Donald Trump gets touchy-feely with Scarlett Johansson. (REUTERS)
Maybe President Obama should deliver next year’s State of the Union at the Friars Club.
Last night, the commander in chief unfurled a string of sharp-as-a-tack one-liners at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner — many of which slammed square into his potential Republican foe Donald Trump, who was sitting in the audience at the gala.
As a stern-faced Trump looked on, Obama spent a good portion of his monologue mocking his putative run for the White House and the New York real-estate mogul’s “birther” stance.
PHOTOS: WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER
PAGE SIX: TRUMP LASHES BACK AT LETTERMAN
“I know he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than ‘The Donald,’ ” Obama said.
“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?” the president quipped, mentioning other bogus conspiracies.
Obama also lobbed quips at other potential GOP-challengers such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Rep. Michele Bachman.
But for most of his speech at the dinner, which is known for being much like a celebrity roast, the president kept his attention focused on The Donald.
Obama directly addressed Trump, who was invited by the Washington Post, saying: “All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials, and your breadth of experience.”
As the crowd, filled with Beltway insiders and A-List celebrities such as Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn began to chuckle, Obama launched into a biting send-up of Trump’s role as a reality-TV host.
“For example, on a recent episode of “Celebrity Apprentice,” at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the men from Omaha Steaks.
“And there was lots of blame to go around. But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership.
“And so ultimately, you didn’t blame [rapper] Lil Jon or [singer] Meatloaf, you fired [actor and walking punch-line] Gary Busey.
“These are the kinds of decisions that keep me up at night. Well handled, sir! Well handled,” Obama joked.
Trump could be seen chuckling along as the rest of the crowd exploded into laughter and cheers.
“Saturday Night Live” head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor Seth Meyers was the host for the evening and also took shots at Trump.
“Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising,” said the comedian.
“I just assumed he was running as a joke,” Meyers said as Trump shot an icy glare in response.
“Donald Trump says he has a great relationship with the blacks,” Meyers continued.
“Unless the blacks are a family of white people, I bet he’s mistaken.”
Meyers also wasn’t afraid to make fun of the commander-in-chief, sitting just a few feet to his right.
He was handicapping the 2012 election and warned Obama, “I’ll tell you who could definitely beat you, Mr. President: 2008 Barack Obama.
“You would have loved him,” Meyers said, joking about some liberals’ frustration with the president’s policies.
Obama addressed that point as well, when he mentioned that actor Matt Damon had recently said he was “disappointed in my policies,” the president said.
“Well, Matt, I just saw ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ so right back at you, buddy!”
But the running gag for the evening was the “birther” issue.
Obama came onstage to Hulk Hogan’s anthem, “Real American” and greeted the room with, “My fellow Americans.”
Obama then joked that he had also decided to release his “birth-video” for the first time last night.
The screens then played the opening segment from Disney’s “The Lion King,” a reference to the belief that Obama was born in Kenya.