President attends White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, continuing century-old tradition

On Saturday evening (April 27th) Eastern Time, President Joe Biden, journalists, politicians, and social elites attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner held at the Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. Approximately 2,500 journalists from across the United States were present at this event.

The evening, which is usually filled with banter and jokes between the President, journalists, and comedians about political scandals and each other, was overshadowed by the tension surrounding the upcoming presidential election and escalating regional conflicts this year.

During the event, President Biden delivered a speech for the election year. In his address, Biden interjected jokes teasing journalists and his political opponents, and also made self-deprecating jokes to alleviate public concerns about his age.

In his opening remarks, Biden quipped, “I am honored tonight to be here with this group of Americans who are the only ones with lower approval ratings than me,” poking fun at the journalists present who, like himself, are not trusted by the public.

Renowned for his humor and sarcasm, late-night talk show host Trevor Noah said during his speech, “Just last month, Biden nearly caused an international incident because he said Putin shouldn’t remain in power, which made Russia very unhappy. Until someone explained to them: Biden’s wishes have never come true.”

Upon hearing jokes about his recent gaffes, Biden burst into laughter. In response, Biden said, “This isn’t Moscow, you won’t be thrown in jail here.” He also expressed sincere gratitude to the journalists reporting from the frontlines amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling it the most crucial moment for press freedom in a century.

Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Hamas protesters demonstrated outside the venue, encouraging a boycott of the event by journalists and loudly heckling officials as they entered. In order to avoid the large crowd of protesters, Biden entered through the back door.

The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914, and the inaugural dinner was held in 1921. It has been a tradition for nearly a century for the U.S. head of state to attend and deliver lighthearted remarks. However, since 2017, former President Trump had been absent for four years, and the event was canceled for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year marked the first time in six years that the President attended the dinner.

Tickets for the dinner are only sold to member news organizations. The organizers’ website indicates that the annual dinner is a primary source of income, which is used to fund all of its activities, including supporting journalists covering the President, educating the public about the First Amendment, activities promoting press freedom values, and scholarships to assist the next generation of journalists.