(Headline USA) President Joe Biden, appearing to be juiced up on Ritalin, delivered a semi-lucid but largely incoherent speech at the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner that included a homophobic attack on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“After his reelection as governor he was asked if he had a mandate. He said, ‘hell no, I’m straight, I’m straight,’” Biden said, according to Mediaite.
“I’ll give you time to think that one through,” he ad-libbed as many awkwardly laughed at the joke, which seemed more an off-color pun than a dig at the Republican presidential contender’s policies.
While Biden’s jokes lacked the wry delivery of his predecessor, Barack Obama (Republican President Donald Trump notably boycotted the caustic and deeply biased WHCA after a leftist comedian used it to attack then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders) the jokes on Saturday were generally well-received by the audience.
Media now have been conditioned to total compliance with the regime, even submitting questions in advance for pre-approval.
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.
The Bidens also made a beeline for Brittney Griner, the baritone-voiced WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year before her release in a controversial prisoner swap that freed a notorious Russian arms dealer. Griner attended with her wife, Cherelle, as guests of CBS News.
“This time last year we were praying for you, Brittney,” Biden said to the basketball star.
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 were seated on the stage along with comedian Roy Wood Jr., a correspondent for “The Daily Show,” who was the featured entertainer.
The occasion is a familiar and comfortable one for Biden, who attended several of the dinners as vice president to Obama. The Washington event returned last year after being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
But this year, he came not only as the commander in chief but as a presidential contender.
He started his punchlines with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, taking direct aim at a recent bill Republicans passed that would lift the debt ceiling in exchange for a series of budget cuts, including some 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 told the crowd.
Biden made a couple of mildly self-deprecating jokes, mostly 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 said to a roaring crowd.
Wood, who took the stage after Biden, also 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 said. “Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man, begging us for four more years.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
