Laugh while not forgetting the American presidential election in November. Joe Biden played this game on Saturday, showing self-deprecation while scratching Donald Trump, during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Many distinguished guests, journalists and celebrities, arrived at the Hilton Hotel in Washington at a time when around a hundred demonstrators against the war in Gaza were gathered near the entrance. Some protesters then chanted slogans such as “Shame on you”.
Biden’s age at the heart of mockery
Inside, however, the war between Hamas and Israel did not take center stage, unlike the mockery over Joe Biden’s age or his occasional falls down the stairs of the presidential plane.
The presence of the American leader at this gala is part of the long tradition of the event, interrupted under the mandate of Donald Trump, which wants the president to listen, with a smile, to a comedian tearing him down in front of an assembly in tuxedo and long dresses, then delivers a speech peppered with more or less successful jokes.
On duty this year to laugh at the president was comedian Colin Jost, author and actor for the flagship American television show “Saturday Night Live” on NBC. “I would like to point out that it is past 10 p.m., Sleepy Joe is still up, while Donald Trump spent the week falling asleep in court every morning,” said the comedian, in an allusion to the trial in Former President’s New York.
OUR FILE ON THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Between self-deprecation and teasing the media, Joe Biden, 81, took the floor to mock his Republican rival, 77, explaining that “age is the only thing we have in common”.
Colin Jost and Joe Biden, however, adopted a more serious tone when addressing the question of the political climate in the United States. Donald Trump’s rhetoric poses a danger according to the US president, particularly after the assault on the Capitol in 2021, and “the stakes could not be higher”, according to him. “The 2024 election is in full swing and yes age is a subject,” said Joe Biden before launching: “I am an adult running against a six-year-old child.”
Demonstration in favor of the Palestinians
Far from the laughter of the audience, a demonstration took place in front of the hotel, from where, from a window on the top floor, protesters hung a Palestinian flag several meters long. Others were gathered below, at roadway level, holding signs or megaphones.
Several Palestinian journalists had also called in an open letter on their American colleagues to boycott this popular event. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an association based in New York, at least 97 journalists have been killed since the start of the war on October 7 between Israel and Hamas, including 92 Palestinians.