US President Joe Biden roasts Donald Trump and himself at first White House correspondents’ dinner since 2019
- The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic
- Joe Biden was the first president in six years to accept an invitation to the event, as Donald Trump shunned the dinner while in office
The annual White House press corps gala returned on Saturday night along with the roasting of Washington, the journalists who cover it and the man at the helm: President Joe Biden.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which the pandemic sidelined in 2020 and 2021, returned with Biden as the first president in six years to accept an invitation. Donald Trump shunned the event while in office.
“Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year,” Biden told an audience of 2,600, among them journalists, government officials and celebrities. “Now that would really have been a real coup.”
The president took the opportunity to make light of the criticism he has faced in his 18 months in office and take aim at his predecessor, the Republican Party and the members of the press.
“I’m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have,” Biden said.
The night was filled with taped comedic skits including late-night TV hosts, comedians and even Biden himself.
The dinner had its serious moments, too, with tributes to pioneer journalists of colour, aspiring student reporters, and a tribute to the journalist detained, injured or killed during their coverage of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.