At the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, comedy mingles with somber appeals to free reporters.
US President Joe Biden was the subject of several sharp jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, as he took the opportunity to hit back with some of his own jokes.
Washington’s political and media elites gathered in the US capital on Saturday night for an annual event whose mood ranged from traditional comedic gags to somber calls for the release of reporters imprisoned abroad.
Headlining the after-dinner entertainment was Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr, who gleefully mocked Biden, 80, for running for a second term, which could mean Biden is still running for president at 86 would be.
Wood took note of recent furious protests in France against raising the retirement age.
“They rebelled because they didn’t want to work until they were 64. Meanwhile in America we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work,” he joked.
When it was his turn at the mic, Biden took a jab at House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a recent bill that Republicans passed that would lift the debt ceiling in exchange for a series of budget cuts, including some of Biden’s major legislative accomplishments.
“The last time Republicans voted for something that was unhappy, it took 15 tries,” Biden said, referring to the number of House votes needed for McCarthy to become speaker in January.
Biden even made a few self-deprecating jokes, mostly around criticizing his age while running for re-election.
He also targeted CNN host Don Lemon, who was fired after making sexist and age-appropriate remarks on air.
“Call me old,” Biden said. “I call it being seasoned. You say I’m old. I say I am wise. You say I’m over the hill. Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime.’
‘Journalism not a crime’
Biden also spoke about several American journalists being held in other countries.
“We are here to send a message to the country and, frankly, to the world: The free press is a pillar, perhaps the pillar, of a free society, not the enemy,” Biden said in his speech .
After arriving at the dinner, the president and first lady, Jill Biden, met privately with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March.
He was charged with espionage despite strong denials from his employer and the US government. Some guests wore buttons with “Free Evan” printed on them.
Among the 2,600 people who attended the gala was Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, who has not been heard from since she disappeared from a checkpoint in Syria in 2012. try to bring him home.
“Journalism is not a crime. Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every other American detained abroad,” Biden said. “I promise you, I’m working like crazy to get them home.”