{"id":159336,"date":"2023-04-30T12:51:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-30T19:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=159336"},"modified":"2023-04-30T12:51:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T19:51:44","slug":"president-biden-at-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=159336","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you, Tam, for that introduction \u2014 I think.  (Laughter.)  Let me start on a serious note.  Jill, Kamala, Doug, and I, and members of our administration are here to send a message to the country and, quite frankly, to the world: The free press is a pillar \u2014 maybe the pillar \u2014 of a free society, not the enemy.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bpfHF962Ykg\" title=\"President Biden Delivers Remarks at the White House Correspondents&#39; Association Dinner\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Thomas Jefferson wrote \u2014 you all know this quote.  Thomas Jefferson wrote, \u201cWere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate\u2026to prefer the latter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Evan\u2019s parents Ella, Mikhail, and sister Danielle, as I\u2019ve told you in person: We \u2014 not just me \u2014 we all stand with you.<\/p>\n<p>Evan went to report in Russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Absolute courage.  A handwritten letter from prison to his family, Evan wrote, quote, \u201cI am not losing hope.\u201d  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>In an interview, his mom Ella said, \u201cOne of the American qualities that we absorbed is to be optimistic.  That\u2019s where we stand right now.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>To the entire family: Everyone in this hall stands with you.  (Applause.)  We\u2019re working every day to secure his release, looking at opportunities and tools to bring him home.  We keep the faith.<\/p>\n<p>We also keep the faith for Austin \u2014 Austin Tice.  (Applause.)  His mom Debra is here tonight.  (Applause.)  She knows from our several conversations \u2014 the conversations with me and my senior staff \u2014 we are not giving up.<\/p>\n<p>As I told you at this dinner last year, as I told you in the Oval Office, you\u2019ve raised an incredible son.<\/p>\n<p>When he was a kid, he was an Eagle Scout, a Big Brother, a born protector, a U.S. Marine \u2014 three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Austin \u2014 Austin was a fearless journalist and a future lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>As a consequence of Austin showing the world the cost of war, he\u2019s been detained in Syria for nearly 11 years.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simply wrong.  It\u2019s outrageous.  And we are not ceasing our effort to get him, find him, and bring him home.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, our message is this: Journalism is not a crime.<\/p>\n<p>Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every other American held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Paul Whelan \u2014 unjustly held in Russia for more than four years, whose brave sister I\u2019ve met with and whose family has never quit fighting for Paul.  And I promise you neither will I and neither will this administration until we get him home.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And there are other Americans being unjustly held in Iran, Venezuela, China, and elsewhere.  Their stories may not make headlines or hashtags, but every day \u2014 every day, their family looks at that empty chair at the kitchen table \u2014 birthdays, anniversaries, holidays without them.  The pain of living in limbo.  In a sense, it\u2019s almost worse than the pain of having lost a child and looking at that empty chair.  The stress of not knowing.  The sorrow of uncertainty. <\/p>\n<p>But I want them and their families to know Jill and I understand.  We see them.  They are not forgotten.  And I promise you I am working like hell to get them home.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>As a nation, we\u2019ll never give up on hope.  Things can get better.  Things can turn.  Things can change.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, unlike last year, Brittney Griner is here with her wife Cherelle.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Brittney \u2014 where you are, kid?  Stand up.  Come on.  (Applause.)  I love this woman.  Love you, Brittney.<\/p>\n<p>This time last year, we were praying for you, Brittney, hoping you knew how hard all of us were fighting for your release.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s great to have you home.  (Applause.)  And, boy, I can hardly wait to see you back on the court, kid.  Remember your promise.  I get to bring my granddaughter, my All-State girl, to see you.  Right?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Because of our unrelenting efforts, we\u2019ve been able to bring home dozens of hostages and wrongfully detainees \u2014 wrongful detainees from Afghanistan, Burma, Haiti, Iran, Rwanda, Venezuela, across West Africa, and around the world.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re doing everything we can to prevent these cases from occurring in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the State Department added the threat of detention as a new risk indicator to its travel advisories to go along with the threat of kidnapping to warn Americans where these threats are highest abroad.<\/p>\n<p>I also recently signed an executive order increasing the consequences for criminal groups and terrorists who engage in the appalling practice of treating human beings as bargaining chips, political pawns.<\/p>\n<p>And just two days ago, my administration announced the first sanctions under this new authority, punishing individuals and security services in Russia and Iran who\u2019ve been part of the wrongful defen- \u2014 detention of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Above all, across government, experts are working day and night to bring our fellow Americans home, much of which, as you well know, we can\u2019t talk about.  Concern that it will backfire.