Transcripts For CSPAN Roy 20240705

Take your seats. So its an honor to meet you. From washington d. C. Its the white house chorus. Its dinner with special appearances by Kelly Odonnell. Eugene karen travers, the Property Brothers, the president of the United States. And tonight is headliner roy wood jr. But first from los angeles, a very special message from arnold schwarzenegger. Hello, everybody its fantastic to speak to all of you here for the White House Correspondents. Wow, what an event. Look at this. No, i didnt. Here to roast anybody or do make jokes or anything like that. I just simply wanted to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you to of you got to few today because our country would not be the shining beacon of freedom that welcome people like me without the free press. Lets be honest about that and. Tonights event, of course, sends a powerful message. You dont see politicians schmoozing and drinking with the press in beijing or in moscow and places like that . No, not at all. Here we are having a good time. Now, i wouldnt the answer to that, you know, without the press. Thats a fact. I mean every reporter, every photographer every editor who has brought me or my message to the people has made my life possible. And successful. So though youve asked that annoyed the hell out of i remind myself always that you actually doing the peoples work. Youre the ally of the people. So never ever shining a light on the truth and informing the public. Im very proud of all you and not just me. Its also lulu and whiskey and the my twin brother, danny. We are all proud of you for that cracker. Yeah. I come over here. Were going to get bit by a horse. Okay. Very neat. Okay, thats fingers. Good girl. Good girl. Thank you very much. Now, speaking of questions, it annoy the hell out of me. I would like to introduce you to someone. Covered me during my time as governor of the great state of california, whos gone on to bigger and better things. Please welcome. White House Correspondents Association president tamara keith. I have the people has a nice ring to it. Thank you, governor. Welcome to the White House Correspondent association dinner. For the First Time Since 2016, we have both the president and Vice President here, as well as their spouses. Their presence is a statement, an endorsement of the importance of a free and indepth pendent press, even if they dont always like the questions ask or the way we ask them. Now acknowledging this is an entire evening dedicated to celebrating journalism and the white house corps. I am also here to tell you that it isnt about us or the celebrities who are here though. Thank you for your support. Thank you very much for your support. As the governator said, as weird as this event is with politicians and glamorous, famous people and totally unglamorous journalists all gathered in the same room, there is something american about. The fact that we can all be here together and. Then these reporters can go out on monday and do stories about these very same politicians that pulled no punches when were asking questions in the oval office under the wing of air force one or in the Briefing Room, we are stand ins for american people. Our responsibility to the country is woven into the fabric of the nation enshrined in the First Amendment of the constitution. And we take that responsibility seriously, but not seriously, that we cant have a little fun tonight and laugh at a few jokes, some at our own expense. So welcome to nations biggest celebration of, the First Amendment and the work of bringing an inquisitive spotlight to those in power. Up first to present the whca awards, please welcome abc news White House Correspondent karen travers. Good evening. I am honored to present this years whca awards to several incredible journalists, some of whom are also wonderful colleagues of mine on the white house. Beat journalist who bring the years of wisdom and sharp insights and tenacious reporting every day to their beats. The elder Beckman Award for overall excellence in white house coverage is named for a former association president. The late Chicago Tribune correspondent, aldo beckman. This year, the award goes to matt viser of the washington, the. The judges said matt viser stood out among his competitors work that went beyond the humdrum of the managed events of the presidency in the white house. Viser captured spirit of joe biden particular with stories about the president s brother, how his catholic faith influenced his Strategic Vision of the office. The whca is pleased give the outdoor Beckman Award to matt. The whca gives out two awards for reporting under deadline pressure, one for print, another for broadcast. This years print winner is jeff mason of reuters. The judges said based on a tip the judges said based a tip and working his sources. Jeff got the news of a White House Solar Initiative on a sunday night hours before the administration announced it on monday morning. The speed of jeffs reporting an impact on the markets and led to other news outlets citing piece before the official white house announcement the following day. Please welcome the winner of the deadline award for print from reuters, jeff mason. And now the broadcast award. This years winner is, Phil Mattingly of cnn. The judges said Phil Mattingly of cnn was ahead of the competition and the official white house announcement in breaking the news and the details, ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky planned trip to the white house in december 2022. Phil led cnns coverage