Joe Biden mocks Donald Trump at Washington dinner
Joe Biden kept the crowd engaged with his sarcasm on his opponents during White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner
April 30, 2023
US President Joe Biden, while referring to the former president Donald Trump, sniped that he was also offered hush money to keep his speech short.
The oldest president in US history Joe Biden, 80, while speaking at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner kept the crowd engaged with his sarcasm on his opponents. He in his remarks quipped that comedian Roy Wood Jr, offered him $10 to keep his speech short.
“That’s a switch — a president being offered hush money.” He mocked the former president who was formally charged with 34 felonies by the Manhattan grand jury earlier this month, in a case regarding the payment of $130,000 that he paid to an adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he is running for re-election in 2024, to which people have criticised him for being too old for the job.
According to the polls, people are less welcoming towards Biden's second bid for the US presidency as he has become old — the strongest vulnerability which could cost him elections.
While speaking to a gathering of Washington's 2,600 guests he noted while talking about freedom of speech, Biden said: "I believe in the first amendment, not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it," referring to one of the US founding fathers.
He went on: "Look, I get that age is a completely reasonable issue. It’s in everybody’s mind and by everyone, I mean the New York Times. Headline: ‘Biden’s advanced age is a big issue. Trump's, however, is not.'"
He also joked about Don Lemon who was terminated by CNN in the backdrop of his controversial remarks about women.
Don Lemon had said while talking about Nikki Haley, 51, that she "isn't in her prime" because "a woman is in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s."
President Biden said: "They say I'm ancient; I say I'm wise. They say I'm over the hill; Don Lemon would say, ‘That’s a man in his prime'."
About Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, he said: "I want everybody to have fun tonight but please be safe. If you find yourself disoriented or confused, it’s either you’re drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene."
He also quipped about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's battle with Disney: "I had a lot of Ron DeSantis jokes ready but Mickey Mouse beat the hell out of me and got there first."
He said of House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy: “Look, you all keep reporting my approval rating as 42%. I think you don’t know this. Kevin McCarthy called me and asked me, 'Joe, what the hell is your secret?' I'm not even kidding about that."
He also mocked Fox News' recent defamation settlement by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5m in a case in which Fox News made claims of the 2020 elections were manipulated in favour of Biden.
"It's great the cable news networks are here tonight. MSNBC, owned by NBC Universal. Fox News owned by Dominion Voting Systems,” Biden said drawing a burst of laughter and applause.
"Last year your favourite Fox News reporters were able to attend because they were fully vaccinated and boosted. This year, with that $787m settlement, they're here because they couldn’t say no to a free meal," he joked.
Despite laughter and joy during the dinner, Biden condemned attacks on freedom of the press and misinformation that could potentially undermine democracy.
In another preview of a 2024 campaign theme, Biden criticised news outlets using “lies told for profit and power” to stir up hate.
"Lies told for profit and power. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle of anger and hate and even violence."
The dinner was rearranged as it was marred by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Biden has become the first president in six years to accept the invitation after Trump eschewed it while in office.
