got some pretty poor marks. I thought the President actually did much better. I mean, the presentation certainly was a lot better.

LEMON: So you didn't really like his jokes. I understand that you thought they were too personal and they weren't political.

TRUMP: Well, they were pretty personal, but I expected that I was going to be zinged. People really weren't sure -- were they going to mention me at all or they're going to mention me a little bit. Nobody had any idea that it would take up a majority of their -- both speeches.

LEMON: Oh, come on, Donald, you knew they were going to mention you. You had to have known that. TRUMP: Well, I didn't actually. Don, I actually didn't know that. It was very interesting.

LEMON: All right.

TRUMP: I came in and a lot of the reporters were screaming thinking, do you think they will mention you or do you think they'll mention you a lot? And I really had no idea.

I certainly as it turned out, I certainly wouldn't have thought they would have mentioned me as much as they did. But look, it is my honor. I understand it. It was a lions' pit. I was walking into it. I have been there before. And, you know, I thought it was an entertaining evening.

LEMON: I have to say this because, you know, I watched last night, Donald, but -- and I also watched the Comedy Central Roast of you. I was wondering why you weren't laughing because last night those jokes were pretty tame compared to the recent Comedy Central roast.

Let's listen to a little bit of it then we'll talk about it.

TRUMP: Ok.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald, as long as I have you here, it is pronounced huge not uge. And here's another one: it is pronounced "I am (EXPLETIVE DELETED) delusional" not "I am running for president."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ok. So at the end there we saw you laughing, it is almost the same joke that we showed you from Seth Meyers. Some people may have been watching last night and wondering where your sense of humor went.

TRUMP: Well, you know, interestingly, the Comedy Central which was a tremendous success for them and for me because I raised a lot of money for charity, they paid me a lot, which I have given to charity, so therefore I could laugh a little bit more.

I just felt -- I actually felt some of what the President said was pretty good. I thought the picture of the White House was funny. That actually got the biggest laugh of the evening. And I thought that was quite funny, myself.

I just thought that Seth's presentation was very poor, but I'm sure he's going to work on that.

LEMON: Ok. So, listen, I want to -- I've been wanting talk to you about this. And I know that you say the media keeps asking you this question, but I have to ask you this.

This is my whole thing. A lot of people say about this birther issue, the birth certificate, the question is why do you care so much? Can you retroactively go back and unmake Barack Obama the President? TRUMP: Well, Don, it is not me that cared; it was a lot of people. I was very proud of the fact that I was able to get him to get this birth certificate because if you look, Hillary and Bill Clinton couldn't get him to do it. The McCain campaign worked very hard on it. They couldn't get him to do it.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Don, I think what is important for people to know is that my strength is jobs, the economy, making sure that China and OPEC and all of these countries that are laughing at us and ripping us off, they won't be doing it, believe me, if they have to deal with me. And this country can be rich again, it can be great again, but it is not going to be with this administration.

LEMON: Let me ask you this, I have to jump in here.

TRUMP: Now you bring up -- even now you bring up the birther. Let's get off that.

LEMON: Hang on. Hang on. In that comment of what you just said, it sounds like you are running for president. Are you running for president?

TRUMP: Well, I'm giving very, very serious thought. As you know right now, I'm not allowed to say that because I have a major show on -- a very successful show, but I will be announcing some time prior to June. I think a lot of people are going to be very, very happy with my announcement.

LEMON: And I just -- from your discussion of what you have been saying, it sounds like when you say things like that that you are definitely running for president.

Yes, we bring up that issue of the birth certificate, Mr. Trump, because people want to know why you care so much. And you realize, you realize this, that this whole issue about what exactly natural born is has never been challenged in court, so we don't even know if it would apply to President Obama if he wasn't born here. It wasn't even litigated when John McCain wasn't born in the United States and was born in Panama. So that's why people are wondering why you care so much.

TRUMP: 75 percent of the Republican Party and lots of other people thought that there was a good chance that he wasn't born here.

