Biden digs at Trump during Gridiron dinner
WASHINGTON — The big news this week, President Joe Biden said at a weekend Washington roast, was that two candidates had clinched their party’s nomination for president. But one was too old, too mentally unfit for the job, he said.
“The other’s me,” Biden quipped.
The joke landed well with most of the 650 journalists and politicos who gathered for the annual Gridiron Club and Foundation Dinner, which features skits ribbing Republicans and Democrats, stand-up sets from actual Republican and Democratic officials and a whirl of schmoozing.
The digs against Republican Donald Trump kept coming from the president at the white-tie event, as Biden deflected ongoing criticism that his memory is hazy and he appears confused, instead highlighting moments when the 77-year-old Trump has slipped up, too.
“Don’t tell him, he thinks he’s running against Barack Obama, that’s what he said,” said Biden, 81, who also quipped that he was staying up way past his bedtime.
It was the first time Biden has attended the dinner during his presidency, and comes as the 2024 election looms and the rematch between Biden and Trump heats up. The annual bacchanalia hosted by the journalistic organization, now in its 139th year, traces its history to 1885 — that was the year President Grover Cleveland refused to attend. Every president since has come to at least one Gridiron dinner.
Biden veered quickly into the somber, though, highlighting what he sees as a real threat to democracy should Trump return to the White House. The speech had echoes of Biden’s campaign remarks, criticizing Trump as too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We live in an unprecedented moment in democracy,” he said. “An unprecedented moment for history. Democracy and freedom are literally under attack. Putin’s on the march in Europe. My predecessor bows down to him and says to him, ‘do whatever the hell you want.’”
Biden then introduced the Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
“We will not bow down. They will not bow down, and I will not bow down,” he said.
The $400-a-plate dinner, held at the Washington Grand Hyatt, also featured speeches by Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Ambitious politicians from both parties have, in previous years, used the opportunity to introduce themselves to a tipsy Washington press corps in the hopes of gaining national notice. And at the past two dinners, Republican speakers have made headlines for taking shots at the leader of their own party. In 2022, Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu called Trump “crazy,” using an expletive. In 2023, former vice president Mike Pence said history would hold Trump accountable for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by his supporters.
Biden closed out the dinner, speaking also about the importance of a free press. Although he may not agree with everything the news media prints, he said, he understands the necessity of journalism and said he was still working to bring home journalists Evan Gershkovich and Austin Tice, one held in Russia, the other who disappeared during a reporting trip in Syria.
“Good journalism holds a mirror up to society,” he said. “We need you.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were seated at the head table along with other administration officials and the foreign leaders, plus Gridiron president Dan Balz of The Washington Post. Seated also at the table were Balz’s bosses, the Post’s Executive Editor Sally Buzbee and the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos.