{"id":140142,"date":"2022-05-01T15:23:19","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T22:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=140142"},"modified":"2022-05-01T15:23:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T22:23:19","slug":"president-biden-at-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=140142","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Thank you, Steve, for that introduction.  And a special thanks to the 42 percent of you who actually applauded.  (Laughter.)  I\u2019m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s hard to say after what we just saw.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4dZ_v8dFX9o\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is the first time a President attended this dinner in six years.  (Applause.)  It\u2019s understandable.  We had a horrible plague followed by two years of COVID.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year.  Now, that would really have been a real coup if that occurred.  (Laughter.)  A little tough, huh?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m honored to be here at such an event with so much history.<\/p>\n<p>As already referenced, the very first President to attend the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner was Calvin Coolidge in 1924.  I had just been elected to the United States Senate.  (Laughter.)  And I reme- \u2014 I remember telling him, \u201cCal, just be yourself.  Get up there and speak from the heart.  You\u2019re going to be great, kid.  You\u2019re going to do it well.\u201d  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Jill is with me tonight.  Jilly, how are you, kid?  (Applause.)  I think \u2014 I think she\u2019s doing an incredible job as First Lady.  (Applause.)  The First Lady to continue working full-time, and she does as a professor.<\/p>\n<p>She doesn\u2019t pay much attention to the polls, though she did say the other day: Instead of introducing myself as Jill Biden\u2019s husband, maybe I should introduce myself as her roommate.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve attended this dinner many times, but this is my first time as President.  And the organizers had \u2014 had it hard \u2014 made it pretty hard for me tonight.  Although the good news is, if all goes well, I have a real shot at replacing James Corden.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>It was great having him over at the White House the other day, just as he announced he\u2019s leaving the show.  A great performer is going out on top after eight years in the job.  Sounds just about right to me.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s tough to follow pros like James and Billy Eichner.   Billy, where are you again?  Do you \u2014 where is he? <\/p>\n<p>Well, Billy, you\u2019re famous for interviewing \u2014 your interviewing skills.  Billy, you should know what you\u2019re doing, pal.  You know it \u2014 you know it well.  And you should \u2014 I think you should host \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d  Maybe they\u2019ll start to watch it again.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve never had \u2014 (laughs) \u2014 never had to \u2014 (laughs) \u2014 I\u2019ve never had to open \u2014 I\u2019ll never be \u2014 I\u2019ll never be invited to \u201cMeet the Press\u201d again.  Anyway.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve never had to open before Trevor Noah.  Trevor is great.  When I was elected, he did a show and he called me \u201cAmerica\u2019s new dad.\u201d  (Laughter.)  Let me tell you something, pal: I\u2019m flattered anybody would call me a \u201cnew\u201d anything.  (Laughter.)  You\u2019re my guy.<\/p>\n<p>And, folks, it\u2019s been a tough few years for the country.  That\u2019s one reason why it\u2019s great to be here again.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone at the White House is so excited.  I told my grandkids and Pete Buttigieg they could stay up late and watch this show tonight.  (Laughter and applause.) <\/p>\n<p>Tonight \u2014 tonight we come here and answer a very important question on everybody\u2019s mind: Why in the hell are we still doing this?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>I know there are \u2014 I know there are questions about whether we should gather here tonight because of COVID.  Well, we\u2019re here to show the country that we\u2019re getting through this pandemic.  Plus, everyone had to prove they were fully vaccinated and boosted.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>So, if you\u2019re at home watching this and you\u2019re wondering how to do that, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter.  They\u2019re all here, vaccinated and boosted \u2014 all of them.   (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, look, Fox \u2014 Fox News, I\u2019m \u2014 I\u2019m really sorry your preferred candidate lost the last election.  To make it up to you, I\u2019m happy to give my Chief of Staff to you all so he can tell Sean Hannity what to say every day.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Ron Klain is here at the CBS table, which hired Mick Mulvaney.  Mick, on CBS?  I was stunned.  I figured he\u2019d end up on \u201cThe Masked Singer\u201d with Rudy.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Amazing hire, guys.  Really quite amazing. <\/p>\n<p>Look, I know this is a tough town.  I came to office with an ambitious agenda, and I expected it to face stiff opposition in the Senate.  I just hoped it would be from Republicans.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m not worried about the midterms.  I\u2019m not worried about them.  We may end up with more partisan gridlock, but I\u2019m confident we can work it out during my remaining six years in the presidency.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, folks, I\u2019m not really here to roast the GOP.  That\u2019s not my style.  Besides, there\u2019s nothing I can say about the GOP that Kevin McCarthy hasn\u2019t already put on tape.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, at the same \u2014 at the same time, a lot of people say the Republican Party is too extreme, too divisive, too controlled by one person.  They say, \u201cIt\u2019s not your father\u2019s Republican Party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ronald Reagan said, \u201cMr. Gorbachev, tear this wall down.\u201d  Today\u2019s Republicans say, \u201cTear down Mickey Mouse\u2019s house.\u201d  (Laughter.)   And pretty soon, they\u2019ll be storming Cinderella\u2019s Castle, you can be sure of it.<\/p>\n<p>But Republicans seem to support one fella \u2014 some guy named Brandon.  (Laughter.)  He\u2019s having a really good year, and I\u2019m kind of happy for him.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Let me conclude with a serious word. <\/p>\n<p>We live in serious times.  We\u2019re coming through a devastating pandemic, and we have to stay vigilant.  