I want to really get on to the most important subjects, which are jobs, which are, by the way, your gasoline is going to be costing you $5 a gallon, $6 and $7. The problem I have had, Don, is that every time I go into a show, the first thing -- instead of talking about my strength, which is exactly that, and dealing with people so we become a rich country again, every time I go on they start talking about the birther issue.

Interestingly, I just watched David Axelrod on television, and he almost wasn't blaming me. He said, you know, it's not just Trump, the press kept asking the question. That's why it came to the forefront.

LEMON: I saw it that Mr. Trump. I saw that, Mr. Trump. And you know what, he brought up another issue that I would love to talk to you about, and that's race. You were talking about that this morning on "Meet The Press" right? He brought up the issue of race.

And many people are calling your racist. People were sending me tweets saying why are you having this racist guy on? Why are you giving him more attention? Do you mind if we take a quick break and then we can talk about that race issue because as an African-American, I want to ask you about that?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, I really have to go, but I want to tell you I am the least racist. I am a wonderful person as far as you would be concerned as to race. And I think everybody that knows me knows that.

LEMON: Are you aware of the stereotypes about African-Americans? Are you?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know what you mean by stereotypes. Why don't you define that a little bit in greater detail?

LEMON: The stereotypes that take place in America about African- Americans, one is that they are not as smart as whites. And when you talk about someone like the President and you challenge whether or not he has an education or deserve to go to Ivy League schools, you're talking -- you're bringing up, you're promoting one of those stereotypes about African-Americans.

And as someone running for president of the country, which means everyone, then wouldn't you be sensitive to those issues in the culture?

TRUMP: It certainly does mean everyone, and it means everyone to me. As far as I'm concerned, the President is a very smart man. And I think a comment about racism is ridiculous as it applies to me. And people that know me laugh at it. They think it is so stupid. I mean it is a ridiculous statement and is certainly ridiculous as it applies to me.

LEMON: What about the comment you said when you referred to the blacks that you had a good relationship with the blacks, do you understand how some people will take that phrasing?

TRUMP: Some people do and some people don't. I mean I've heard it both ways. It is something that I said. And I think I have had many people say there was absolutely nothing wrong with that comment.

LEMON: And you don't feel there was anything wrong with it?

TRUMP: I personally don't feel there was anything wrong with it. I mean I see shows advertised positively black. I see another show advertised black agenda on MSNBC, the black agenda. And then when I say that, very few, I have to tell you, there's been very little talk about it, but every once in a while somebody will bring it up. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

LEMON: Those shows aren't called the blacks agenda or the gays agenda or the whites agenda.

TRUMP: You know, I really think this. I have many, many black friends who said to me, absolutely not a problem, that statement. And you know, every once in a while I hear somebody say, he should have said it a little bit differently.

The fact is I want to focus on jobs. I want to focus on the economy. I want to focus on the fact that nations are laughing at us and ripping us off and taking our money and taking our jobs. And that's what I'm best at.

LEMON: Ok, so listen, why are you -- what is it -- is this in your contract that you cannot state whether or not you are running? Your contract with NBC?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I think it would be -- not in my contract, I think it would be inappropriate during the run of "Celebrity Apprentice" to be discussing exactly -- to make a statement that I will run. But in my own mind I know what I'm going to be doing. The show ends on May 22nd. And some time shortly thereafter I will be making a statement.

LEMON: There have been this initiative online and again on Twitter, people are saying they want to boycott me now because I have you on. Boycott Trump. They don't want your products, hotels; they don't want you in television. They are going to boycott NBC because of your show.

What do you make of that?

TRUMP: Well, I don't think it is true. And as you know, the "Celebrity Apprentice" ratings are through the roof. We're the number one on NBC. We're doing great. I'm doing well. Any time you want to boycott me, that's ok, Don, because I don't have to do this show.

LEMON: All right. Donald Trump, so listen, thank you for coming up.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

LEMON: Mr. Trump, just you know, maybe phrasing -- you can phrase things a little bit differently and --

TRUMP: Well, I have done pretty well the way I have phrased it. I have never been accused of phrasing things badly.

LEMON: I know. But when people take offense to it in the culture, maybe it is something you need to think about. That's all I'm saying. If you are running for president, running for president of the United States you have to be sensitive to all people here in the United States.

