Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was all laughs during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, with two primo shout-outs from the president for his hip-hop approach to the GOP and from Jay Leno for his bondage bar affiliations.
“I saw Michael Steele backstage when we were taking pictures — aka Notorious GOP,” President Obama said during his stand-up Saturday night. “Michael, who knows what truly plagues America today — taxation without representin’. My brother. I did a similar routine last year, but it always works.”
Steele rocked, clapped and laughed to the line from his seat at the dinner, but what most didn’t see was Steele’s earlier interaction with Obama.
Saturday night was the first time the men saw each other face to face since Obama was inaugurated, according to the RNC.
A witness told Yeas & Nays their interaction was “polite, but rather cool.”
“Hey Michael, I’m going to give you a shout-out tonight, you better laugh at it,” Obama was heard telling Steele.
“I will, Mr. President,” Steele responded.
The Wall Street Journal’s Susan Davis brought Steele to the dinner and described him as a very pleasant guest. “We joked about it before the reception that he was probably going to be prime target for jokes,” Davis said. “And I would say he was very good-natured.”
The White House did not respond for comment.