of zelenskys visit, including asking both zelensky and president questions at their joint press conference that elicited deeply personal, newsworthy responses. Phils 16 live shots in a 24 hour period combined context and depth. Take a look. Right now, planning is underway for. President zelenskiy to visit the white house to meet with President Biden face to face. A visit that will coincide with the announcement of a new Security Assistance package that will include something zelensky has long asked for Patriot Missile systems that white house officials, the department of defense have been weighing over the course of the last several weeks and have been moving towards signing off on. We are pleased to honor the deadline reporting of cnn. Still mattingly. The award excellence in president ial news by visual journalists this goes to my dear friend, everybodys dear friend doug of the New York Times. Of the winning photo, the said doug mills expertly an unscripted moment with President Joe Biden as he emerged the shadows to celebrate the passage the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 at an event on the south. The image is striking for its composition symmetry, use of light. The president s expression and posture intensified, the atmosphere with the sense of gravity as do the gazing marine honor guards who frame him. Lets congratulate New York Times photographer doug mills. The whca partners with the university of florida to present the collier prize for State Government accountability, which is designed to encourage coverage of State Government focusing on investigative and political reporting for their series the spectacular failures by the state bar of california to regulate and the integrity of lawyers in the state. This year, the award goes to harriet ryan and Matt Hamilton of the los angeles times. The university. The University Said the series showed the bars failure to prevent a Trial Attorney from using client settlement to buy his wife 750,000. Diamond earrings and his mistress, a sitting Appellate Court justice, a 300,000 beach front condo. It also showed disbarment rates for black male lawyers are nearly four, nearly four times more than those of their white. Their reporting resulted in reforms, government investigations, transparency and, new legislation. Please join me in congratulating harriet ryan and Matt Hamilton of the los angeles times. For. The katharine award for courage and accountability in honor of the legendary post publisher goes this year to josh gerstein, alex ward of politico. The judges said politicos efforts to report verify and publish the drafts Court Opinion reversing rights and the organizations follow up work exploring the consequences. The decision were globally historic and groundbreaking. It flipped the longstanding belief here in washington, d. C. , that nothing leaks from the supreme. Here was journalism about a ruling has had a profound and Immediate Impact on tens of millions of lives. Take a look. Breaking news of washington breaking new report from, politico. They have obtained a draft opinion the Supreme Court could be poised to down roe v wade. This is a very unusual, if not completely historically unprecedented leak, utterly unprecedented leak. Really a stunning development, one thats likely to shape the countrys social based on our reporting information that both myself and my coauthor alex ward obtained. It does it has the backing of five conservative justices. And now raisequestions about the future of roe versus wade and what this means abortion rights in our country. Please welcome the winners of Katharine Graham award from politico. Josh gerstein and alex ward. Lets hear it one more time for all of this years winners. Congratulations, everyone. Please welcome to the microphone. Politico, house correspondent and playbook coauthor eugene daniels. What a beautiful evening, everyone. Obviously, are some of us who come to this dinner very excited to get selfies with celebrities. John legend, chrissy teigen. Hello. You too. Ill come back later. These are vanderpump and gene sperling. But thats not what this is about. What you are really doing here in this ballroom is funding scholarships for the next generation of the Fourth Estate over. The last ten. Over the last ten years, the whca has given out nearly 1. 1 million in scholarships and leveraged 1 million, an additional aid to aspiring journalists like Julia Benbrook and 2021, while student at northwestern university, she won our deborah orrin scholarship. Tonight she is here as a washington correspondent for spectrum news. Yesterday, we had 28 of this years scholarship meeting. White house correspondents jane from cbs, zoltan kanno, yangs from the New York Times, and Sabrina Siddiqui of the wall street journal. They heard from minnesota senator amy klobuchar, a strong supporter of press freedom, and the daughter, a journalist. And they got an on the record briefing from corys on, pierre. Sitting in the seats, we hope these students will someday occupy. The gonzalez that is from san antonio, texas. They seem mcclintock from tampa, florida, where true, but are from aurora, ohio. Grant from wyckoff, new jersey, became the roberts from marietta, georgia. Any gentleman from saint louis, missouri, either. Thompson from chicago, illinois, drew hitoshi from diamond bar, california, lauren erwin from denver, colorado. Madeleine hardin from, cleveland, ohio. Jordan taylor from toledo, ohio. Ryan jackson, massillon, ohio. Anna olson from boone, iowa. Lily boudreaux from york city. Rene romo from