President Joe Biden used a mix of light jokes and sharp criticism to repeatedly warn why former President Donald Trump should not win the U.S. presidential election in November.
At a dinner party held at Gridiron, a leading journalists’ club in Washington, D.C., on the 16th, President Biden said that two presidential candidates were confirmed as candidates for each party this week, saying, “One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. “It does,” he said. He then humorously said, “The other one is me.” Recently, rather than trying to avoid the controversy over his advanced age, which is considered his greatest weakness, President Biden is responding head-on through ‘self-torture gags’. President Biden entered the banquet hall after 7 p.m. and began his speech three hours later.
He then joked, “It’s already 6 hours past my bedtime.” He also said, “I hate seeing a friend give up in his prime,” regarding the decision of Republican Mitch McConnell, the 82-year-old leader of the U.S. Senate, to resign from his position in November. He claimed that his 80s were his prime, which sparked controversy about his advanced age.
President Biden then continued to make jokes about former President Trump. “I’m running against the same guy I beat in 2020, but don’t let him know,” President Biden said. “He thinks he’s running against Barack Obama.” This remark was aimed at former President Trump confusing President Biden with former President Obama on several occasions. President Biden also seemed to be mindful of the controversy over former President Trump’s failure to remember his wife Melania’s name, saying, “The other biggest difference between us is that I know what is most precious to me. I’m not going to lose it.”
While explaining his main policy, student loan forgiveness, he said, “Just yesterday a guy who looked defeated came up to me and said, ‘I’m drowning in debt. I’m completely broke.’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry.’ “I said, ‘Donald, I can’t help you,’” he explained. It is interpreted that he was criticizing the situation in which former President Trump had to pay hundreds of billions of won in damages and fines due to a series of civil lawsuit losses. President Biden also used the Republican hardliners who were hindering his administration as the subject of his jokes. “I heard that the House Republicans also wanted to speak tonight, but they couldn’t find a speaker,” he said.
It was a mockery of the situation in which the House Republican Party ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy due to infighting, and even the leadership of his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, was shaken. President Biden also said that the Prime Minister of Ireland, who visited the United States to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, also attended this dinner, and said, “The Prime Minister took one look at Congress and asked for another Guinness.” He pointed out that foreign governments find it frustrating that the Republican Party is trying to impeach him and the Secretary of Homeland Security while blocking the passage of legislation to resolve border issues.
In the second half of the speech, he explained in a serious tone why former President Trump should not be elected. This is a reference to former President Trump’s statement last month that he was targeting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and claiming, ‘security free riding’, saying, “I will encourage them (Russia) to do whatever they want.”
President Biden then introduced Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markalova and Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kalas, who were also present at the dinner, and emphasized, “We will not give in. They (Ukraine) will not give in, and I will not give in.”
Regarding the media, which President Trump has repeatedly targeted, President Biden said, “You are not the enemy of the people. You are the pillar of every free society.” He also said that the role of a free press has become more important in ensuring that American democracy continues. “We need you. Democracy is at stake and the American people need to know this.”
More than 650 people attended the dinner, including media figures such as Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, Biden administration officials such as Vice President Kamala Harris, and politicians from both parties. President Biden joked, “Jeff is a strong supporter of the media. He is the richest person in the world and that’s despite owning the Washington Post.”
The Washington Post has been unable to avoid losses even after Bezos’ takeover, and has been pursuing a ‘buyout’, which is effectively the equivalent of dismissal, for some employees since last year.