TRUMP: Well, I think I am sensitive to all people and think I have great relationships with all the people. And the word "racism" has never entered at any time any sense with respect to me and I'm very proud of that.

LEMON: Hey, Donald Trump, I do have to say, you do call back; you do come and do the interviews. If I must say something, you came on this show and many others, so I appreciate you coming on.

Thank you very much.

TRUMP: Thank you very much, Don.

LEMON: All right.

TRUMP: It is an honor.

LEMON: All right.

All right. For many of those who might have missed last night, we're going to replay the highlights of the White House Correspondents' Dinner throughout this show. And if you want more information on what we are covering with Donald Trump, with other stories, reach out to us on Twitter, on Facebook, and on foursquare.com, on cnn.com/don.

Hey come back to me on camera real quickly.

So, I'm going to have someone -- a diversity expert and also Tim Wise to talk about this whole race issue. We're going to have a discussion on this, a lengthy discussion. Weigh in online if you want to. It's going to happen right after the break. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: Donald Trump said recently he has a great relationship with the blacks. Now, unless the blacks are a family of white people I bet he's mistaken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. We'll talk a little more, a lot more about politics, race and yes, Donald Trump. I'm joined here in Atlanta by Buck Davis. He's a consultant and a counselor and workplace mediator. And Tim Wise is joining us on the phone; he's in Nashville. He's an anti-racist writer and activist, who provides anti-racism training nationwide.

Thank you Buck for joining us here in Atlanta --

BUCK DAVIS, BUCK DAVIS & COMPANY: My pleasure.

LEMON: -- and thank you very much Tim. Hey Tim -- to you.

TIM WISE, ANTI-RACIST WRITER (via telephone): Yes.

LEMON: I want to play this real quickly from Donald Trump about Ivy League schools and I want you weigh in on it.

WISE: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There are stereotypes that take place in America about African-Americans. One is that they are not as smart as whites. And when you talk about someone like the President and you challenge whether or not he has an education or deserved to go to Ivy League schools, you're talking -- you're bringing up, you're promoting one of those stereotypes about African-Americans.

And as someone who's running for president of the country, which means everyone, then wouldn't you be sensitive to those issues in our culture?

TRUMP: It certainly does mean everyone and it means everyone to me. And as far as I'm concerned, the President is a very smart man. And I think a comment about racism is ridiculous as it applies to me. And people that know me laugh at it; they think it is so stupid. I mean it is a ridiculous statement and as certainly ridiculous as it applies to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tim Wise, what do you make of that?

WISE: Well, look, I mean this is part of a long-standing white conservative narrative that people of color are getting things they don't deserve because of affirmative action or racial handouts. So either Donald Trump is the most uninformed individual in the Western world because he doesn't know how his comments fit that narrative or he knows full well what he's doing and is deliberately pushing the buttons of racial resentment.

This narrative has been around a very long time and it seems like whenever a person of color attains a high position, whether it is Pat Buchanan or Donald Trump or Rush Limbaugh or whoever it is, they start questioning whether it was deserved. They do not give out magna cum laude at Harvard Law by pulling names out of a hat. You have to earn that.

And the fact that little Lord Fauntleroy who inherited millions of dollars from his daddy and whose daddy set him up in business would question anyone about whether or not they had earned what they'd acquired is the ultimate definition of irony.

LEMON: Buck Davis?

DAVIS: Well, let's first start with talking about the amount influence of money and power that Donald Trump has in the country. He's a leader whether you like him or not. People follow. He changes minds.

With power comes responsibility. And when you have a fellow like Donald Trump who is questioning grades, it quickly sounds like he's questioning academic ability which quickly jumps to questioning intelligence. When a white man with privilege questions -- I just went out -- questions a black man's intelligence, it sounds very racist and very stereotypical.

I think he probably is a very wonderful man, he's a very smart man, but it is a prime example how a wonderful, smart man can make a mistake.

LEMON: Why wouldn't he understand that?

