Biden trades jokes on Trump’s mental fitness
• The US president pitches for Gridiron Club‘s annual evening of humour with the media
US President Joe Biden took jabs at former president Donald Trump on Saturday with jokes about the mental fitness of his election opponent during a speech at the Gridiron Club dinner, a Washington tradition that began in the 1880s.
Biden’s appearance at the dinner, in which politicians and journalists trade humorous barbs in a white-tie formal affair, was the first time a president has attended in person since Trump in 2018.
Biden, 81, recently clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination for this year’s presidential election and will face off against Trump, 77, in a rematch in November. Biden is trying to court voters, boost his low approval ratings and allay concerns he is too old to run again.
“One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other one is me,” Biden said on Saturday, in front of more than 650 guests who included the Taoiseach of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, whose US business could be banned by Biden.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Trump has also questioned Biden’s mental capacity to be president.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, representing the Democratic Party at the event, also spoke on Saturday, as well as Utah governor Spencer Cox, representing the Republican Party.
Governor Cox, 48, joked that he was announcing his candidacy for the presidency “in 2052, when I still will be younger than both President Biden and president Trump”.
Turning more serious, he said there is a hunger among Americans for something more positive in politics.
Biden reinforced the importance of the press, which he said is not “the enemy of the people”, in stark contrast to previous remarks by Trump about the news media.
He also spoke about the war in Ukraine with Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas, who attended Saturday’s dinner.
“We will not bow down, they [the Ukrainians] will not bow down and I will not bow down,” Biden said.
After his speech, Biden descended to the floor, took selfies with reporters and called one guest’s mother.
The club’s 65 members, all representatives from news organisations, performed satirical songs and skits. One song poked fun at Biden’s and Trump’s ages to the tune of When I’m sixty-four by The Beatles.
At last year’s dinner, Mike Pence, who served as vicepresident under Trump, offered a forceful rebuke of his onetime boss, saying history would hold Trump accountable for his role in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Unlike its sister event, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April, the Gridiron dinner is not televised and tries to retain its yesteryear vibe with men dressed white tie and tails and women wearing long dresses.
No photos are allowed during the dinner and participants are asked not to post on social media until after it has been concluded.
I AM ANNOUNCING MY CANDIDACY FOR THE PRESIDENCY IN 2052, WHEN I STILL WILL BE YOUNGER THAN BOTH BIDEN AND TRUMP
Spencer Cox Republican governor of Utah