Trump jokes about impeachment and wife Melania being the next to leave the White House

Apart from his usual controversial nature, US President Donald Trump sure has a funny side which he displayed at the Gridiron Dinner on Sunday night, joking about being impeached and Melania leaving him, among other things in a highly formal and traditional event full of the news media he often dubs "fake news".

The event at the Renaissance Washington,- with men in white ties and women in evening gowns, is more insider-ish and less high-profile than the celebrity filled White House Correspondents Association dinner.

Before an audience that included Jared and Ivanka Trump, a number of cabinet secretaries and Vice President Mike Pence, Trump spent about a half-hour telling jokes, riffing on the news media, getting jabs in at potential 2020 opponents, bashing Democrats on DACA and even making a bit of news.

A number of his quips made fun of the atmosphere in the West Wing after a chaotic week, what with more staff departures and rumours of more to come.

It's been really another calm week at the White House, he quipped. We finally have it running like a fine-tuned machine.

He was joined on the dais by his wife Melania and the most controversial joke of the evening involved her.

I like turnover. I like chaos. It really is good. Now the question everybody keeps asking is, 'Who is going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?

There was laughs, and a lot of oohs.

That's terrible. That is terrible. He turned to his wife and said, You love me? Then, he said, I won't tell you what she said. A moment later, he said, She said, 'Behave.'

As his routine went on, he slipped in more serious points, including a pointed remark at a potential opponent in 2020, former vice president Joseph Biden, whom he called "sleepy Joe".

He even had some words of praise for the news media, calling the crowd "quality people".

In the first year of the Trump administration, 34 per cent of the President’s staff were either fired, reassigned or resigned.