A sitting U.S. president has not attended a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner since 2016 in person.
However, in a sign that history repeats itself, President Joe Biden might be able to recycle some material from his predecessors.
Due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19, the president was not planning to attend the eating portion of the dinner, but he will be at the Washington Hilton for the formal programme and entertainment Saturday night.
At President Barack Obama’s final dinner, he thanked Biden for serving by his side as vice president for eight years, throwing in a jab at former vice president Dick Cheney along the way.
“I love Joe Biden, I really do. And I want to thank him for his friendship, for his counsel, for always giving it to me straight, for not shooting anybody in the face,” Obama said in 2016.
He said this before thanking the evening’s entertainer, comedian Larry Wilmore.
“Wilmore also known as one of the two Black guys who is not Jon Stewart,’’ Obama said, drawing laughter in his reference to Wilmore’s role on “The Daily Show as its Senior Black Correspondent.
“You’re the South African guy, right?” a follow-up joke referring to Trevor Noah, who had the previous year taken over hosting duties of “The Daily Show” from Stewart.
Perhaps, history tends to rhyme, the comedian in 2022? Noah stills the current host of “The Daily Show,” and who was born in Johannesburg.
After Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Obama had a few zingers for the Republicans of the day who had touted the strength of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“You would think they’d appreciate a more assertive approach, considering that the new conservative darling is none other than Vladimir Putin,” Obama said.
“Last year, Pat Buchanan said Putin is ‘headed straight for the Nobel Peace Prize.’’
He said “now I know it sounds crazy but to be fair, they give those to just about anybody these days.”
Obama had of course won the award for 2009.
Some of president Bill Clinton’s jokes would probably still work too, based on analysis on transcripts provided by FactSquared, which like CQ Roll Call is part of FiscalNote.
He said part of Clinton’s 1998 speech featured on what were attempts at political spin by some of his predecessors.
“Way back in 1773, a spokesman for Samuel Adams asserted unequivocally that the Boston Tea Party was not a fundraiser, no one paid to attend, there was no quid pro quo.
“The party was just a town meeting for colonists to get to know each other and discuss details of the new tax law,’’ Clinton said.
“Here’s one from the Jefferson administration in 1804.
“A spokesman for vice president Aaron Burr asserted, people don’t kill people, guns kill people,” Clinton said.
That was not the only time Clinton made a joke about the duel that led to Burr shooting Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first Treasury secretary.
In 1997, the president was hyping up exhibits at a new Washington-area attraction called the Museum (which would relocate, expand and close in the years since).
“There’s also an absolutely amazing collection of historical artifacts C-SPAN’s gavel-to-gavel etchings of the Constitutional Convention,” Clinton said.
“CNN’s very first ‘Crossfire from the left, Alexander Hamilton, from the right, Aaron Burr Topic “gun control”.
But Biden may have a tough time living up to his own standard.
He appeared in a video presentation at the 2014 dinner alongside actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was in character as “Veep” Vice President Selina Meyer.
In the video, which largely stole the night, Biden and Louis-Dreyfus had ice cream in the White House mess and went for a joy ride in a yellow Corvette. (dpa/NAN)
