Nerd Prom's Last Dance? The WHCA Dinner History and Downfall

Tracing the White House Correspondents' Dinner's journey from noble origins to Hollywood-infused partisan pageant to its current state of abandonment.

The ballroom of the Washington Hilton erupts in laughter as President Barack Obama delivers biting jokes about Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and birther conspiracy advocate, seated uncomfortably in the audience. Comedian Seth Meyers follows, continuing the roast: "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."

The cameras pan to Trump's stone-faced reaction, capturing a moment that would later be cited as motivation for his political ambitions. This moment from the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner encapsulates the event's transformation from a modest journalistic gathering to Washington's premier celebrity spectacle, where the press corps reveals its true colors through gleeful laughter and cozy toasts with Democratic allies.