DAVIS: Because I think that Donald Trump is in a total league of his own. I think he's operating with a tremendous amount of privilege. And I don't think that he would admit that he's made an error. Well, I don't think -- I just heard it. He would not admit that he's made an error like that and it's a grave error on his part.

LEMON: But does that necessarily mean, thought Tim -- let's go to Tim, does that necessarily mean he's racist?

WISE: No, no, I don't think -- and I think Buck and I would probably agree, I don't think the terminology is to say whether he is or he's not racist. I think the issue is whether he is choosing to push buttons of racial anxiety and resentment.

And the reason I think. I have a hard time buying his sincerity is there's nothing on the record to suggest that Donald Trump ever questioned the academic credentials of our last president who was a C student at Yale, bragged about being a C student at Yale.

Now, I know Donald Trump would say, "Oh I was very critical of George W. Bush." That's true, but he never went to that place -- he never went to the place of saying what was this guy doing in Yale.

And we know that Donald Trump by his own admission gave a lot of money to John McCain and Sarah Palin and their campaign. John McCain graduated like what -- second or third from the bottom of his class in Annapolis. He was only there because his dad by was an admiral. Sarah Palin went to what -- six -- four schools in six years, barely graduated at all.

I'm not saying that to be cruel, but I'm saying that, you know, I don't know how Donald Trump can pose as the protector of academic credentials and that's why when he does this with regard to this man of color it pushes this racial button. It is a very common narrative and it's one that I think any responsible person who wants to be president needs to at least be aware of.

And he either is totally unaware or he's doing it on purpose. Either way, it fundamentally disqualifies him as a leader of this country.

LEMON: And I asked that question of him saying, you know, don't you realize when you do this that you have a responsibility or at least you should. And I'm ok, I'm comfortable with saying that. And if he is running with president he needs to be responsible.

So listen, I'm going to give you the last word here, Buck, whether he's racist or now, whatever, is it the same outcome whether he is doing it as Tim says, willingly to try to push buttons or whether he's doing it and doesn't realize it -- it has the same outcome?

DAVIS: It does have the same outcome but it doesn't impact Donald Trump and it doesn't impact President Obama. It will impact a group of people in this country who are fighting a lot of barriers themselves. It impacts people of color.

And so those folks have their empire. Young, black men in this country are fighting barriers around their intelligence and they're losing opportunities. And this just reinforces how someone who is very smart, who has a huge position in this country and a leader can unintentionally -- I do believe it was unintentional -- slam a group of people and possibly create yet another barrier for them.

LEMON: Buck Davis, Tim Wise, thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.

WISE: Thank you.

Next up here on CNN, the President throws jabs at his political opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Michele Bachmann is here, though, I understand. And she is thinking about running for president, which is weird because I hear she was born in Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: When you were sworn in you looked like the guy from the Old Spice commercials. Now you look like Louis Gossett Sr.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: When you come to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, you have to be ready -- ready to laugh at others and, just in case, ready to laugh yourself. It seemed like everyone found themselves a punch line at Saturday night's dinner starting with the President.

Here's some of the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The state of Hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate -- tonight for the first time I am releasing my official birth video.

(EXCERPT FROM "THE LION KING")

OBAMA: I want to make clear to the Fox News table that was a joke. That was not my real birth video. That was a children's cartoon. Call Disney if you don't believe me. They have the original long-form version.

Where's the National Public Radio table? You guys are still here? That's good.

Of course, the deficit is a serious issue. That's why Paul Ryan couldn't be here tonight. His budget has no room for laughter.

Michele Bachmann is here, though, I understand. And she is thinking about running for president, which is weird because I hear she was born in Canada. Yes, Michele, this is how it starts -- just letting you know.

Tim Pawlenty -- he seems all-American but have you heard his real middle name? Tim Hosni Pawlenty? What a shame.

Donald Trump is here tonight. Now I know that 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. 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?

All kidding aside -- obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. For example, no seriously, just recently in an episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" at the Steakhouse the men's cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks. And there was a lot of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership. So ultimately you didn't blame little John or Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey.