I know Kamala wanted to be here, for example, and thankfully she\u2019s doing well.  You should all know she sends her best.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re in a time when what we so long have taken for granted is facing the gravest of threats.  And I\u2019m being deadly earnest.<\/p>\n<p>Oversear [sic] \u2014 overseas, the liberal world order that laid the foundation for global peace, stability, and prosperity since World War Two is genuinely, seriously under assault.<\/p>\n<p>And at home, a poison is running through our democracy of all \u2014 all of this taking place with disinformation massively on the rise, where the truth is buried by lies and the lies live on as truth.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s clear \u2014 and I mean this from the bottom of my heart \u2014 that you, the free press, matter more than you ever did in the last century.  (Applause.)  No, I really mean it. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always believed that good journalism holds up a mirror to ourselves to reflect on the good, the bad, and the true.  Tonight, I want to congratulate the awardees and the scholarship winners who carry on that sacred tradition.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve all seen the courage of the Ukrainian people because of the courage of American reporters in this room and your colleagues across the world who are on the ground, taking their lives in their own hands.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And although it\u2019s not in Ukraine, it\u2019s Russia \u2014 Mom, I\u2019d like to meet you and Dad to talk about your son. <\/p>\n<p>We just \u2014 we just saw a heartbreaking video: Nine have been killed reporting from Kyiv \u2014 struck by a kamikaze drone strike after a shopping mall attack; shot in the neck while decounci- [sic] \u2014 while \u2014 while documenting Ukrainians fleeing; killed when Russian missiles hit the television tower in a residential neighborhood.  One journalist from Radio Liberty just killed days ago.<\/p>\n<p>So many of you telling the stories and taking the photos and recording the videos of what\u2019s happening there, the unvarnished truth shown \u2014 showing the \u2014 the destruction and the devastation and, yes, the war crimes.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, we also honor the legacy of two historic reporters, and that is Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Payne.  I\u2019m glad you saw that tonight.  (Applause.)  I didn\u2019t know you were doing that.  These are the first Black women to be White House reporters who shattered convention to cover a segregated nation.<\/p>\n<p>We honor journalists killed, missing, imprisoned, detained, and tortured; covering war, exposing corruption, and holding leaders accountable.<\/p>\n<p>We honor members of the press, both national and local, covering a once-in-a-century pandemic where we lost a million Americans, a generation reckoning on race, and the existential threat of climate change.<\/p>\n<p>The free press is not the enemy of the people \u2014 far from it.  At your best, you\u2019re guardians of the truth.<\/p>\n<p>President Kennedy once said, and I quote, \u201cWithout debate, without criticism, no administration, no country can succeed,<br \/>\nand no republic can survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The First Amendment grants a free press extraordinary protection, but with it comes, as many of you know, a very heavy obligation: to seek the truth as best you can \u2014 not to inflame or entertain, but to illuminate and educate.<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s tough.  And I\u2019m not being solicitous.  The industry is changing significantly.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s incredible pressure on you all to deliver heat instead of shed light, because the technology is changing so much, the system is changing.  But it matters.  No kidding.  It matters.  The truth matters. <\/p>\n<p>American democracy is not a reality show.  (Applause.)  It\u2019s not a reality show.  (Applause.)  It\u2019s reality itself.  And the reality is that we are a great country.<\/p>\n<p>Our future is bright.  It\u2019s not guaranteed, because democracy is never guaranteed.  It has to be earned.  It has to be defended.  It has to be protected.<\/p>\n<p>As you\u2019ve heard me say many times: There\u2019s not a damn thing this country can\u2019t do when we stand united and do it together.  And I know we can do anything we want to do that\u2019s right. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been around a long time, as has been pointed out many times tonight.  (Laughter.)  But I give you my word as a Biden: I\u2019ve never been more optimistic about America than I am today.  I really mean it. <\/p>\n<p>At times of enormous change, it presents enormous opportunities.  For despite all the crises, all the partisanship, all the shouting and the showmanship,<br \/>\nI really know this and you know it too: We are a great nation because we\u2019re basically a good people.<\/p>\n<p>And here in America, good journalism, good satire about our leaders, about our society is quintessentially an American thing.  It demonstrates the power of our example.<\/p>\n<p>And I, honest to God, believe it reveals our soul \u2014 the soul of our nation.  And that\u2019s what I\u2019d like to toast tonight, if I may.<\/p>\n<p>(The President offers a toast.)<\/p>\n<p>To the journalists and their families, to the people and their elected representatives, to the United States of America.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And by the way, Madeleine Albright was right: We are the indispensable nation.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Ladies and gentlemen, I\u2019m going to turn this over to Trevor now, strap myself into my seat.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And, Trevor, the really good news is: Now you get to roast the President of the United States and, unlike in Moscow, you won\u2019t go to jail.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>The podium is yours.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>10:21 P.M. EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Steve, for that introduction. And a special thanks to the 42 percent of you who actually applauded. (Laughter.) I\u2019m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have. (Laughter.) That\u2019s hard to say [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-512022-32211-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=140142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140144,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140142\/revisions\/140144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/140143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=140142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=140142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=140142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}