sierra vista arizona. Abigail turner from palo hio. Alisha taylor from kansas city. Alexis weiss from pleasanton california. Caroline family from. Kansas city, kansas. Kristi noem Eric Rossborough from arlington, texas. Apply as from Upper West Side manhattan. Brianna alvarado from sanford, florida. Burns from los angeles, abby and ramsey. Knoxville, tennessee. You havent heard anything online. Rasheeda, anderson, abdullah, detroit, michigan. Eleanor mccreary from wentzville, missouri. Ragan mertz, brooklyn, missouri. To some from los angeles, california chapman university. American university, Columbia School of journalism, the university of missouri, George Washington university. University v Hampton University university. Iowa state university. The university. The university. The university of maryland. University of tennessee. Knoxville, arizona university. Uc berkeleys graduate of journalism. Me and other members of the White House Press corps spent most of yesterday with them. Let me tell you, these scholars are much impressive than any of us were that age, these amazing young journalists are here with us tonight. If they to talk to you, give them a job. Now, what our students stand up and lets give them all of us. And watch out, because these are going to be hitting you up for and jobs at all. The after parties last year at this dinner, we announced the creation of a new for lifetime career achievement as a White House Correspondent. The Dunnigan Payne prize. It named in honor of two trailblazing women, Alice Dunnigan and ethel payne, the first two africanamerican women serve in the White House Press corps. They were also the first recipients pastor lee, of the prize that carries their tonight, whca Vice President. And now in abc news senior white house Kelly Odonnell will present the prize to two journalists she worked with closely and considered great friends. Good evening. Tonight, we celebrate tonight we celebrate the extraordinary careers two journalists who are deeply missed. Gwen ifill of, pbs newshour and washington week, who passed away in 2016 at and bill plant of cbs news, who left last year the 2023 Dunnigan Payne prize honors gwen and bill. Now their wellknown accomplishments. Let me share a couple of memories that tell us a bit about who they were when and i were colleagues at nbc news back in the nineties. I did not her well at that time as i was visiting dc covering, my very first president ial race, i casually shared with that. I really didnt why a campaign made certain behind the scenes moves as gwen was heading to her car, she stopped, turned around and offered up her experienced and smart take on what was really going. Now that helped me in the moment. But she gave me something much bigger. She showed me that real stop turn around and help out. Her example made me want to be that kind of colleague. Thank you. When and bill more than 50 years at cbs news, was a master of the shouted question at the white, one of the president s favorites. Im sure many of us also bills gift for making president ial trips real life memories by finding to experience the flavor of the places we visited around the world. He would select a perfect restaurant the right bottle of wine and bring together a group us to hear his stories and share some of our own. A rooftop in vietnam hearing about his war coverage was what a memory he encouraged us to savor the journey of this job. Thank bill. When and bill were gracious and generous. John dickerson, lets cbs news shows us how their tremendous careers leave a legacy of excellence, how you do. My name is bill plante and id like show you some of my work. For 52 years at cbs news, bill plante showed us his work covering the civil rights struggle. Is this the the grand climax, the vietnam war . Bill plante news anwar and reagan, clinton and obama for president. Do you believe osama ladens denial that he had anything to with this . Bills approach was ask direct questions and keep your opinion out of it. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to tehran. No. And im taking any more questions. Is encased to the best of accountability at journalism from his front row seat to history, even when getting to that seat required a climb, it was very impressive. Or when he wasnt in it. Theyll point no. Bills here. Thats shocking. The bill was beloved around. The halls of cbs news collaborative, generous in spirit and with spirits. On the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. Mr. President , why is there such a disparity in the way blacks and whites see Race Relations . Bill conducted his final president ial interview steps from the Edmund Pettus bridge, a where he witnessed the march montgomery a half a century earlier, at a time when a black president seemed impossible. A white newsman. Bill, who covered the marches, then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing number of white people lowered quality of the singing. Gwen feel a preachers daughter came of age in the civil rights era. Her journalism career began a boston newspaper. I came work as an intern and found racial slur directed at the at my new at my workspace and instead of getting in salted suing, i just hung in there. And were lucky she did. Her talent took her to the baltimore evening sun, washington post, and New York Times. What . Where she covered the clinton white. How do you address those two . Look on nbc news. Then television came calling. First nbc. Bob dole really does have a good argument to make about his tax cut will help women. Then. 1999 to the pbs