These are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Oh, the President was very funny. And he's going to get hit by Seth Meyers coming up next. Seth Meyers pokes fun at the President and unleashes on the Tea Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: Mr. President, look at your hair. If your hair gets any whiter the Tea Party is going to endorse it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: Who told you I had birth certificate jokes. It was Assange, wasn't it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Seth Meyers, cast member of "Saturday Night Live". As a matter of fact, he is the head writer. He took aim at a bunch of things last night, from the President to the press and, of course, politicians.

Some called it mean but there was no denying his time at the mike made people laugh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: This evening I'm going to be making a lot of jokes about many of the people in this room, but don't worry, I assure you no matter how harsh the jokes they have all been vetted by the men at the top, Chinese president Hu Jin Tao.

And before I start, these are my birth certificate jokes, so thank you for the timing of that, Mr. President -- now unusable. We were working on these jokes for months. One of my guys said, are you worried we're a little heavy on birth certificate jokes. What if he releases it before the dinner? I was like, why would he do that?

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: He's not going to wait three years and then release it before the dinner.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Who told you I had birth certificate jokes? It was Assange, wasn't it.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Is Biden still vice president? Because if not, I'm down to, like, Thank you and God bless America.

Just look at the options the Republicans are kicking around, Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, Trump. That doesn't sound like a field of candidates, that sounds like season 13 of "Dancing With the Stars."

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Both Rand Paul and Ron Paul have been talking about a run in 2012, so they have something in common with my father and I, which is we're also not going to get elected president.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Tim Pawlenty is considering a run. If you look up "boring" in the dictionary, that's more exciting than listening to Tim Pawlenty. Tim Pawlenty makes Al Gore look like Ru Paul.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

MEYERS: Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump's head.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Gary Busey said recently that Donald Trump would make a great president. Of course, he said the same thing about an old rusty birdcage he found.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Donald Trump owns the Miss USA pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for a vice president.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Donald Trump said recently he has a great relationship with "the blacks," though unless the blacks are a family of white people, I bet he's mistaken.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: At the beginning of this term, Mr. President, housewives were trying to sneak into the White House. Not anymore. Now everyone's leaving -- Axelrod, Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel. By this time next year, it'll just be you and Joe Biden trying to find toner for the copy machine.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: So it's not a strong field, and who knows if they can beat you in 2012. But I tell you who could definitely beat you, Mr. President, 2008 Barack Obama. You would have loved him.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

MEYERS: So charismatic, so charming. Was he a little too idealistic? Maybe. But you would have loved him. I still think we all remember that inauguration day. The first lady was there. And may I say, for as beautiful as you looked that day, you look even more beautiful tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

MEYERS: Now you, on the other hand, Mr. President, have aged a little. What happened to you? When you were sworn in, you looked like the guy from the Old Spice commercials.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Now you look like Louis Gossett, Sr.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: I've never said this to anyone before, but maybe you should start smoking again.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Is this the change you were talking about? Mr. President, look at your hair. If your hair gets any whiter, the Tea Party is going to endorse it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Coming up here on CNN, highlights from the White House Correspondents dinner, more including Seth Meyers poking fun at the media.

And also, there's other news tonight, including residents in the South recovering from devastating tornadoes. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's check your top stories. A day of prayer for victims of the devastating tornadoes in the South. The death toll across six states now stands at 339. Alabama took the hardest hit, losing 250 people in the twisters. Senior administration officials today toured some of the worst hit places. Their primary message was to reassure survivors they will not be forgotten and the federal government will provide the needed assistance.

Flooding is a problem in other places. The tiny Illinois town of Cairo is facing pressure from rising water on both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The Army Corps of Engineers is considering blowing up a levee in Missouri to ease the pressure. That might save the town, but it would send flood waters pouring across thousands of acres of Missouri farmland. Missouri has already lost one court case to stop the demolition. It's now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in now.

Monday's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour has been delayed at least a week. NASA says it will now be next Sunday at the earliest. The delay was prompted by concerns over the shuttle's heating system. Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the wife of the shuttle commander, was in Florida but returned to Houston today, where she's been in rehab after being shot by a would-be assassin. She plans to return to Florida when the launch is rescheduled.

