GAZA FURY AS BIDEN SPOKE AT PRESS GALA
THE war in Gaza spurred large protests outside a glitzy event with US President Joe Biden, journalists, politicians and celebrities, but it went all but unmentioned by participants inside.
Mr Biden instead used the annual White House correspondents’ dinner to make both jokes and grim warnings about Republican rival Donald Trump’s fight to reclaim the US presidency.
An evening normally devoted to presidents, journalists and comedians taking outrageous pokes at political scandals and each other this year often seemed to illustrate the difficulty of putting aside the coming presidential election and the troubles in the Middle East and elsewhere. Mr Biden opened his roast with a direct but joking focus on Mr Trump, calling him “sleepy Don” — in reference to a nickname the Republican had given the president previously.
Despite being similar in age, Mr Biden said the two presidential hopefuls have little else in common.
“My vice-president actually endorses me,” Mr Biden said, highlighting that former Trump vice-president Mike Pence has refused to endorse Mr Trump’s re-election bid.
But the president quickly segued to a grim speech about what he believes is at stake in the election, saying another Trump administration would be even more harmful to America than his first term.
Grim
“We have to take this serious — eight years ago we could have written it off as ‘Trump talk’ but not after January 6,” Mr Biden told the audience, referring to the supporters of the Republican who stormed the Capitol after he was dumped from office in 2020.
Mr Trump did not attend Saturday’s dinner and never attended the annual banquet as president.