Biden pokes fun at Trump, age critiques at correspondents’ dinner

President Biden dismissed criticism about his age at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which may be the incumbent’s last for another four years in the Oval Office.

“The 2024 election is in full swing. And yes, age matters. I’m a grown man running against a 6-year-old,” Biden said from behind the podium at the annual event.

“I feel really good. I’m campaigning all over the country, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina. I’ve always done well in the original 13 colonies,” the president said with a laugh.

He also slammed former President Trump, who he plans to run against again on Election Day this fall.

“The only thing we have in common is age. My vice president actually supports me,” Biden joked with a nod to Vice President Kamala Harris. Former Vice President Mike Pence ran against Trump this term seeking Republican support but declined to endorse his former boss.

After making a series of jokes targeting Trump, Biden spoke in a more subdued tone about his 2024 rival to a room packed with journalists, lawmakers and celebrities.

“The defeated former president has made no secret of his attack on our democracy. He has said from day one that he wants to be a dictator and do more than that. He told his supporters that he wanted to take their revenge. In the name of God, he said it was revenge. [have] Have you heard other presidents say things like that? ” Biden asked, referring to Trump’s recent remarks.

“We have to take this seriously. Eight years ago we could have written it off. [that] It used to be just a Trump story, but not anymore. Not after January 6th,” Biden said, urging the audience to “stop worrying about the horse racing numbers” and “focus on what’s really at stake.”

Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump won the necessary number of delegates to win their respective parties’ nominations in this year’s presidential election, setting the stage for a repeat of the 2020 showdown. Opinion polls predict a close race, with The Hill/Decision Desk average showing Mr. Trump’s lead over Mr. Biden by less than 0.5 points, with several key battlegrounds likely to decide the winner. There is.

It’s worth noting that President Trump chose not to attend the annual banquet while in office. He is also embroiled in an ongoing criminal trial, the first for a former president, related to hush money he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential bid. The court battle is one of four criminal charges against Trump, the first to be heard by a jury, and will keep Trump off the campaign trail four days a week for the next few weeks. As a result, Democrats are hoping that this will be a tailwind for Mr. Biden.

“I’ve been working really hard since the State of the Union. But Donald has been having some rough days lately. You might call it ‘wild weather,'” Biden said, attacking the hush money trial.

Comedian Colin Jost followed Mr. Biden’s remarks at the dinner on Saturday by lambasting the incumbent and other politicians in the audience, providing some comic relief against the backdrop of tensions in Congress and conflicts overseas.

Demonstrators protested media coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and the government’s handling of the conflict near the Washington Hilton event space, but Biden did not directly address the protests or the conflict during his speech. is noteworthy.

The war has become a political liability as Biden seeks another term in the White House. Ceasefire protesters have suspended multiple election campaigns, launched protest voting efforts in several state primaries, and even won several delegates to the Democratic National Convention later this year. be.

At a dinner last year, Biden announced the release of American journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia. I made repeated phone calls asking for help.

“We’re not going to give up until we bring them home,” Biden said.

Updated at 11:29pm EST.