Libyan forces opened fire on the rebel-hold city of Misrata today in the heaviest shelling seen in weeks. And in Tripoli, groups described as organized mobs ransacked empty embassies belonging to the U.S. and several other countries. The attacks followed word that NATO air strikes had killed Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, and three of the Libyan leaders grandchildren. Moammar Gadhafi was reportedly in the building but survived. NATO repeated its past assertions that it does not target individuals.

Remember that Air France jet crashing into the Atlantic Ocean nearly two years ago? A memory unit, a part of the flight data recorder, was recovered from the ocean floor today and officials hope it will help provide some answers to the crash -- what caused that crash. All 228 people aboard the Airbus A-330 were killed on the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in 2009.

OK, more now with Seth Meyers, the featured speaker at Saturday night's White House Correspondents dinner. He took jabs at all journalists, including CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYERS: There are actually some unscheduled parties happening tonight. I've been asked to give everyone a rundown. Fox News is having a party. Security is tough, so make sure you bring your driver's license and your long-form driver's license. But if you're blond, don't worry about it. Just bring that dynamite smile.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: The "New York Times" party used to be free, but tonight, apparently, there's a cover. So like everyone else, I'll probably just go to The Huffington Post party.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: And The Huffington Post party is asking people to go to other parties first and just steal food and drinks and bring it from there.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Don't get me wrong, I love Arianna Huffington, especially her voice. She sounds like a woman who would be sitting up in bed with a sheet wrapped around her as James Bond is walking out the door. Will I see you again, James?

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: This has been a year of sweeping changes happening in TV news. Katie Couric announced she is leaving CBS. Katie was known best for asking those tough questions, like, Name a newspaper.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Katie is just one of the many departures we've seen this year. NPR fired Juan Williams after he said Muslims make him nervous. So Juan is black and afraid of Muslims, making him the least likely man to get a cab in New York City.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann was suspended from his show for violating company policy by donating money to three Democratic campaigns. Still, the punishment seemed rather harsh compared to the slap on the wrist Larry King got after giving a buffalo nickel to the campaign of Chester A. Arthur.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: CNN replaced Larry King with Piers Morgan this year. It's just like that old expression, Out with the old, in with the who? (LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: Rick Sanchez, you are gone but you are forgotten. Not everyone's leaving. My friend, Anderson Cooper, is still over at CNN, and I especially love watching him report from the field. You can always tell how much danger Anderson Cooper is in by how tight his clothing is.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: If he's in the bulky yellow slicker, then it's a hurricane that's still off-shore. If he's in the khaki vest, he's maybe in the Green Zone in Baghdad. But when he's in the child-size white T-shirt, bullets are flying, he's getting punched, he's pulling kitten out of the rubble.

(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)

MEYERS: So what I'm saying is if you ever see Anderson Cooper with his shirt off, turn off your television and run!

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: My friend and colleague from NBC, Brian Williams, is here tonight. Brian said he was coming because tonight has the element he most respects in an evening, cameras.

(LAUGHTER)

MEYERS: I'm not saying Brian loves being on TV, but when he went to Egypt, it was because he heard it was their pilot season. All joking aside, I have nothing but respect for my good friend Brian. I don't know if anyone heard about this, but Brian landed in London to cover the royal wedding, only to turn back around to return to America to cover the tornadoes in Alabama. It was incredibly brave and courageous, and that is a direct quote from Brian Williams.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Did the president have a goal behind the jokes at the correspondents dinner? And if so, did he accomplish it? We'll examine next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: The White House Correspondents dinner has people talking across Washington, really, and beyond. And I talked about it with three people who know comedy and politics very well. Lizz Winstead is the co-creator of "The Daily Show." Errol Louis is a political anchor for New York 1 and a CNN contributor. And comedian Pete Dominick is host of Sirius XM's "Stand-Up With Pete Dominick."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So Lizz, Errol, Pete, I want you to listen to Seth Meyers talk about Donald Trump running for president now.

MEYERS: Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: So Lizz, you believe Seth Meyers did the most damage when it comes to Donald Trump.

