For Obama, a last chance at last laugh

White House Correspondents’ Dinner is his finale

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama got 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 frontrunner, Donald Trump, a regular in recent years, wasn’t expected to attend, though several Hollywood stars, athletes and government officials are.

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

Wilmore, the host of the host of “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” also likes to make fun of Washington.

Proceeds fromthe dinner go toward journalism scholarships and awards. This year’s winners are: Carol Lee of The Wall Street Journal, winner of the Aldo BeckmanMemorial Award for excellence in WhiteHouse coverage.

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

Norah O’Donnell of CBS News, winner of theMerriman 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