The White House Journalists Association's annual dinner, suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed on April 30, a social gathering for thousands of Washington media and politicians since 2019, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who has also resumed the president's attendance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
After three years of waiting, as one of the biggest dinners in Washington, journalists and celebrities from all walks of life finally had a chance to come out and let the wind out! For example, the traffic bearer that night, Kardashian and boyfriend Pete.
Other stars include Miranda Kerr
Gates' ex-wife, Melinda Gates
However, among the many guests, Xiao Wang felt that the most amazing one of the nights was white house spokesman Psaki. She finally curled her shoulder-length short hair that had remained unchanged for thousands of years.
The purpose of the annual White House Press Dinner is threefold: to bring together hundreds of Washington journalists to celebrate; to raise money, which costs $350 for one seat (which can be purchased by news organizations reporting on the White House), which means that more than 2,500 guests paid about $875,000 for the entrance fee alone, which is mainly used for the operation of the White House Press Association and the scholarships for journalism students.
Biden attends the White House Correspondents' Dinner
The White House reporter's dinner was jokingly called "duan zi conference" and "White House cross-talk conference" by netizens. Many readers may remember Huang Xi's 2010 guest speaker at the White House Press Dinner, laughing at the audience. (Friends who have not seen it can search for the Yellow West White House talk show on the Internet)
You may also remember the "scribble" Obama, the speech at the White House Press Dinner was also very wonderful. For example, in his farewell speech in 2016:
"Eight years ago, I was an idealistic, energetic young man, and now, look at me again, gray and gray hair, counting the date of death every day."
"Hillary would have asked me if I could get ready to answer the phone at 3 a.m. But now, whenever I am awake, I have to get up at night to go to the toilet anyway. ”
"Someone said to me, Mr. President, you're obsolete now. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada) has replaced you. You look at people, how good looks, how attractive - he is the future. I replied to him, 'Xiao Jia, you can rest for a while.'" ”
"A lot of foreign heads of state are already looking ahead and expecting me to leave office as soon as possible, but! Last week, Prince George received me in only his nightgown. Punching in the face is a clear violation of the agreement. ”
"My poll approval rating has been rising lately (high). Heck, the last time I was so high was because I smoked marijuana. ”
Obama attended the White House Press Dinner in 2015
However, in the Trump period, as one of the originators of reality TV, Trump regrettably decided not to attend the White House Press Dinner because of the tension with the White House reporters, which overshadowed the White House Press Dinner during Trump's tenure.
In 2022, one of Biden's top priorities after taking office is to restore the "normalcy" of the White House, which of course includes attending the White House Press Dinner. This is also the first time since 2019 that the White House Press Dinner has been re-held after two years of interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, compared with Obama's paragraph, Biden's ten-minute speech is much inferior. It seems that in addition to having a clever writer, it does require talent.
Biden's passages include self-deprecating his ultra-low approval ratings. "Special thanks to the 42 percent of you who applauded me, and I'm really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with lower approval ratings than me."
Laugh at yourself for being too old. "One of the reasons I've come to this dinner party again is that everyone in the White House is so excited that I told my grandchildren and Buttigieg [the U.S. Minister of Transportation for Small Fresh Meat], that they can stay up late tonight to watch the show."
Satirizing the Trump presidency. "It's the first time in six years that a U.S. president has attended a White House press dinner, which is understandable because we've had a terrible plague followed by two years of COVID-19."
