Insisting on a winning strategy of devaluing himself, President Joe Biden opened with “a special thank you to the 42% of you who actually applauded,” in a clear commentary on the low turnout. The president then addressed his immediate audience in the media as “the only group of Americans with the lowest acceptance score of me.” At the end of his speech praising the “good journalist, good satire”, Biden will be followed by Trevor Noah. The presenter of the Daily Show has the somewhat ungrateful job of baking POTUS in front of the man himself, the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, as well as many of his Paramount Global bosses, peers and friends and cabinet members. Recalling how fascinated he was when Noah called Biden “America’s new dad” after the 2020 election, the nearly 80-year-old POTUS added with perhaps the best presentation of the night: “I’m flattered when someone called me something new. ” Tonight, in his first WHC since taking office and the first POTUS on the wave after Barack Obama’s microphone swan song in 2016, Biden had to follow a careful line in his remarks. Working with his staff and some outside talent in his speech, the President, who was pleasing to the crowd, had to make sure he laughed with his belly, while he did not seem unconscious in the financial woes of many Americans and the massacre resulting from the ongoing Russian invasion. in Ukraine. In that spirit, and with fears about Covid’s dangers from the WHCD rally, Biden dealt a direct blow to the media, leading him further into their own hypocrisy. “Everyone had to prove they were fully vaccinated and bragged,” POTUS said. “Well, if you’re at home watching this video and wondering how to do it, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter, they’re all here, vaccinated and bragging, all of them.” This last line caused Biden the biggest laugh and applause of the night. “Fox News, I’m really sorry your candidate lost the last election,” the president told the television news network owned by Rupert Murdoch. “To solve this, I’m happy to give you my Chief of Staff so he can tell Sean Hannidi what he has to say every day,” Biden said, referring to the more public relationship between Mark Meadows and the FNC. host. This line did not go well. The sequel to former Trump aide Mick Malveni, who surprised Biden about being hired by CBS when he thought the other former chief of staff would “end up in the masked singer with Rudy,” went much better. After making the necessary blows to the media, Biden made a few passes to the GOP and his extreme stances. “Today’s Republicans say tear down Mickey Mouse’s house,” he exclaimed in the final round of the always-popular culture wars. “Soon, they will invade Cinderella castle, you can be sure of that.” “Republicans seem to be supporting a man, a guy named Brandon,” Biden said with a smile, referring to the coded insult against him that has become a MAGA song. “He is having a good year, I am very happy for him.” Covered live by C-Span, CNN and others on the small screen and on the Internet, the annual DC Love Festival is definitely more popular tonight than in recent years. First, this is the first live WHCD in two years due to the pandemic and the District is having more fun than Coachella this weekend. Second, an American President is actually under the roof for the first time in six years and you can not get over that for the pure nuclear codes that seal the power of the stars. A regular DC player since 1973, Biden has been a known player on many previous WHCDs over the decades. His presence was most felt in 2014, when the then Veep pedaled the metal with the fantastic Veep Selina Meyers (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in a short video that left the ballroom with legal stitches. Biden was on video tonight for a short time in a weak sketch under James Corden of the outgoing Late Late Show host looking for a new show as White House Press Secretary. POTUS noted Corden’s exit in 2023 and said “if all goes well, I have a real chance to replace him”. Biden wore a tuxedo dug deep into the Corden mine, saying “an outstanding performer who comes out on top after eight years at my job sounds very right.” Noting that we had a “horrible plague, followed by two years of Covid”, Biden went a little harder than expected at a time with a swing in the 45th POTUS when he noted what a “coup” it would have been for the other attendee. Before Biden and Noah, there was more pre-recorded comedy than Tinseltown on Saturday with Billy Eichner appearing one step behind the presidential stamp to mock Entertainment reporters. Flying the Paramount flag, CBS Morning co-host Gayle King took to the dance floor to shout at one of her bosses and present the first Dunnigan-Payne Lifetime Career Award at the event. The award was named after the first two African-Americans to serve as members of the White House Press Corps – as described in detail in a video in the room. King was in shape as usual, but even as a fantastic POTUS candidate, Eichner was one step ahead of the last guy. From a long time ago a welcoming landing spot on the Daily Show fortress, past and present, the WHCD was lowered during the reign of the former Celebrity Apprentice host, partly because Trump was too funny and impossible to attend. This press did not help and the then President was in a constant state of suffocation, to put it mildly, for his policies and paranoia. As has been the case for decades, the entire shebang takes place in a powerful Hilton ballroom with 2,500 people filled with the top crust of American pop culture and the media. While the owner of the Washington Post and the second richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is not there, this year the list of celebrities includes such spotlight as Trump’s former ally, Kim Kardashian, and current SNL artist, Peter Davidson. who was in Los Angeles last night for Netflix. comedy festival. Most notably, CNN’s Jack Tapper, CAA’s Bryan Lourd, former White House official and current MSNBC contributor Symone Sanders, none of whom had the level of security that brought Kardashian to her table. In addition, CBS Entertainment Group boss George Cheeks, Showtime honcho chief David Nevins, media mogul Bryan Allen, Billions’ Corey Stall, Drew Barrymore, Florida’s aspiring governor for 2024 Ron DeSantis, California Gov. Caitlyn Jenner, director Mario Van Peebles, NBCU Jeff Shell, Fran Drescher SAG-AFTRA, UTA’s Jay Sures (representing several cable presenters), Leity Caz of Tomorrow of DC which was just canceled by both Steve Doocy and Peter Doocy of Fox News. , between many high rollers. There were, of course, fears that President Biden would be bound when he appeared and made his remarks from a distance. Sure, the range of about 80 Beltway heavyweights tested positive for the Covid-19 after the Gridiron Dinner earlier this month hung from the 79-year-old’s appearance at the WHCD tonight. Add to that Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive earlier this week and White House science adviser Dr. Anthony Fatsi has decided not to attend this year due to concerns about another DC super distributor, and it is clear that no one would regret Biden’s absence. But that did not prove necessary, right?