<\/p>\n<p>But my commitment \u2014 my commitment is to bring them home, just as I know your commitment is to continue to be a free and fearless press.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s what we honor tonight.<\/p>\n<p>And this is not hyperbole: You make it possible \u2014 you make it possible for ordinary citizens to question authority \u2014 and, yes, even to laugh at authority \u2014 without fear or intimidation.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what makes this nation strong.<\/p>\n<p>So, tonight, let us show ourselves and the world our strength, not just by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, I know a lot has changed in the press.  I\u2019ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of you.  This is not your father\u2019s press from 20 years ago.  No, I\u2019m serious.  And you all know it better than I do.  But still, it is absolutely consequential and essential.<\/p>\n<p>After all, I believe in the First Amendment \u2014 not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.  (Laughter and applause.) <\/p>\n<p>In a lot of ways, this dinner sums up my first two years in office.  (Laughter.)  I\u2019ll talk for 10 minutes, take zero questions, and cheerfully walk away.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I know, I just announced my reelection campaign.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Some of you \u2014 some of you scooped that I\u2019d announce in a video.  But, really, you really all thought in your heart that I\u2019d just blurt it out, didn\u2019t you?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>MS. O\u2019DONNELL:  We try.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And, look, I get that age is a completely reasonable issue.  It\u2019s on everybody\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n<p>And everyone \u2014 by \u201ceveryone\u201d I mean the New York Times.  (Laughter.)  Headline: \u201cBiden\u2019s advanced age is a big issue.  Trump\u2019s, however, is not.\u201d  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, that was a New York Times Pitchbot.  I apologize.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>I love that guy.  I should do an interview with him.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>You might think I don\u2019t like Rupert Murdoch.  That\u2019s simply not true.  How could I dislike the guy who makes me look like Harry Styles?  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You call me old?  I call it being seasoned.  You say I\u2019m ancient?  I say I\u2019m wise.  You say I\u2019m over the hill?  Don Lemon would say that\u2019s a man in his prime.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Folks, it\u2019s wonderful to be back here again, proving I haven\u2019t learned a damn thing.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>I want everybody to have fun tonight, but please be safe.<\/p>\n<p>If you find yourself disoriented or confused, it\u2019s either you\u2019re drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Tam, thank you for hosting us.  I love NPR \u2014 (applause) \u2014 <\/p>\n<p>(leans into the microphone) \u2014 because they whisper into the mic like I do.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But not everybody loves NPR.  Elon Musk tweeted that it should be defunded.<\/p>\n<p>Well, the best way to make NPR go away is for Elon Musk to buy it.  (Laughter and applause.)  And that\u2019s more true than you think.  (Laughter.)  Anyway.<\/p>\n<p>This dinner is one of the two great traditions in Washington.  The other one is underestimating me and Kamala.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Well, the truth is we really have a record to be proud of.<\/p>\n<p>Vaccinated the nation.  Transformed the economy.  Earned historic legislative victories and midterm results.<\/p>\n<p>But the job isn\u2019t finished.  I mean \u2014 it is finished for Tucker Carlson.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Oooh \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  What are you wooing about like that?  (Laughter.)  Like you think that\u2019s not reasonable?  Give me a break.  (Laughter.)  Just give me a break.<\/p>\n<p>Look, like I often say, don\u2019t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative. <\/p>\n<p>We added 12 million jobs, and that\u2019s just counting the lawyers to \u2014 who defended the president.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Had Ron DeSantis \u2014 I had a lot of Ron DeSangi- \u2014 Ron DeSantis jokes ready, but bicke- \u2014 but Mickey Mouse beat the hell out of me and got there first.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Now, look \u2014 can\u2019t be too rough on the guy.  After his reelection as governor, he was asked if he had a mandate.  He said, \u201cHell no, I\u2019m straight.\u201d  (Laughter.)  \u201cI\u2019m straight.\u201d  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll give you time to think that one through.  You got it?<\/p>\n<p>Look, you all keep reporting my approval rating is at 42 percent.  But what do you \u2014 but I think you don\u2019t know this: Kevin McCarthy called me and asked me, \u201cJoe, what the hell is your secret?\u201d  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not even kidding about that one.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>The Speaker is trying to claim a big win this week, but the last time Republicans voted on something this \u2014 that hapless, it took 15 tries.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Oooh \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That was good.  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>Look, it\u2019s great the cable news networks are here tonight.  MSNBC owned by NBC Universal.  Fox News owned by Dominion Voting Systems.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Last year, your favorite Fox News reporters were able to attend because they were fully vaccinated and boosted.<\/p>\n<p>This year, with that $787 million settlement, they\u2019re here because they couldn\u2019t say no to a free meal.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And hell, I\u2019d call Fox honest, fair, and truthful, but then I could be sued for defamation.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>It ain\u2019t nothing compared to what they do to me.  