The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — recognized for its enjoyable albeit ferocious jabs at Washington — took a extra solemn tone this 12 months as President Joe Biden acknowledged the a number of American journalists underneath siege in authoritarian international locations all over the world. “We 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,” Biden stated in his speech. The president and first girl Jill Biden, upon arriving on the Washington Hilton on Saturday, met privately with the dad and mom of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March. He was charged with spying, regardless of sturdy denials from his employer and the US authorities. Some company wore buttons with “Free Evan” printed on them.

Also among the many 2,600 folks attending the gala was Debra Tice, the mom of Austin Tice, who has not been heard from since disappearing at a checkpoint in Syria in 2012. US officers say they function underneath the belief that he’s alive and are working to attempt to convey him dwelling.

“Journalism is not a crime. Evan and Austin should be released immediately along with every other American detained abroad,” Biden stated. “I promise you, I am working like hell to get them home.” The Bidens additionally made a beeline for Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was detained in Russia for practically 10 months final 12 months earlier than her launch in a prisoner swap. Griner attended together with her spouse, Cherelle, as company of CBS News.

“This time last year we were praying for you, Brittney,” Biden said to the basketball star. The annual black-tie dinner drew a wide array of celebrities and media moguls to Washington, with parties being held across the capital. Among those in attendance were actor Liev Schreiber, singer John Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, the model and television personality.

Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened the dinner with a pre-taped video about the importance of a free and independent press, calling reporters an “ally of the people.” Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been seated on the stage together with comic Roy Wood Jr., a correspondent for “The Daily Show,” who was the featured entertainer.

While Biden spent the vast majority of his speech centered on the problem of press freedom, he took time to take jabs at a few of his most vocal political critics. The event is a well-known and cozy one for Biden, who attended a number of of the dinners as vice chairman to Barack Obama. The Washington occasion returned final 12 months after being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Biden was the primary president in six years to just accept the invitation after Donald Trump shunned the occasion whereas in workplace.

But this 12 months, he got here not solely because the commander in chief however as a presidential contender. He began his punchlines with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, taking direct intention at a current invoice Republicans handed that might elevate the debt ceiling in trade for a sequence of finances cuts, together with a few of Biden’s key legislative achievements. “The last time Republicans voted for something that hapless it took 15 tries,” Biden said, referring to the gruesome fight McCarthy endured to become speaker in January. And he didn’t stop there, going after Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch about his age. “And you call me old?” he instructed the gang. Biden even made a few self-deprecating jokes, largely surrounding criticism of his age as he mounts a second bid for reelection. “I believe in the First Amendment and not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it,” he stated to a roaring crowd. Wood, who took the stage after Biden, additionally zeroed in on the president’s age. “We should be inspired by the events in France. They rioted when the retirement age went up two years to 64,” Wood stated. “Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man, begging us for four more years.”

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