US President Joe Biden takes a dig at Donald Trump: Running against a 6-year-old child
US President Joe Biden discussed the election year at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night, as protesters outside criticized his support for Israel’s war against Hamas.
Biden used the annual black-tie event to scold his Republican rival Donald Trump for immaturity, mock his advancing age and attack the Washington press corps.
“Yes, age is an issue. I’m a grown man and I’m running against a 6-year-old,” Biden joked.
Biden, 81, later said of former President Trump, 77: “Age is the only thing we have in common. My vice president really supports me.”
Trump responded to the incident in a post on his Truth social platform, calling it “really bad”. “Crooked that was a complete disaster! It couldn’t be worse than this!” He said.
Protestors holding banners outside the meeting at the Washington Hilton chanted slogans about the deaths of journalists in Gaza. Hundreds of protesters encouraged journalists to boycott the annual event and raised slogans against administration officials as they entered.
Biden avoided large protests in front of the hotel by arriving through a rear entrance, where he was greeted by small groups of protesters calling for a cease-fire.
At a century-old event often referred to as Washington’s “Idiot Prom,” hundreds of journalists, politicians and celebrities shook hands in a vast banquet hall. Concluding remarks often include friendly jabs from the President aimed at reporters and other guests in the audience.
Biden gave some advice to the press corps.
“I’m honestly not asking you to take sides. I’m asking you to understand the gravity of this moment. Move on from the horse racing statistics and the showy moments and the distractions, the show-offs that have come to dominate And turn our politics away from sensationalism, and focus on what is really at stake,” Biden said.
This year, the event was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Colin Jost.
Grassroots movement CodePink marched to the venue from a nearby park. “The United States media perpetuates anti-Palestinian rhetoric and ignores Israeli war crimes,” the group said on its website.
The growing movement against the war in Gaza has troubled Biden this year, including a $250-a-ticket march fundraiser at New York’s Radio City Music Hall that was disrupted by protesters.
Recently, the movement has spread to college campuses in the US, reflecting a growing revulsion inside the Democratic base that Biden must defeat Trump, now the Republican leader.
Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, declined to comment on security measures for the dinner.
“The safety and security of our protected individuals is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority,” said U.S. Secret Service spokesman Alexei Varley. He declined to comment further.
Palestinian health officials say more than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel’s six-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza, and more than 2% in the enclave, in response to an October 7 attack by the militant group in southern Israel. A humanitarian disaster has occurred. million inhabitants.
According to Israeli figures, the Hamas attack killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 253 hostages.
The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914 and has held the dinner almost every year since 1921 to celebrate the journalists who cover the presidency and raise money for scholarships.