newshour and washington week, she became first black woman moderator of National Public affairs show. Gwen was also admired, incisive questions and thorough job preparation skills. She brought to the pbs newshour anchor as one half of the first all female network team. Good evening. Im judy woodruff. And im gwen ifill. She a pair of Vice President ial debates tangled with president s to. I always appreciated gwens reporting when i was at the receiving end of one of her tough and thorough interviews in a city so often defined by cold power, its abuse. Gwen ifill what she had achieved, turning her smile to light the way for those she could help. She was often a first, but she made sure she wasnt the only promise to care about more than yourself, to affect the lives of those around you. Tonight we honor bill and gwen ifill posthumously the Dunnigan Payne prize for lifetime career achievement. What a remarkable legacy. And accepting that Dunnigan Payne prize on bills behalf, his son. Chris plante. And for gwen, please welcome her brother, bert isom. How are we to have their example, their record of accomplishment and everything that they leave us to inspire us going forward. The Dunnigan Payne prize. Thank you all so much. Gwen and phil were the best of the best. When i was a teenager, my parents showed me a movie that opened my eyes to the possibilities i didnt even really know existed. We were living in hanford, california, which is a smallish town californias central valley. Surrounded by dairies and cotton and orchards. But this movie, it transports me across the country. It was about a hard charging tv with a clarity of purpose and a really strong feelings about how journalism should be. It took me to washington d. C. , where news was life and the stakes were always. The movie was broadcast news. And the dramatic climax place on the night of the white house chorus dinner with holly hunter as tv producer. Holly was dressed up as tv producer jane craig and she was this fancy strapless gown, black with, white, polka dots and a big bow on the front. As you can see it made quite an impression. What i saw on the screen seemed so on attainable so very far away. Many of the journalists here in this room started it small papers like the Hanford Sentinel or tv stations and, tiny markets or niche industry. And through hard and determination and pure luck, we wound up here with jobs that rule lives doing. Stories about immigration policy. One day. Unidentified flying objects that are definitely not alien. The next. And then following up on baby formula shortages the day after that, what im saying is this is the most high profile general assignment beat in all of journalism. As president of the white House Correspondents Association, it is my job to try to make it easier for everyone in the press corps to do their jobs. That is, to report on the president of the United States to shine light, hold the Administration Accountable and share our reporting with the world. And this is never more important than when the president goes a war zone. When President Biden decided to make a visit to kiev, i made the call to Sabrina Siddiqui of the wall street journal. I asked her to everything and come to the white. She asked if she in trouble and if this had been a movie i would have said no. But about to get the assignment of a lifetime home. But this wasnt a movie. And what i told her wasnt nearly as dramatic. She and evan vucci, a photographer with the associated press, were getting the assignment of a lifetime. Though they would be the only two journalists traveling with president to ukraine. Of them hesitated. White house journalists go where the president goes, wherever that may be whether its wilmington. Again, we. Or a 20 hour round trip train ride through the ukrainian countryside to spend 5 hours in kiev. But sabrina had a question. Remember i said about jobs ruling our lives . Well, sabrina was back from Maternity Leave and, was still nursing. How she pump . Luckily, i had an answer. I had started the wheels turning days earlier to make sure that the security logistics arrangements were in place so that she could do both of her jobs. Not only did write beautifully written full reports with details that served the entire press corps and the entire she was able bring milk back for baby sophia. People often ask which tv show about the white house. The most accurate and. Im here to tell you its a lot more like veep than west wing, however, if you were to wander into the area where the press corps works, its like the office meets hoarders. The press workspace is cramped, the furniture is literally falling apart. The Briefing Room seats are mysterious, sticky. We have this room that we call the lavatory. That is a combo lunch room, bathroom, and the last time any of this was updated was George W Bush was president. But im happy to report that thanks to the hard work of the whca board and contributions from news organizations in this room, we are about to get a refresh. Yes, you are cheering for furniture. The work to remodel the press will be done in the next two months. But before start demolition. I thought wed. Bring in a couple of home renovation expert for a consultation. This is joe and jill. After years long commutes to work, they finally decided to take the leap and move into their home. Unfortunately, its a bit of a fixer upper to put it nicely, but got some big ideas to give the White House Press area a big refresh. This is so exciting. A press room refresh. This is fantastic. I cannot wait to hear these ideas. We