LIZZ WINSTEAD, CO-CREATOR, "THE DAILY SHOW": I do. I believe that the president -- you know, it was like a hockey game. The president set him up and he just, like, slammed it. And finally, because we have been living with this Donald Trump crazy train of birth certificatism, if you will -- and to finally be able to have the president say his piece and then have Seth Meyers just tear him down -- it was -- it was, I felt, very cathartic just as a viewer. And I could see that whole room felt like, Good. And to watch him just sit there and stare like a sociopath, like he had no feeling, was completely gratifying.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Oh, my gosh. "Sociopath." You said it. And "crazy train." OK...

WINSTEAD: I said it.

LEMON: All right, so...

WINSTEAD: I said it.

LEMON: So Pete, this next clip is for you. It is Seth Meyers talking about Donald Trump's hair but in reference to Fox News. Take a listen.

MEYERS: Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump's head.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: OK, Pete. So he got in Fox and fox and hair.

PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Don, you're right, I -- no one loves a hair joke or a bad hair joke or a lack of hair joke better than myself. And this was a great one because, as a bald man, I'm not in denial. I embrace it. And Donald Trump has always rejected it. He needs to come over to the dark side, if you will.

But listen, I would say I disagree a little bit with Lizz and with your question in that Seth Meyers did the most damage in terms of humiliating him, but the president can do a lot of damage by saying the things he said. We'll never see a Trump Republican candidate because everybody knows he's really more of a Democrat. He couldn't win a primary in Mississippi. But it was good to see what the President Obama strategy would be. You just focus on "The Apprentice" and Meatloaf and Gary Busey, and that is exactly what the strategy would be because he is kind of a joke.

LEMON: This next one will go to Errol. It was -- Seth was pretty funny when he talked about how the president has aged. And I thought a really funny thing he said, Listen, if your hair gets any whiter, the Tea Party is going to endorse it, Errol.

ERROL LOUIS, NEW YORK 1: Yes. Yes. Yes. There was a lot of humor. I mean, and of course, he's playing to the room. You know, a Tea Party convention wouldn't find that funny at all. In fact, they'd probably be pretty upset. But there was a lot of that.

Look, this is -- to the extent that there is an East Coast media elite, this is it. This is their headquarters. This is their annual meeting. This is their shareholders report. And you know, they were having some fun at the expense of a lot of people who have caused them a lot of pain, you know, frankly. And that's both politically and otherwise. They've been the targets of immense amount of attacks, Don. I'm sure you get it, too, you know, the mainstream media. You're doing this, you're doing that. You're in bed with the president. You're a bunch of crazy lefties. You don't understand the real America. This is their chance to say, you know, We've got our own point of view, and we've got our own jokes and we've got our own language, just like the Tea Party.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: My thanks to Lizz, Errol and Pete.

All right, there's Maureen O'Connor from Gawker.com.

MAUREEN O'CONNOR, STAFF WRITER, GAWKER.COM: Hi.

LEMON: Oh, my gosh. You guys have a lot to say. I've been reading. You're going to weigh in on the president's humor, Seth Meyers's humor and Donald Trump. How the night went, coming up, Maureen O'Connor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Tom Greene refuses to hide who he is.

TOM GREENE, CHAPEL HILL HIGH SCHOOL: Marching for gay rights, I, you know, would see these people who were targeting me. My story was kind of similar to some of your stories, how you felt targeted because of who you were.

PERRY: The high school history teacher believes making connections with his students is key to his success in the classroom. That's why he's open about being gay.

(on camera): This is North Carolina

GREENE: Right.

PERRY: ... not necessarily known for being the most liberal part of the country. What was the reaction to you once you got in the building?

GREENE: A little bit of surprise at first, but overall, it's been very positive.

PERRY: What about those families who don't want you talking about your sexuality?

GREENE: To talk about my partner, it's not that I'm talking about sexuality, I'm talking about my life.

PERRY: Why do you think people care about the sexual orientation of a faculty member?

GREENE: There's some people who are uncomfortable with gay people. But I think it's important to send a message to my students that being honest is important.

PERRY (voice-over): The decision to come out may not be so clear-cut for other educators.

