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21 of the best jokes from the Clinton, Bush, and Obama White House Correspondents dinners.

The White House Correspondents' Association dinner is an opportunity for the politically powerful to showcase their ability to take a joke. Naturally, Donald Trump won't go near it.

For the second straight year, Trump won't be in attendance for the dinner. Not exactly known for his ability to poke fun at himself or smile along, it makes sense that he wouldn't want to be there for an evening that both undercuts and exaggerates the press's supposedly adversarial relationship with our nation's leaders.

While the event itself dates back more than 100 years, it wasn't until 1993 that C-SPAN began airing the whole thing live. Since then, comedians, such as Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jay Leno, Drew Carey, Wanda Sykes, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, have taken the stage to jab at the politicians and the press — all in good fun.

Let's look back at some of the funniest and most daring jokes from past White House Correspondents' Association dinners, made by celebs and politicos alike.

Larry Wilmore in 2016 took jabs at the obscurity of C-SPAN and a failed promise.

"It is good to be on C-SPAN. Glad I’m not on your rival network, 'No input, HDMI1.'"

"Oh, I just got a note from the president saying that if you want another drink, you should order it now because the bar will be closing down. Of course, he said the same thing about Guantanamo, so you have at least another eight years."

Comedian Larry Wilmore hosted in 2016. Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images.

During his final dinner in 2016, President Obama starred in a video contemplating life after the White House.

In 2015, Cecily Strong of "Saturday Night Live" brought up reproductive rights.

"Since I’m only a comedian, I’m not going to try and tell you politicians how to do politics. That would be like you guys telling me what to do with my body. I mean, can you even imagine?"

Joel McHale used his 2014 platform to torch ... well, everyone.

"C-SPAN is like one of those 'Paranormal Activity' movies. It’s just grainy shots of empty rooms interrupted by images of people you’re pretty sure died a few years ago."

"Jeb Bush might announce that he’s running. Wow, another Bush in the White House. Is it already time for our every-10-years surprise for Iraq?"

"At this point, CNN is like the RadioShack at a sad strip mall. You don’t know how it stayed in business this long, you don’t know anyone that shops there, and they just fired Piers Morgan."

"[Fox News anchors are the] Mount Rushmore of keeping old people angry."

Joel McHale and President Obama during the 2014 dinner. Photo by Olivier Douliery/ABACAUSA.com.

In 2013, Conan O'Brien took on Twitter, Mitt Romney, and Obama's name.

"If in 1995 you told me that in 2013 we'd have an African-American president with a middle name Hussein who was just elected to a second term in a sluggish economy, I would have said, ‘Oh, he must have run against Mitt Romney.'"

"If any of you are live-tweeting this event, please use the hashtag '#incapableoflivinginthemoment. Yes, also to any U.S. senators here tonight, if you would like to switch either your dessert or your position on gay marriage, please signal a waiter."

Comedian Conan O'Brien hosted the 2013 event. Photo by Pete Marovich/Bloomberg.

Jimmy Kimmel joked about Occupy Wall Street and Mitt Romney in 2012.

"Americans are in terrible shape. You can even tell how out of shape we are by the way we protest. We used to march. Now we occupy.”

On Mitt Romney: "You can't have a beer with him, because he doesn't drink. You can't have a cup of coffee with him, because he can't have caffeine. You can't even play Monopoly with him because he keeps trying to put the dog on the car."

Seth Meyers jabbed at Donald Trump and the Huffington Post during his 2011 set.

"Donald Trump has said he's running for president as a Republican, which is surprising because I thought he was running as a joke."

"The New York Times party used to be free, but tonight there's a cover, so like everyone else I'll probably just go to the Huffington Post party. And the Huffington Post party is asking people to go to other parties first and just steal food and drinks and bring it from there."

In 2011, Obama took a few (joking) swipes at Donald Trump and his presidential ambitions. Oops.

“Now, I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate to rest than the Donald. Now he can get to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac? All kidding aside, we all know about your credentials and experience. In 'Celebrity Apprentice,' the men team’s cooking did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks, but you recognized that this was a lack of leadership, so you fired Gary Busey. These are the kinds of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well-handled, sir. Well-handled."

In 2015, Obama brought up Keegan-Michael Key to play the role of Luther, his anger translator. Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images.

