- Biden called Trump’s presidency a “plague” during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
- He also referenced the January 6 riots in a joke, to which the audience gasped.
- Headliner Trevor Noah took a dig at Biden, making a joke about canceling student loan debt.
President Joe Biden took aim at former President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, calling the Trump presidency a “horrible plague.”
“This is the first time a president has attended this dinner in six years,” Biden said. “It is understandable. We had a horrible plague, followed by two years of COVID.”
The annual dinner has been postponed for the past two years due to the pandemic. Biden also commented that former President Donald Trump was not present during his entire time in office.
He continued, “Imagine my predecessor came to this dinner this year. Now, that really would have been a real hit if that happened,” to which the audience gasped.
“A bit rough, huh?” Biden responded.
Biden also took the time to be serious, mentioning the “gravest of threats” abroad to “the liberal world order” as well as the threat of disinformation in the US.
“And at home, the poison runs through our democracy; all of this occurs with massively increasing misinformation, but the truth is buried by the lies and the lies live on as truth,” Biden continued. “What is clear, and I say this from the bottom of my heart, is that you, a free press, matter more than ever in the last century.”
“A free press is not an enemy of the people. Far from it. At best, they are guardians of the truth,” Biden said.
Biden also criticized the journalists present, saying they were “the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than me.”
Biden also referenced Sean Hannity’s texts to Mark Meadows. Hannity asked Trump’s former chief of staff what he needed to cover on Fox News to help Trump through the 2020 election.
“Fox News, I am so sorry that your preferred candidate lost the last election,” Biden said. “To make it up to you, I’m happy to give my chief of staff to all of you so we can tell Sean Hannity what to say every day.”
“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah took the stage after the president and did some digging on Biden, including a mention of his recent announcements about canceling student loan debt.
The comedian began by mentioning that the first lady, Jill Biden, was still working full time, a first for a presidential wife.
“Now, you might think it’s because she loves teaching, but really it’s because she’s still paying off her student debts. Sorry Joe,” Noah said, “Yeah, I guess you should have voted for Bernie.”