Washington:
US President Joe Biden has taken a dig at his predecessor and political rival Donald Trump and poked fun at his age at the annual dinner for political and media elites in Washington, saying: “I'm a grown man who stands up against a six-year-old.”
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner on Saturday evening provided the stage for 81-year-old Biden to continue his criticism of 77-year-old Trump with sharp humor.
The high-profile event took place against the backdrop of growing protests over Biden's handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Of course the 2024 election is in full swing and yes, age is an issue: I'm a grown man running against a six-year-old,” Biden said in a roughly 10-minute speech, referring to former President Trump. , which he called 'Sleepy Don'.
Biden told an audience of nearly 3,000 journalists, celebrities and politicians: “Age is the only thing we have in common. My vice president actually supports me.”
“Donald has had a few tough days lately. You could call it 'stormy' weather,” Biden said, an oblique reference to Stormy Daniels, an adult star who claims to have had an affair and received a hush money payment in the days before. the 2016 election, a deal that was central to his trial in New York.
The president then drew a contrast between his re-election campaign, which has increased since his State of the Union address last month, and Trump's.
Biden and Trump have both secured the delegates they need to win their respective party nominations in the Nov. 5 presidential race, setting up a repeat of their 2020 presidential race.
After a slew of jokes about Trump, Biden then took a more somber tone to talk about his 2024 rival to the room of journalists, lawmakers and celebrities.
“The defeated former president has made no secret of his attack on our democracy. He said he wants to be a dictator on day one and much more. He tells his followers that he is their revenge and retribution. When in God's name [have] Have you ever heard another president say something like that?” Biden asked, referring to Trump's recent comments.
'We have to take this seriously. Eight years ago you could have written it off [that] it was just Trump talk, but no longer. Not after January 6,” Biden said, calling on the public to “move beyond the horse race numbers” and “focus on what is actually at stake.”
Comedian Colin Jost followed Biden's remarks at Saturday's dinner with a roast of the incumbent and other political figures in the room, providing comic relief against the backdrop of tensions in Congress and conflict abroad.
Demonstrators protested media coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas and the administration's handling of the conflict near the Washington Hilton event space — and Biden notably did not directly reference the protests or conflict during his speech .
As journalists and celebrities entered the Washington Hilton, protesters accused them of co-signing the president's handling of the Israel-Hamas war, shouting, “Shame on you!” while urging them to speak out against the killing of journalists in Gaza.
At least 97 journalists — 92 of them Palestinians — have been killed in the region since Hamas's attacks on Oct. 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit that tracks the death toll.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