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>Look, I hope the Fox News team finds this funny.  My goal is to make them laugh as hard as CNN did when they read the settlement.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But then again, CN- \u2014 CNN was like, \u201cWow, they actually have $787 million?\u201d  (Laughter.)  Whoa.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, I go where the people are \u2014 \u201cThe Daily Show.\u201d  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Roy is a great guy.  He once dubbed me the Jay-Z of Delaware.  (Laughter.)  Don\u2019t let that look on your face.  You did. <\/p>\n<p>Tonight he asked me to keep it short.  He even offered me 10 bucks if I\u2019d keep it under 10 minutes.  That\u2019s a switch:<\/p>\n<p>a President being offered hush money.  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Look, I\u2019m going to leave the jokes to the pros.  But let me conclude on a genuinely serious note.<\/p>\n<p>Roy was born in Bormingham [sic] \u2014 born in Birmingham, Alabama.  He graduated from a great HBCU, Florida A&#038;M.  (Applause.)  He started in journalism to follow in the footsteps of his father, Roy Wood Sr., who covered the Civil Rights Movement.<\/p>\n<p>During Black History Month this year, I hosted the screening of the movie \u201cTill.\u201d  (Applause.)  The story of Emmett Till and his mother is a story of a family\u2019s promise and loss and a nation\u2019s reckoning with hate, violence, and the abuse of power.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a story that was seared into our memory and our conscience \u2014 the nation\u2019s conscience \u2014 when Mrs. Till insisted that an open casket for her murdered and maimed 14-year-old son be the means by which he was transported.  She said, \u201cLet the people see what I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The reason the world saw what she saw was because of another hero in this story: the Black press.  (Applause.)  That\u2019s a fact.  Jet Magazine, the Chicago Defender, and other Black radio and newspapers were unflinching and brave in making sure America saw what she saw.  (Applause.)  And I mean it.<\/p>\n<p>Ida B. Wells \u2014 Ida B. Wells once said, and I quote, \u201cThe way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs.\u201d  \u201cTurn the light of truth upon the wrongs.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the sacred view, in my view.  That\u2019s the sacred charge of a free press.  And I mean that.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what someone we still miss so much, who you honored posthumously, stood for.  Gwen Ifill.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You know, she was among the very best.  We talked about it at the table.  She moderated my first debate for Vice President and was a trusted voice for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Gwen understood that the louder the noise, the more it\u2019s on all of us to cut through the noise to the truth.<\/p>\n<p>The truth matters.<\/p>\n<p>As I said last year at this dinner, a poison is running through our democracy and parts of the extreme press.  The truth buried by lies, and lies living on as truth.<\/p>\n<p>Lies told for profit and power.  Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again, designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate, and even violence.  A cycle that emboldens history to be buried, books to be banned, children and families to be attacked by the state, and the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away.  And where elected representatives of the people are expelled from statehouses for standing for the people.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve made clear that we know in our bones \u2014 and you know it too \u2014 our democracy remains at risk.  But I\u2019ve also made it clear, as I\u2019ve seen throughout my life, it\u2019s within our power,<\/p>\n<p>each and every one of us, to preserve our democracy.  We can.  We must.  We will.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to make a toast \u2014 if I had a glass.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>My grandfather Ambrose Finnegan said, \u201cIf you ever make a toast without liquor, you got to hold it in your left hand.\u201d  (Laughter.)  You all think I\u2019m kidding.  I\u2019m not.  I\u2019m probably the only Irishman you\u2019ve ever met who\u2019s never had a drink in his life.  Anyway.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to make a toast, seriously.<\/p>\n<p>At this inflection point in history, let us commit that we\u2019ll be a nation that will embrace light over darkness, truth over lies, and finally, finally, finally restore the soul of the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Hear, hear.  (A toast is offered.)<\/p>\n<p>Ladies and gentleman \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Can I give you that?<\/p>\n<p>MS. KEITH:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m going to turn this over to Roy.  Roy, the podium is yours. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m going to be fine with your jokes, but I\u2019m not sure about Dark Brandon.  (The President puts on sunglasses.)  (Laughter and applause.)<\/p>\n<p>All yours, pal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you, Tam, for that introduction \u2014 I think. (Laughter.) Let me start on a serious note. Jill, Kamala, Doug, and I, and members of our administration are here to send a message to the country and, quite frankly, to the world: The free press is a pillar \u2014 maybe the pillar \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159337,"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-159336","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\/2023\/04\/Fullscreen-capture-4302023-124637-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159336","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=159336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159338,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159336\/revisions\/159338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/159337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}