US President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner in Washington, DC, US on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
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Chairman Joe Biden on Saturday he used his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to bash the former president Donald Trumptaking shots at the presumptive GOP nominee while highlighting the stakes of the election.
Biden made jokes about his political opponent and tackled ageism head-on, saying he was “a grown man running against a six-year-old.”
The president later said age was the only thing he and Trump had in common, adding, “My vice president actually supports me,” a reference to former Vice President Mike Pence. refusal to say he will support his former candidate in 2024.
But Biden’s speech took a serious turn when he discussed the stakes of November’s presidential election, echoing themes from his campaign speeches as he highlighted Trump’s “assault” on our democracy.
The president urged the press to “rise to the gravity of the moment.”
“Move on from the race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions and the sideshows that dominate and sensationalize our politics and focus on what’s really at stake,” Biden said. “I think in your hearts, you know what’s at stake.”
US President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC on April 27, 2024.
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Biden also highlighted the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkowitz, who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than a year on espionage charges that he and his employer deny. His case has been classified as illegal detention by the US
The president called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately release Gershovitch, adding that the White House was also doing everything it could to bring home freelance journalist Austin Tice and businessman Paul Whelan.
Gerskovich’s parents and Tice’s mother were among the roughly 2,600 guests at the dinner, an estimate given by NBC News political correspondent Steve Kornacki in a video played at the event.
“I give you my word as Biden: We’re not going to give up until we get them home,” Biden said. “All of them.”
Biden also highlighted the illegal detention of Americans abroad, among other things Gerskovich, at last year’s dinner. The president stressed during remarks last year that “journalism is not a crime,” noting that a free press is a “pillar” of a “free society.”
Celebrities attending Saturday’s event included Scarlett Johansson, who is married to Jost; Rachel Brosnahan and Quavo. High-profile politicians and administration officials also attended, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn.
First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended the event, which was held at the Washington Hilton.
NBC News senior correspondent Kelly O’Donnell is serving as the 2023-24 president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and chaired the dinner.
Cast Member of “Saturday Night Live”. Colin Jost was the distinguished entertainer of the dinner. He co-hosts the “Weekend Update” segment of the NBC show.
Like Biden, Jost made several jokes about the former president, including Trump’s criminal trial, beginning his remarks by saying “how refreshing it is to see a president of the United States at an event that doesn’t start with a bailiff saying : All standing.'”
Jost also took aim at Biden at times, comparing the economy to the president walking up the steps of Air Force One: “He feels like he’s stumbling, but there’s some kind of upward progress.” The comedian also told the president that his now-deceased grandfather voted for Biden in the last election because he thought Biden was “a decent man.”
While the dinner, a tradition dating back 100 years, took place inside the ballroom, hundreds of protesters mobilized outside the venue to call for a ceasefire and criticize Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Protesters chanted “Shame on you!” as attendees pushed past them to enter the hotel. They also chanted criticism of the media and a large sign read “Stop media complicity in genocide.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters protest outside the Washington Hilton, site of the Annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, on April 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | News Getty Images | Getty Images
“Every time the media lies, journalists in Gaza die,” the crowd echoed the leader’s chants.
Later, the protesters called for the fall of the Western media, chanting: “Brick by brick, wall by wall, the Western media will fall.”
U.S. Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that “attendees can expect multiple levels of security and screening at the dinner,” adding that there will be “intermittent” road closures near the venue.
“In connection with the publicized demonstration, we are working closely with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department to protect the rights of individuals to assemble, but we will remain zero-tolerant of illegal behavior,” Guglielmi added.
After dinner ended, two protesters holding a sign reading “Stop Israel’s Genocide” entered the hotel’s red carpet area as guests departed. They booed the attendees and were escorted away by security.
The president has had to deal with protesters demonstrating outside his official events, with protesters at times interrupting his speeches. In responseBiden’s team worked to keep the president’s events smaller and kept their exact locations more under wraps than usual, hoping to limit potential disruptions.
Earlier this month, Palestinian journalists wrote an open letter calling on others to boycott the White House Correspondents’ Dinner “as an act of solidarity with us — your fellow journalists — as well as the millions of Palestinians who are currently starving in Gaza,” noting the Biden administration’s support for Israel.