Biden applauds during the correspondents’ dinner in Washington DC
Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner resumed Saturday night. along with jokes about Washington, the journalists covering it, and the man in charge: President Joe Biden.
The White House Correspondents Association dinner, sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, featured Biden as the first president in six years to accept an invitation. Donald Trump avoided the event while he was in office.
The dinner is a tradition that dates back to 1924 and in which the presidents usually give a humorous speech and recognize the work of the journalists who cover them.
“This is the first time a president has attended this dinner in six years. It’s understandable, we had a horrible plague followed by two years of covid,” Biden joked in reference to Trump’s tenure, who never attended the gala during his four years in power.
On a more serious note, The president warned that there is “a poison that runs through American democracy”in an apparent allusion to Trump’s attempt to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election, and his influence in the Republican Party.
The leaders of that party in several key states have taken note of what did not work in 2020 and are now designing ways to boycott the result of the elections in 2024 if they consider it necessary, thanks to their power in the state assemblies.
“When lies are used to bury the truth (…), what is clear, and I say this from the heart, is that you in the free press matter more than ever,” Biden stressed.
confident in his reelection
Biden also warned of the problem posed by “disinformation” at the international level, where the world order created after World War II is “under serious assault”, alluding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After paying tribute to the journalists who died in Ukraine, Biden acknowledged that the work of the press is hard, because “the industry is changing” and there is “intense pressure to shake things up rather than shed light.”
“But the truth matters. American democracy is not a ‘reality show’”, stressed the president.
Biden made two references to his intention to run for reelection in 2024, something that many in the country doubt due to his 79 years of age.
“I am not worried about the legislative elections (in November), or if they generate more partisan obstruction. I am sure that we will be able to solve it in the six years that I have left in the Presidency”, he stressed.
Then he gave way to comedian Trevor Noah, special guest of the night to do a monologue, and told him: “Now you can laugh at the president, and unlike what would happen in Moscow, he will not go to jail.”
Trevor Noah jokes
Noah, host of “The Daily Show,” joked that during his visit to Poland last month, Biden caused a stir by saying that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, should no longer be in power, until “someone explained to Russia that none of the things that Biden wants end up being achieved.”
“This is truly the golden age of conspiracy theories, whether it’s on the right wing who thinks Trump can still win the 2020 election, or the left who thinks Joe Biden can win 2024.” , he added.
The South African comedian recognized the work of Spanish chef José Andrés, of which he said that he is always there when there is a disaster and “that is probably why he is sitting at the CNN table”, and highlighted the presence at the gala of other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and her partner, the comedian Pete Davidson.
The dinner brought together some 2,600 people in a hotel ballroom despite the increase in covid-19 infections in Washington, which led the leading US epidemiologist, Anthony Fauci, to cancel his attendance and Biden himself. to spend less time at the event.
With information from EFE
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