The White House Correspondents’ Union dinner, sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, introduced Biden as the first president in six years to accept an invitation. Donald Trump avoided the event while in power. “Imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year,” Biden told an audience of 2,600 people, including journalists, government officials and celebrities. “Now this would really be a real coup.” The president took the opportunity to try out his comedies, shedding light on the criticism he faced during his 15 months in office, while targeting his predecessor, the Republican Party, and members of the press.
Brandon “have a great year”
“I’m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower acceptance score than me,” Biden told the Hilton ballroom, which was packed with members of the media.
Biden also brought to light the slogan “Let’s Go Brandon”, which has become the right-wing stance for the inauguration of the president.
“Republicans seem to be supporting a man, a guy named Brandon,” Biden said, causing a stir in the crowd. “He’s having a great year. I’m happy for him.”
Trevor Noah, presenter of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, speaks at dinner. (Patrick Semansky / The Associated Press)
As for the Republican vote, he said, “I can not say anything about the Republican Party that Kevin McCarthy has not already put in the film.”
He also made a joke on Fox News. “I know there are a lot of questions about whether we should gather here tonight because of COVID. Well, we are here to show the country that we are going through this pandemic. In addition, everyone has to prove that they are fully vaccinated and strengthened,” he said. Biden. “Just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. Everyone is here. Vaccinated and fortified. “
In addition to speeches by Biden and comedian Trevor Noah, the one-hour event featured sketches by show host James Corden, comedian Bill Eichner and even Biden himself.
“You are the guardians of the truth”
“Thank you for having me here,” Noah told Biden. “And I was a little confused about why I was, but then I was told that you get the highest acceptance rates when a interracial African is standing next to you.” While the majority of the speech was full of cuts, Biden noted the important role that journalism has played in the American republic, especially in the last decade. “I mean from the bottom of my heart that you, the free press, are more important than you ever were in the last century,” he said. “You are the guardians of the truth.” The dinner had other highlights, including tributes to leading color journalists, aspiring student reporters, and tributes to journalists who were detained, injured, or killed during the cover-up of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The top media event in Washington, D.C., the Correspondents’ Dinner was mixed with Washington-based journalists such as CNN’s Jake Tapper and MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reed with celebrities Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, Brooke Sh. Martha Stewart. Among the large group of government officials and other prominent figures was Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken. Accompanied by his wife, the president came to the event trying to strike a careful balance with the nation that is tired of the pandemic but facing an increase in infections. The continuing national threat came closer to the president: Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive last week and Dr. Anthony Fauci skipped dinner on health precautions.
Dinner in the midst of an outbreak of COVID cases
The U.S. was experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 outbreaks of a highly contagious omicron subtype, with confirmed infections rising to about 44,000 a day, up from 26,000 a month ago. However, virus deaths and hospitalization were near or at low pandemic levels, with variant BA.2 proving to be less severe than previous strains of the virus.
In the wake of the recent Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, Dozens of attendees, including members of Congress and Biden Cabinet and journalists, tested positive for COVID-19. The White House Correspondents Association said it required a same-day antigen test for those present at its dinner even before the Gridiron outbreak, and then added a vaccination requirement.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson pose for photographers as they arrive for dinner. (Jose Luis Magana / The Associated Press)
Biden, 79, decided to skip dinner but later showed up for the program. As he planned to be masked when he was not speaking, a masked president greeted the award winners in the courtyard and could be seen smiling broadly during the dinner program.
The Correspondents’ Dinner made its debut in 1921. Three years later, Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend and everyone except Trump. However, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon chose not to run for president each year, and Reagan, then recovering from an assassination attempt, missed the 1981 dose – but called from Camp David.
“I think what this shows is the restoration of relationship health,” said Harold Holzer, author of The Presidents vs. The Press and director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York. of dinner. “It’s still thorny, there are still tense moments. But it does not matter.”