are great fans of your work. This place is in really serious disrepair. I mean, its dirty, its dingy, its moldy we get it just all. So what are you thinking . Because it cant be too out there. Originally, we wanted to hire martha stewart, but she wanted to build a lake. Put 24 swans in it. We are pitching, replacing all the furniture in the white house, workspace, new cabinets, new flooring new lighting, everything to give it a new modern vibe, tasteful simple and within your budget. Sounds good. There are few other ideas wed like to get your approval on. Well. Were only supposed to be doing the press. Weve been doing this a long time, and think we know how to turn the white house the white home. And thats my personal it. Weve commissioned doug mills from New York Times to shoot some tasteful nudes, past president s that we can display the walls throughout the space. I dont think this is going to fly. Okay. Okay. Lets move on to the next idea, because are going to love it. We take the entire wing down to the studs, get rid of all those ugly offices and create massive, sleek, modern room. Then we bulldoze the rose garden, lose the west colonnade, and transform the oval office into a david busters. How would that be . Fun, huh . Interesting. Your host has ended the meeting. Nailed it. Hey martha. I knew youd come back. They always. You and scott are here tonight. So anyone here is. If anyone here is looking, replace their bathtub with a pinball machine. Go find them over there. I share this with you this evening to remind everyone, even ourselves as journalists, that we are human beings doing a job, an important job to the best of our abilities. And some days better than others. We seek to open eyes, change lives and change minds. And when were at our best, our stories bring accountability to in power. This is a challenging time for the news industry. My employer, npr, just through a painful round of layoffs and arent alone. Abc, buzzfeed, cbs, cnn gannett insider, vice news. Tonight, the washington post. I had to alphabetize the list. It is so long and is hitting local newsrooms to whca member. Jonathan salant was the last newspaper reporter based in washington dedicated to covering new jersey congressional delegation and then the starledger of newark laid him off. You might imagine that the politicians from that state would be breathing easier. Instead, many of them protested. They know that the citizens new jersey need that journalistic spotlight on their elected leaders leaders. But im here to report some good news. Jonathan was recently scooped up by a newspaper in pittsburgh. So pennsylvania lawmakers, watch out. But the threats to an independent press arent just financial. Our thoughts tonight are with evan kerkovich, a for the wall street journal. Hes in prison. Evan is in prison tonight in. Russia on fake espionage simply for doing his job reporting. He loves blaring russian rock music. And as the son of russian immigrants loves reporting stories about russia, not just about its leaders, but about regular people, too. And his family is here tonight. I love mikhail. Danielle and anthony will stand with you. And we stand with evan, deborah tice is here as well, seated with washington post. All right. Over there, deborah. Yeah. Her son, austin tice, a freelance journalist, was taken captive in syria almost years ago. Mrs. Tice, you were here at last years dinner pressing austins case and fortunately, he is still in syria a year later. Lets bring home. Evan and austin are among the of journalists. Too many name wrongfully detained countries where there is no such thing as a free press. The threats also come from within. There are reporters in this room who have been derided by, the people within their own organization dismissed as the journal hosts for reporting the facts for telling people the truth as if thats a bad thing. It isnt. This is also a challenging time for our country. People are choosing their news in part based on what they want to hear. And this makes us all vulnerable to conspiracy theories, to seeing worst in our fellow citizens, to losing sight of our shared humanity. Despite the fact that you see us all sitting here together on this stage, the relationship between president s and the press who cover them. Never easy. Ever. Every president privately and sometimes publicly bridles his news coverage. And yet they invite us in and take our questions. Though, sir, maybe not as many as we would like. Because we represent the american and the constitutionally enshrined principle of a free and independent press. So its difficult as the relationship between us may be the alternative where there is no relationship, no free press and no scrutiny should be unthinkable for us all. There a tradition at this dinner to acknowledge the journalists in the room, the ones are doing the work that this night is all about. These are difficult in our industry. There is a lot of uncertain party and fear for what the future holds. But we are still here. So lets stand. If you are a journalist who covers the white house, please stand up. If you work in radio, please stand up. If you work for a regional, please stand up. If you work in local or regional television, please stand up. Stay standing. Go. If you work for a Major National newspaper or wire service, please stand. Tv correspondents anchors, producers, press stand up. And a way, if you support the work that all of us are doing. If you believe in a free press, if you believe it is a pillar of democracy, if you defend the power to ask questions, to open eyes, to change lives and change minds. Please stand. And now raise a glass as we proudly continue our of raising a glass and toast to the First Amendment and to the president of the United States. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, President Joe Biden. Thank you, jack, for that introduction. I think let me a serious note, jill. Kamala and i and members of our administration are here to send a message to the country. And quite frankly, to the world. The free press is a pillar. Maybe the pillar of a free society, not the enemy. Thomas jefferson. You all know this quote, thomas jefferson. Were left to me to whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government. I should not hesitate to prefer the latter. To evans parents. Oh, mikhail. Sister danielle, as ive told you in person, we not just meet you, all stand with you ever want to report in russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from years ago . Absolute courage. A handwritten letter from prison to his family, having wrote, quote i am not losing. In an interview. His mom, ella, said. One of the american qualities we absorbed is to be optimistic. Thats where we stand right now. The entire family, everyone in this hall stands with you. Were working every day to secure his release. Looking at opportunities and tools to bring home. We the faith. We also keep the faith for Austin Austin tice, his mom deborah is here tonight. She knows our several conversations. The coverage of me and my senior staff. We are not giving up. As i told you at this dinner last year, as i told you in the oval office, you raised an incredible son when he was kid. He was an eagle scout, a big brother, a born protector, a u. S. Marine, three tours in iraq and afghanistan. Austin, austin was a fearless journalist and a future lawyer as a consequence of austins showing the world the cost of. Hes been detained in for nearly 11 years. Its simply wrong. Its. And we are not seeking our effort to get him. Find him and bring him home tonight. Our message is this journalism is a crime. Even an officer should be released immediately along with every other american hostage or wrongfully detained. Paul whalen, unjustly held in russia for more four years, whose brave sister i met with and whose family has never quit fighting for paul. And i promise you, neither will i and neither will this administration until we get him home. There are other americans unjustly held in iran, venezuela and elsewhere. Their stories may not make headlines or hashtags, but day every day, their family looks at that empty chair. The kitchen table, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. Without them, the pain of in limbo and, the sense is almost worth the pain of having lost a child in an empty chair. The stress of not knowing the sorrow of, uncertainty. But want them and their families to know. Jill and i understand. We see they are not forgotten. And i promise you, i am working like hell. Get them home as a nation. To never give up on hope. Things get better. Things can turn. Things can change tonight. Unlike last year. Brittney griner. Share the wife, cheryl. Brittney are your kids. Stand up. Come on. I love this woman. Love you. Brittney. This time last, we were praying for you, brittney. Hoping you knew how hard all us were fighting for your release. Its great to have you home. And boys. I can hardly wait. See you back on the court case. Remember your promise . I get to bring my granddaughter, my all state girl, to see you right . Because our unrelenting efforts, weve been able to bring home dozens of hostages and wrongfully detainees to wrongful detainees in afghanistan. Burma. Haiti. Iran. Ronda. Venezuela. Across west africa. Around the world. But were doing everything we can to prevent these cases from occurring in the first place. For example, the state department added the threat of detention as a new risk indicator to his travel advisors to go along with the threat of kidnaping. The war on americans where these threats are highest abroad. Also recently signed an executive order increasing the consequences for groups and terrorists who engage in appalling practice retreat in human beings as bargaining political pawns. Just two days ago, my administration announced the first sanctions under this new authority punishing individuals Security Services russia and iran. When part of the wrongful defense of americans above all across Government Experts are working day and night to bring our fellow americans home, much of which, as you well know we cant talk about concern that will backfire. My commitment. My commitment is to bring them home just as i know youre committed to continuing to be a free and fearless press. And thats what we honor tonight. This is not hyperbole. You make it possible. You make it possible for ordinary citizens to question authority and yes, even to laugh. Authority without fear, intimidation. Thats what makes this nation strong . So tonight at a show ourselves, the world, our strength, not just by the example of our power but by the power of our example. Folks, i know a lot of change in the press, a lot of conversations, a lot of you. This is not your fathers pressroom. 