Obama gets his last shot at ribbing Washington

President Barack Obama will get one more chance on Saturday to poke fun at fellow politicians, the press and himself as he attends his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The dinner comes amid a fierce presidential campaign that should provide Obama and this year’s entertainer, Larry Wilmore, plenty of material.

The Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, a regular in recent years, isn’t expected to attend, though several Hollywood stars, athletes and government officials are.

Obama has described the dinner as Washington celebrating itself. Others call it the nerd prom.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama enjoys the opportunity to speak at the event, in part, because so many of the other speeches he gives deal with such serious topics, and this is the unique event that allows him to share some laughs about the political process and those who participate.

Wilmore also likes to make fun of Washington. He is best known for appearances as the “senior black correspondent” on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He is now host of “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.”

Proceeds from the dinner go toward journalism scholarships and awards.

This year’s winners are:

– Carol Lee of the Wall Street Journal, winner of the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award for excellence in White House coverage.

– Matt Viser of the Boston Globe, winner of the Merriman Smith Award for outstanding White House coverage under deadline pressure.

– Norah O'Donnell of CBS News, winner of the Merriman Smith award for broadcast journalism.

– Terrence McCoy of The Washington Post and Neela Banerjee, John Cushman Jr., David Hasemyer and Lisa Song of InsideClimate, winners of the Edgar A. Poe award, which recognizes excellence in coverage of events or investigative topics of regional or national interest.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Obama gets his last shot at ribbing Washington."