White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

The annual gala, also known as the "Nerd Prom," raises money for journalism scholarships.

While the dinner is notorious for its sometimes bawdy political humor, the president took a serious moment to recall the deaths of Anthony Shadid of The New York Times and Marie Colvin of the Times of London, "who made the ultimate sacrifice as they sought to shine a light on some of the most important stories of our time."

Shadid and Colvin died in February while covering the conflict in Syria.

Overall, Obama stayed true to the theme of the night -- humorous barbs. He joked about business tycoon Donald Trump, whom the president kidded at last year's dinner about pushing the president to release his long-form birthmade light of a General Services Adminstration conference in Las Vegas that cost more than $800,000.

"Look at this party. We have men in tuxes, women in gowns, fine wine, first-class entertainment. I was relieved to hear it was not a GSA conference," Obama quipped.

He even chided Kimmel, star of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

"Jimmy got his start on the 'Man Show.' In Washington, that is what we call a congressional hearing on contraception."

Kimmel, who took the stage following the president's monologue, hit back.

"Remember when the country rallied around you in the hopes of a better tomorrow?" Kimmel asked. "That was hilarious."

Kimmel said there was a term for "guys like the president," and it wasn't two terms.

He said he told the Secret Service that for $800, he would stay away