During the 2008 event, Craig Ferguson got laughs with his deadpan suggestion that Dick Cheney lives in a dungeon.

"Tonight we mark the end of an era. George W. Bush leaves in eight months. The vice president is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon."

Comedian Craig Ferguson hosted the 2008 event. Photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images.

Stephen Colbert's 2006 performance is the stuff of legend, but didn't exactly win him many friends at the time.

"I know there’s some polls out there saying that this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don’t pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in ‘reality.’ And reality has a well-known liberal bias."

"Here's how it works: the president makes decisions, the press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spellcheck and go home. ... Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know — fiction!"

Comedian Stephen Colbert performed during the 2006 dinner. Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/Getty Images.

**In 2004, President George W. Bush got a lot of criticism when he showed a sideshow of him jokingly looking around the Oval Office for weapons of mass destruction.**

Sure, nothing should be off-limits in comedy, but maybe making a joke about how we were led to war based on a lie is a bit callous.

President Clinton played the role of a bored lame-duck president in this 2000 video.

In 1995, Conan O'Brien implored loyal C-SPAN viewers to please find something else to do on a Saturday night.

"I have an announcement for those of you watching this event live on C-SPAN. For God's sake, it's Saturday night! Go outside! ... There are things you can do!"

President Bill Clinton laughing during the 1996 event. Photo by Ted Mathias/AFP/Getty Images.

The show must go on, as they say.

Last year's host was Hasan Minhaj, who scorched the president with a comparison to King Joffrey from "Game of Thrones." This year, the event will be hosted by Michelle Wolf. It's sure to be as awkward as ever — and it's still pretty strange to see the press rubbing elbows with the same politicians their jobs require them to criticize. But with the world as dark as it is right now, maybe we do need to just find a way to laugh.

Comedian Hasan Minhaj hosted the 2017 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images.

Banning members from streaming video to social media poses a big challenge to transparency.

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, members of the 115th Congress were sworn into office.

It was kind of like a first day of school: There was a lot of light chat among members and their families and a somewhat relaxed atmosphere. That didn't stop Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) from getting a bit of business done, however.

As is first-day tradition, the House of Representatives voted on the set of rules that will guide them for the next two years.

Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

Tucked away in the House rules was a provision aimed at preventing lawmakers from streaming video from the floor to social media.

Violators would be charged a fine for streaming. At first glance, it seems to make sense in a sort of "no phones at the kitchen table" kind of way. After all, if C-SPAN cameras are rolling and streaming to the world, why would any individual member of the House need to start their own live broadcast?

The answer: Sometimes those C-SPAN cameras aren't rolling — and for a very troubling reason.

In June 2016, Democrats in the House took to the floor in an act of protest after Ryan decided against bringing a gun safety bill up for a full vote.

In the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Democrats made a push for gun safety reform. In the Senate, Chris Murphy (D-CT) led a 17-hour filibuster aimed at getting Republican leadership to agree to put two gun control amendments up for an up-or-down vote. (He succeeded in getting the vote, though both amendments were shot down days later.)

In the House, Democrats, led by civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, staged a sit-in after Republicans made the decision not to bring similar gun control legislation up for a floor vote.

— (@)

The real controversy began when Ryan ordered the C-SPAN video feed of the House floor turned off. The Democrats were free to protest, but would no longer have an audience.

It turns out that the cameras that show the action on the House floor aren't owned or controlled by C-SPAN, but rather, by Congress itself. Given that Ryan and his Republican colleagues finished up for the day and the cameras are only required to be "on when the House is in session" (as per the rules voted on by the 114th Congress), Ryan did have every right to cut the TV feed.

— (@)

In response, some members of the protest began to broadcast the sit-in from their phones. It was an innovative approach to a complicated problem. Using Periscope and Facebook Live, the legislators provided insight to constituents. C-SPAN even picked up the feeds, sharing them on their TV and social channels.

The newly proposed rules, however, aim to prevent members of Congress from repeating such a broadcast, something Ryan may want to reconsider.

