Is this the moment Donald Trump decided to run for president?

Trump was blasted by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. Did it unwittingly help create a monster?

A video US President Barack Obama mocking Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner of 2011 has resurfaced and has led people to believe that it was the exact moment Donald Trump decided to run for US presidency.



After Donald Trump suggested in 2011 that Obama was not born in American and could be Muslim, the US president decided to respond to his apparent penchant for conspiracy theories by mocking him in his speech.

“I think it was intolerable for Donald Trump. I think that is the night he resolved to run for president. I think that he is kind of motivated by it,” Michael D’Antonio, author of the book, The Truth About Trump told Frontline. He added, “It’s personal. This is a burning personal need that he is to redeem himself from being humiliated by the first black president.”



Obama overtly scoffed at the idea of Trump running for office and mocked him for his “fox”-like mane of hair and his reality TV show The Apprentice. The billionaire could be glimpsed sporting a poker-faced grimace in the audience - seemingly unable to take his eyes off the stage. Unsurprisingly, Trump was reported to have made a speedy exit after the dinner finished.

Obama jokingly made a reference to common conspiracy theories saying, “No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than ‘The Donald.’ And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”

The event took place just days after Obama released his long-form birth certificate - a document Mr Trump then claimed did not exist. “Say what you will about Mr Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there,” Mr Obama quipped, prompting great laughter from the crowd.

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Comedian Seth Meyers also joined him, “Donald Trump has been saying he’ll run for president as a Republican, which is surprising as I just assumed he was running as a joke." He also poked fun at his hair do saying, “Donald Trump often appears on Fox which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump’s head.”

“Donald Trump owns the Miss USA Pageant which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for a Vice President.”