Correspondents' gala offers political normalcy despite COVID
30.04.2022 - 08:35
/ abcnews.go.com
party like it's 2019, before the coronavirus, when the biggest risk at the annual White House press corps gala was more likely to be jokes that ruffled too many political feathers.After the pandemic nixed the event in 2020 and 2021, the White House Correspondents' Association dinner returns Saturday night, with Joe Biden as the first sitting president to attend in six years after Donald Trump shunned it while in office.Comedy is also back, with “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah as headliner. Celebrities are, too: Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are expected to turn up, and the Funny or Die comedy studio is co-sponsoring an after-party.
The event also draws a large swath of government officials and other prominent figures.“Seeing the president of the United States come back, and the dinner come back, I think signals more than a pause in the pandemic," said Harold Holzer, author of the book “The Presidents vs. The Press.” "We’re safe to talk to each other again.”I think this relationship — even if it’s a one-night thing where witticisms are exchanged and people make fun of others and each other — it’s a very healthy thing.”It feels like the return of a modicum of normalcy for the nation's capital, but it is also a reminder that COVID-19 remains a threat.
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive this week and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top coronavirus expert, is skipping the dinner “because of my individual assessment of my personal risk.”That raised questions about whether the 79-year-old Biden should go.
The president is going to pass up the meal and turn up later for the program. He plans to be masked when not speaking.Biden mentioned the dinner during a speech this week about Russia's war on Ukraine,
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