White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend: Serious Moments For The Media Give Way To Satire And Mirth
30.04.2023 - 16:19
/ deadline.com
President Joe Biden spent a great deal of his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the fate of journalists held in captivity, vowing, “I promise you. I am working like hell to get them home.”
Still in a tone of seriousness, Biden said, “I believe in the First Amendment, and not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.”
It took a few beats for many of the 2,600 or so packed into the Washington Hilton subterranean ballroom that the president was making a transition to the satirical portion of his remarks. By the time that he got to a Don Lemon joke, it was on.
RELATED: Joe Biden Takes Swipes At Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon, Ron DeSantis’ War With Disney & Himself At WHCD; POTUS Promises To Bring Imprisoned Evan Gershkovich & Austin Tice Home
Many past dinners have taken place amid the backdrop of moments of national and international upheaval, but what was a bit unusual about this year was that the turmoil is so centered on the media itself: High profile firings, layoffs, closures, as WHCA President Tamara Keith noted, while globally journalists face detainment for doing their jobs. The potential Writers Guild of America walk out didn’t get a mention, but it was on the minds of many of the entertainment industry executives and creatives in the crowd.
Roy Wood, Jr. was a hit with his humor in part because it so succinctly captured the problem of misinformation: In a landscape of paywalls, “People can’t afford the truth.” “Say what you will about a conspiracy theory, at least it’s affordable.”
RELATED: Roy Wood Jr. Roasts POTUS, VP Harris “Scandal”, Tucker Carlson & “A**hole” Don Lemon In Rousing WHCD Headlining Debut
The dinner and the many events surrounding it have always been a contrast to the