www.cnn.com – 2023-04-30 03:18:00
CNN
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President Joe Biden called for the release of detained journalists and citizens abroad at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, before poking fun at everything from his age to Elon Musk.
“Let me start on a serious note,” Biden said, “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, maybe the pillar of a free society, not the enemy.”
The audience at the Washington Hilton represented a “who’s who” of officials within the Biden administration, with some top White House officials seated at the dais. First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff were all in attendance Saturday evening. The event also boasted a number of high-profile celebrity guests like Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.
Beyond one-liners, the president’s remarks were calibrated to his reelection campaign priorities and the topical issues he often discusses at the podium – such as the economy and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
But Biden took special care to address the issue of wrongfully detained Americans abroad.
Saturday’s dinner took place about a month after the arrest of American citizen Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent based in Moscow. The United States has designated him as wrongfully detained by Russia.
“Tonight, our message is this: Journalism is not a crime,” Biden said Saturday.
Earlier this week, the US issued new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as the Biden administration works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens currently being detained.
This year’s dinner also comes amid a media industry reckoning. The state of the economy, fears of a recession and dried up investment capital have played a large part in what’s driven the dramatic industry changes over the last several months. But other struggles, like high-profile legal issues and ratings woes, have also been apparent.
Typically, presidential speechwriters work through remarks for a few weeks. Last year, at his first correspondents dinner since becoming president, Biden told his team he envisioned an address that went beyond just a series of one-liners, wisecracks and gags – a tactic he employed again Saturday night.
Still, the dinner gave Biden a rare chance to flex his comedic muscles in front of entertainers and members of the media, an opportunity he used to make jokes about his predecessor’s recent scandals.
Biden joked he was offered $10 to keep his speech under ten minutes. “That’s a switch, a president being offered hush money,” he quipped in reference to Trump’s indictment in an alleged hush money…