ROBERT MCGARRY, GAY, LESBIAN AND STRAIGHT EDUCATION NETWORK: There are still places in our country where an individual could lose their job based upon their identity.

PERRY: In North Carolina, like in many other states, there are no laws to explicitly protect gay educators like Danielle Riley. This high school English teacher isn't as open as Greene.

DANIELLE RILEY, JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL: Parents can feel less secure with you being their child's teacher if your sexuality is not what they feel is traditional. The truth is, I'm a teacher who happens to be a lesbian in the same way I happen to be kind of short and have hazel eyes. It's just part of who I am.

PERRY: Steve Perry, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEYERS: Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump's head.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That joke is funny every time you hear it. Donald Trump taking a lot of licks at the White House Correspondents dinner, and we talked with Trump earlier in the hour about the jokes, the birther issue and the allegations of racism he is facing over his loud criticism of President Obama.

Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION (via telephone): As far as I'm concerned, the president's a very smart man. And I think a comment about racism is ridiculous as it applies to me. And people that know me laugh at it, they think it's so stupid. I mean, it's a ridiculous statement and as certainly ridiculous as it applies to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, I want to bring in now Maureen O'Connor of Gawker.com. She is a staff writer at that Web site. It never met a Donald Trump that it didn't like. I've been reading Gawker all week, and you've had some doozies there. So you heard Donald Trump earlier. You heard him in that interview, and you saw the dinner last night. What do you think, Maureen?

O'CONNOR: I mean, I think that he's an inherently humorous man. He has orange-colored flesh and flesh-colored hair. Everybody -- of course, he's going to be the center of attention at a humorous event like that.

I think that Donald right now likes to say that he's, you know, so loved by the public. If he were to actually run for president, he must know that he can't really answer most of the questions a president has to answer.

Just last week on Gawker, we reported that asked about his Vietnam war, why he didn't serve, Donald said, Well, I was, you know, really lucky. I had a high draft number. That's the kind of thing you can say if you're just a celebrity. If you're running for president, you have to also talk about the fact that Donald got five deferments to get out of the Vietnam war, four as a student, one medical deferment. He has admitted last week, when push came to shove, that he actually exaggerates how much wealth he has. He says, I think everybody exaggerates that kind of thing.

Those are the things you can do when all you're doing is seeking attention. You can exaggerate and fudge details. If he was actually running for president, he has to know that he can't actually answer a lot of these questions about his own background.

LEMON: So what you're saying, though -- so you're saying you believe the polling about Donald Trump is actually false polling because we don't know that much about his background, we don't know that much about his finances. And again, there were people who said that Bill Clinton, George W. Bush were draft dodgers. We were talking about that. So is this going to stick with Trump, do you think?

O'CONNOR: You know, I think right now, we're at such a level of hypotheticals with Donald Trump that it's almost, like, Well, you know, what do you want, Snooki to be your president? Oh, heck, why not. No, people -- I don't think -- I hope, at least, that the American public, if push came to shove, would think seriously about a man who says China is, quote, "the enemy." Is that really somebody you would want to be your president?

And I think when it's a really far-away hypothetical, you can say, Oh, sure, I haven't thought seriously about him. He hasn't answered serious questions about policy. So then you can say, Yes, of course. But that -- you're right, it's not an accurate poll of whether people would actually be showing up to vote for this kind of person.

LEMON: Hey, Maureen, I just have a short time left here on the air. We're going to get bumped off. But I have to ask you, you guys did some digging on his finances on Gawker this week. What did you find?

O'CONNOR: We -- he is not as wealthy as he says, and this has been something that has come up repeatedly as he's been profiled over the years, that he exaggerates his success as a businessman. He's really successful as a self-promoter and a reality star. In terms of actually managing businesses, which is what he claims as why he should be president, he isn't actually that good at it.

LEMON: Yes. Maureen O'Connor, thank you, Gawker.com. I'll be checking in on it throughout this night tonight and all next week. We appreciate it. Have a good evening.

O'CONNOR: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you so much for joining us. What an interesting hour. All right, I'll see you back here at 10:00 PM Eastern. A Larry King special, "The Alzheimer's Epidemic," is next here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)