Obama to hold state dinner for Merkel

President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeted reporters after dining at a restaurant Monday night.Angela Merkel will receive the nation's highest civilian honorThe trip comes despite policy differences between the two countriesMerkel and Obama dined privately Monday night

Washington (CNN) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a state dinner on Tuesday, a big honor for a U.S. ally who differs at times with the Obama administration.

Merkel, 56, dined privately with President Barack Obama at a Georgetown restaurant on Monday night before a day of official business that culminates with the evening of White House pomp and ceremony, including her getting the nation's highest civilian honor.

If Obama has any hard feelings over Germany's abstention on the U.N. Security Council vote for establishing a no-fly zone over Libya, they appear to be buried, at least for now.

"I'm sure they will discuss the range of foreign policy issues that are out there that are of common interest to both countries," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday. "I think, again, the relationship is important. The cooperation is excellent."

The tone was different in April, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared in a speech in Germany that "the world did not wait for another Srebrenica in a place called Benghazi," referring to the site of a Bosnian massacre and the Libyan rebel stronghold that was under siege by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Carney said Monday that he also expected the two leaders to discuss efforts to bolster recovery from the global recession, noting "it is an issue that both are addressing in different ways."

Germany continues to expand its trade surplus with record exports, causing critics to complain it should boost domestic consumption to ease the imbalance as part of global efforts to quicken recovery from the recession.

Merkel advocates tough austerity measures for European Union colleagues, and recently decided to close all of Germany's nuclear power plants in coming years in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Obama, facing a tough political fight over Republican demands to shrink the government to reduce the federal deficit and national debt, calls for continued investment in education, infrastructure and clean energy while cutting wasteful spending and raising taxes on the wealthy.

His administration proposes a broad energy policy that increases domestic oil production as well as nuclear power while pushing to develop solar and wind energy production to compete in a growing global market.

Carney was able to clear up one question about Merkel's trip. Because Merkel is a head of government, rather than a head of state, the trip is labeled an official visit, though the Tuesday night gathering is a state dinner, Carney explained.

CNN

Obama pokes fun at Trump at WH dinner

Pres. Obama at WH Correspondents' Dinnervar cnnWindowParams = window.location.toString().toQueryParams();if(typeof cnnWindowParams.video != "undefined") {if(cnnWindowParams.video) {cnnLoadStoryPlayer('politics/2011/04/30/obama.correspondents.speech.cnn', 'cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art', playerOverRide, T1);}} else {$('cnnCVP2').onclick = function() {if ($$('.box-opened').length) {$$('.box-opened').each(function(val){Element.fireEvent(val, 'click');});}cnnLoadStoryPlayer('politics/2011/04/30/obama.correspondents.speech.cnn', 'cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art', playerOverRide, T1);};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseover = function() {$('cnnCVP2').className = 'cnn_mtt1plybttn cnn_mtt1plybttnon';};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseout = function() {$('cnnCVP2').className = 'cnn_mtt1plybttn';};}White House Correspondents' dinner is held Saturday in Washington Obama shows a clip from "The Lion King," suggesting it is his "birth video"He also pokes fun at Donald Trump and Republican challengersSpeaker Seth Meyers says the "2008 Barack Obama" could beat the current edition

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama poked fun at everyone -- from his wife to Donald Trump -- during the annual White House Correspondents dinner, before ending his speech with a tribute to journalists who brave deadly conditions to get a story.

No one was safe from the president's zings on Saturday night, including Republican presidential challengers.

Days after releasing his long-form birth certificate to refute claims he wasn't born in the United States, the president began his address by showing what he called his birth video.

But rather than footage of a baby Barack being born in Hawaii, the clip was from Disney's "The Lion King," showing the grand unveiling of the baby Simba in Africa.

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The speech was before a crowd of about 2,600 at the packed Washington Hilton ballroom.

In addition to journalists, other attendees included Chief of Staff Bill Daley, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Speaker of the House John Boehner.

Actors, fashion icons and musicians also attended, helping set the event apart from a typical late-night dinner among politicos in Georgetown.

Hollywood was represented by the likes of "Hangover" star Zach Galifianakis, "Glee" standout Jane Lynch, Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" fame, among others.

Steven Tyler and Michael Stipe, frontmen for legendary rock groups Aerosmith and R.E.M. respectively, also mingled with the guests, as did fashion designers Diane von Furstenberg and Michael Kors.

Obama then singled out an unsmiling Trump and credited him with making hard decisions -- such as firing Gary Busey over Meatloaf on an episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice" -- and succeeding in his push for the president to release his long-form birth certificate.

"Now, he can focus on more important matters like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?" Obama said, referring to Neil Armstrong's 1969 walk on the moon, the alleged UFO crash in New Mexico and the deaths of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.

The president also jokingly suggested several Republicans who have signalled they might challenge him in 2012 were not born in America.

He revealed that Rep. Michele Bachmann came from Canada, talked about the full name of Minnesota Gov. Tim "Hosni" Pawlenty, and hinted that the first language of former Utah governor, Jon Huntsman, is Chinese.

Huntsman ended his tenure as Obama's appointed ambassador to China on Saturday.

"And then there's a vicious rumor floating around that could really hurt Mitt Romney," Obama said. "I hear he passed universal health care when he was governor of Massachusetts."

Not even his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, was immune to ribbing. Alluding to her push to promote healthy eating, the president said the two of them made a great team at the recent Easter egg roll: "I'd give candy ... to the kids, and she'd snatch them right back out of their hands."

The president concluded his presentation on a serious note with a tribute to the tornado-ravaged areas in the Southeast and to journalists who have been "threatened, arrested, beaten, attacked and in some cases even killed" on the job.

"No one should be silenced," Obama said. "That's what you do. And at its best, that's what journalism is."

The president was followed on stage by Seth Meyers, the head writer and "Weekend Update" anchor for "Saturday Night Live."

Meyers poked fun at news outlets such as C-SPAN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN and The New York Times. He also

focused on the 2012 Republican presidential field -- a roster he said "sounds like season 13 of 'Dancing With the Stars,' and not the stars (but) the dancers."

As is tradition, the dinner's featured speaker didn't let the commander-in-chief off unscathed.

Meyers said the one candidate who could "definitely beat" the incumbent was the "2008 Barack Obama. You would have loved him."

The White House Correspondents' Association dinner was Obama's second as president. It has been a ritual in Washington since 1920, when it was first held to boost communication between the press and the president, according to the association's website.

It was only open to men until 1962, when President John F. Kennedy said he would not attend unless women were invited.

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