‘Seasoned’: Joe Biden laughs off age gags at White House comedy roast, attacks news outlets for ‘lies’
- At the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner Biden attacked news outlets he said used ‘lies told for profit and power’ to stir up hatred in the US
- The WHCA is meant to celebrate the US constitution’s First Amendment guarantees of free speech and to advocate for a free press worldwide
US President Joe Biden took it on the chin Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner as he laughed gamely through sharp jokes about his age, and hit back with a few of his own.
Washington’s political and media elites gathered for their annual big-night-out in the US capital for an event that ranged from the traditional comedy gags to sombre calls to free reporters imprisoned abroad.
Headlining the after-dinner entertainment was “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr., who gleefully mocked Biden, 80, for running for a second term in the White House that could mean he is still president at age 86.
Say what you want about our president, but when he wakes up from that nap, work gets done
Wood noted recent angry protests in France against raising the retirement age.
“They rioted because they didn’t want to work until 64. Meanwhile, in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work,” he deadpanned, drawing a broad smile from Biden, sitting only yards away.
“‘Let me finish the job’ – That’s not a campaign slogan, that’s a plea,” Wood added. “Say what you want about our president, but when he wakes up from that nap, work gets done.”
In a possible preview of a 2024 presidential campaign theme, he attacked news outlets he said used “lies told for profit and power” to stir up hatred in the United States.