In 2008, the very same thing happened — except it was the Republicans holding a protest with Democratic leadership giving them the cold shoulder. On Aug. 1, 2008, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her Democratic colleagues voted to adjourn. The chamber's lights were turned off, the cameras were cut, and microphones were shut off, making some Republicans pretty upset.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats speak before the 2016 sit-in. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

For hours, members of the GOP held the floor in protest. They had hoped Pelosi would bring a bill related to off-shore drilling up for a vote. To their dissatisfaction, she didn't, and so the Republicans traded off impromptu speeches from the floor about the benefits of drilling, arguing that it would lower gas prices and having the type of discussion the House of Representatives was meant to have.

In 2008, the ability to broadcast live video from a cell phone wasn't as easy as pulling up an app, the way it was during last year's protest. Regardless, it was wrong of Democrats to use their majority to silence Republicans in 2008, just as it was wrong for Republicans to do so to Democrats in 2016.

If we want to have robust, transparent debate between parties, we need to make sure all voices are heard, regardless of which party sits in the majority.

It sets a dangerous precedent for members of Congress to be able to create a media blackout anytime one of their colleagues makes an argument they don't like. If Ryan wants to fine members of the House for streaming from the floor, he should allow C-SPAN to install their own independently-run cameras. Knowledge and transparency should not be subject to partisanship.

Being able to see what happens on the floor of the House and the Senate is one of the most wonderful things to come out of technological advancement. While not every word spoken will be beautiful or insightful — for example, there's the time Ted Cruz read "Green Eggs and Ham" on the Senate floor — it's all part of our history.

Constituents have a right to know when the people they put in office are going to great lengths to represent the values they voted for — and when their opponents are trying to block them from doing so. Being able to see when our representatives are arguing on our behalf, staying up all night to protest, and broadcasting from the floor shows citizens that their voices are being heard.

The rules, as they were just voted on, take that away from us, and it's a major blow to democracy and transparency.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

C-SPAN really heated up on May 19, 2016.

Did you catch the drama that unfolded in Washington last night?

GIF via C-SPAN.

The House of Representatives devolved into a chaotic shouting match on May 19, 2016.

Even more than usual.

GIF via C-SPAN.

It all boils down to an amendment to H.R. 4974.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York had introduced a proposal that would've protected LGBT employees of federal contractors from being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The amendment was attached to H.R. 4974, which funds military construction projects and the Veterans Administration.

Although it appeared the measure would pass, a handful of legislators switched their votes at the (very) last minute.

Maloney, who said the legislation had at one point garnered enough "yes" votes to sail through, told CNN that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy encouraged lawmakers to change their votes in the final seconds (of an already extended voting session) to block the measure.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

The bill was defeated 213 to 212.

At one point, many members started chanting "shame!" to state that the amendment had been blocked unfairly.

GIF via C-SPAN.

"They literally snatched discrimination out of the jaws of equality," Maloney told reporters after the session, accusing McCarthy of "twisting arms" for political gain. "We won this vote."

What happened on the House floor last night is just the latest edition in the backlash we've witnessed against LGBT rights. Judging from the internet's harsh reaction to those flip-flopping lawmakers, however, I certainly would not want to be them right now.

When lawmakers stand in the way of human rights, they usually learn the hard way that it's not OK.

Look at what happened in North Carolina.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

After legislators there passed the so-called "bathroom bill" — which forced people to use facilities that align with the gender they were assigned at birth, as opposed to the gender they identify as — the Justice Department stepped in to put them in their place. Most Americans agree: McCrory's "bathroom bill" is not the way to go.

And who could forget Indiana's infamous Religious Freedom Restoration Act?

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

When the state decided it was OK for businesses to discriminate against customers based on "religious freedoms," it — surprise! — didn't end well. Not only did massive pushback spur Gov. Mike Pence to scramble in "fixing" the legislation, but Indiana lost at least $60 million in tourism revenue because of it.

North Carolina and Indiana aren't alone, either. When lawmakers go against the grain of human progress, it's usually a losing effort.

Americans tend to prioritize human rights over politics — even when lawmakers haven't gotten the memo yet.

What happened on Thursday — the "twisting [of] arms," the extended voting session, oh, and the whole allowing discrimination thing — is not sitting well with plenty of constituents. Hopefully this time, like so many others, the American people will demand their representatives stand on the right side of history, too.

Watch C-SPAN's footage from the vote on May 19 below:

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