Obama's best jokes from the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Nothing was off limits for the US president, who took pops at Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, the Koch brothers and his own vice-president, Joe Biden

At the gathering he jokingly called "a night when Washington celebrates itself," President Barack Obama took light-hearted aim on Saturday at a range of political friends and foes, including the people running to succeed him.

Here were some of this year's best gags:

• He joked about his own vice-president Joe Biden, who seemingly inappropriately started rubbing the shoulders of new Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's wife Stephanie at his swearing-in ceremony. “Welcome to the fourth quarter of my presidency. Fact is, I feel more loose and relaxed than ever. Those Joe Biden shoulder massages, they’re like magic. You should try one. Oh, you have?” “ I don’t have a bucket list but I do have something that rhymes with bucket list. Take executive action on immigration? Bucket. New Climate regulations? Bucket.”


• On his bromance with Biden: “We’ve gotten so close that in some places in Indiana they won’t serve us pizza anymore”

• Referring to persistent rumours that he is Muslim, he said: “Being president isn’t easy, I still have to fix a broken immigration system, issue veto threats, and [negotiate with Iran], all while praying five times a day.”

• “Dick Cheney said I’m the worst president of his lifetime, which is interesting, because I think he’s the worst president of my lifetime,” he said, tongue-in-check, in reference to his overarching influence during his time as vice-president under George W Bush.

• Taking a pop at Hillary Clinton, he said: “I have one friend, who just a few weeks ago, was making [millions of dollars]. Now, she’s living out of a van in Iowa.”



• The president joked of news that Republican Jeb Bush had mistakenly marked “Hispanic” on a form. “Look, it’s an honest mistake—reminds me of when I identified myself as American back in 1961.”

• "It is no wonder that people keep pointing out how the presidency has aged me. I look so old, (Republican speaker of the House of Representatives) John Boehner's already invited Netanyahu to speak at my funeral."

• “Rick Santorum announced that he would not attend a gay or lesbian wedding of one of his friends or loved ones, to which gay people responded, ‘That’s not going to be a problem.”



• And on the Koch brothers, who have reported plans to spend $1 billion on the 2016 campaign: "Soon, the next presidential contest will take place, and I for one can't wait to see who the Koch brothers will pick."


• Joking about the less-known Democrat running for the White House, he said: “Hillary [Clinton] kicked things off by going completely unrecognized at a Chipotle. Not to be outdone, Martin O’Malley went completely unrecognised at a Martin O’Malley campaign event.”