Mocking the refusal of some Republicans to get vaccinated. "I know there are people questioning whether we should meet here tonight because of COVID-19. We are here to show that this country is getting through this pandemic. Everyone present today needs to prove that they are fully vaccinated and given a booster. So if you're watching the show at home and you're probably curious about how to get vaccinated, then you can contact a Fox News reporter. They are all here today, and all of them have been vaccinated. ”
However, this time, the funny short film starring Biden and Psaki himself is very humorous, and "British Little Fat" James Corden directly took the White House press conference to start, and God restored the embarrassing Q&A of the White House press conference. (Please watch the headline video sent yesterday)
White House Press Dinner under COVID-19
Although the White House chief medical adviser Fauci recently announced that the United States has come out of the stage of the new crown pandemic, after conducting a personal risk assessment of the White House press dinner, Fauci, who has always been very close to the media, decided not to attend the dinner. Fozi said: "Overall, the risk of the dinner party is low, but I have made a personal assessment, I am 81 years old and if I am infected, my risk is very high. ”
In fact, the 79-year-old Biden, who also attended such a large gathering for the first time in more than two years, is at high risk like Fozzi. Although organizers required all guests to be vaccinated and tested for COVID-19, few people on the scene wore masks. Biden didn't stay that night to enjoy a free dinner, just gave a speech. It can be seen that Biden still has a lingering feeling for the high risk of this activity.
So why did Biden "risk his life" to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner? One of the most important reasons he himself has spoken out in his speech is to show Americans that the country is emerging from the haze of COVID-19. The second reason is to reaffirm the White House's support for press freedom.
Just a week ago, U.S. Vice President Harris was infected with the new crown, and the White House said biden was not close, and Harris had no symptoms.
Even Trevor Noah, a speaker at the dinner that night, joked: "It's an honor to speak at tonight's most outstanding COVID-19 super communicator event in the country!" ”
"Don't you read your own newspaper?" For the past two years, you've been telling everyone to wear masks and avoid large indoor gatherings. But when someone gives you a free dinner, you all turn into Joe Rogan ( the top American podcast that boycotted the COVID-19 vaccine). ”
A century-old tradition of a White House dinner
The White House PressEs' Dinner dates back to 1921, when it was initiated by the White House Press Association. But in the first few times, there was no participation of the president of the United States. It was not until 1924 that Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend the dinner. Since then, attending dinners has become a tradition.
White House Press Dinner in 1923
Roosevelt attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1945
In 1962, the Kennedys attended the White House Press Dinner
Clinton attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1996
George W. Bush attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2008
In addition to Trump's boycott of the reporters' dinner, there have been several cases in history when the PRESIDENT refuses to attend. For example, Nixon refused to attend the dinner party in 1972; Carter declared "too tired" to be present in 1978; and Reagan was injured in an assassination in 1981 and recuperated at Camp David and did not attend. The dinner itself has been suspended several times, including the declaration of war by the United States to Japan in World War II in 1942.
In addition, before 1962, the press dinner was only open to men. When John F. Kennedy took office, he said that if it was not open to women, he would refuse to attend. In the end the association had to give in.
Nowadays, the dinner party scene is usually full of laughter and ridicule. In recent years, comedians have been invited to entertain the owners of the White House. But the style only began to emerge in 1983. Sometimes the ridicule is fierce, and it is natural to be dissatisfied. At the 2006 dinner, several former President George W. Bush's staff members were upset by the words of Steven Colbert, the famous American talk show host, and left the scene to protest.
The White House Press Dinner that Impressed Xiao Wang the most was the White House Press Dinner in 2011 during obama's presidency. In fact, I can't remember exactly what Obama was talking about at that time, but that night, Obama was talking about it while closely monitoring the US military to kill Ben on the other side of the world. Bin Laden's covert operations. (For details, please poke the tenth anniversary of the killing of bin Laden in the historical article, the longest 15 hours of the White House, and it is also too thrilling!) (Part 2))
On one side is the radiant Obama, and on the other side is the Obama who is making a big gamble. An hour before the White House Correspondents Association dinner, Obama suddenly called the contributor Jon Favreau and told him to add a sentence at the end of the speech: "May God bless our army, may God bless our army." ”
Yes, the Trumps were there that year
This year, I wonder what is Really Worrying Biden when he is talking about it? Maybe the Russian-Ukrainian conflict? Maybe the inflation crisis in the United States? Maybe a midterm election?