20 years ago. No, im serious. You know it better than i do. But still, it is absolutely consequential and essential. After all, believe in the First Amendment, not just my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote. It. Oh. A lot of ways this dinner sums up my first two years in office. Ill talk for minutes, take zero questions, and cheerfully walk away. Yeah. Know, i Just Announced my reelection campaign. Some of you you. Some of you scooped that. I announced in a video. Really . You really all thought your that i just blurted out, didnt you. Thats right. And look, i get that age completely reasonable issue. So in everybodys mind mind and everyone around, i mean, the New York Times. Headline, bidens advance days a big issue. Trumps, however not so that was the New York Times piece. But i apologize. I love that guy. I should do interview with him. You might think. I dont like rupert murdoch. Thats simply not true. How could i just like a guy who makes me look like harry styles. Call me old. I call bs season. You say, major. I say wise. The same over the hill hill. Don lemon would say, thats a man. His prime. Folks, its to be back here again, proving i havent learned a thing. I want everybody to have fun tonight. But please be safe. If you find yourself disoriented or confuse due to your drunk or Marjorie Taylor greene. Can thank you for hosting us. I love. Because they whispering on the mic like. I do. But not everybody loves. Elon musk tweeted that should be defunded. Well, the best way to make npr go away street lamps to buy it. And thats more true than you think. Anyway, this is one of the two great traditions of washing. The other one is underestimate me. Kamala. Oh, but the truth is, we really have a record to be proud vaccinating the nation, transforming the economy. Earned historically isolated victories and midterm results. But the job isnt finished. I mean it is finished for Tucker Carlson carlson. What do you want about my dad . Why do you think thats not reasonable . Give me a break. Give me a break. Look, like i often say, dont compare me the almighty comparing the alternative. We added 12 million jobs. Thats just counting the lawyers defending the president president had ron desantis. I a lot of random senators Roger Sanchez jokes ready for picking. But mickey mouse beat the hell out of me. Got there first. Hello. Cant be too rough on the guy after his reelection. Governor, he was asked. If he had a mandate. He said, hell no, im straight. Straight. Ill give you time to think that one through. You got it. Look, keep reporting my Approval Ratings at 42 . But what i think you dont know this. Kevin mccarthy called me and asked me, what the hell is your secret. Im not kidding about that one. The speaker is trying to claim a big this week, but the last time republicans voted on something that hapless it took 15 tries. That was good. Look, its great. The Cable News Networks are here tonight. Msnbc on by nbc, universal. Fox news by dominion voting systems. Last year. Your favorite fox News Reporter is able to attend because they were fully vaccinated and boosted this year with that 787 million settlement. Theyre here because. They couldnt say no to a free meal. And how id call fox honest and truthful, but then i could sued for defamation. And aint nothing compared what they do to me. Look, i hope the Fox News Team finds this funny. My goal is to make them laugh as hard as cnn did when read read the settlement. But then again, cnn was like, wow they actually. Have 787 million. Whoa. Fox, i go where people are. The daily show. Roys a great guy. He once dubbed me the jayz of delaware. Dont let that look at your face. You did. Tonight, he asked me to keep it short. Even offered me ten bucks if id keep it under 10 minutes. Thats a stretch. President being offered hush money. For trying to leave the jokes to the pros. But let me conclude on a genuinely note. Rose byrne and birmingham, born in birmingham, alabama, you graduated from a great hbcu florida a m. You started in journalism to follow in the footsteps as father roy wood, senior, who covers the Civil Rights Movement during black History Month this year. I a screening of the movie til. The story of emmett till and his mother is story of a familys promise and loss and the nations reckoning with hate, violence and abuse of power. Its a story that was seared in our memory and, our conscience, the nations conscience. When mrs. Till insisted that open casket for her murdered and maimed 14 year old son be the means by which she was transported, she said, let the people see what i see. The reason the world saw what she saw was because of another hero in this story, the black press. Thats a fact. Jet magazine, the chicago defender and another black radio and newspapers all unflinching and brave in making sure america what she saw. I mean, it. I had to be well. I had to be well. One said, and i quote, the way to right is to turn light of truth upon the wrong turn, the light of truth upon the wrong. Thats the sacred, in my view. Thats a sacred charge of a free press. And i that. Thats what someone we still miss so much. Were you honored posthumously and stood for gwen ifill . No. She was among the very best we talked about at the. She moderated my first advantage for Vice President and was a trusted voice. Millions of americans, one understood the larger noise. More town of us to cut through the noise to the truth. The truth matters. As i said last at this dinner, a poison running through our democracy and parts of the extreme press. Truth buried by lies and lies. Living on as truth, lies told for profit and power, lies and conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again. Designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate and even violence violence. A cycle that emboldens history to be buried. Books to be banned. Children and families be attacked by the state. The rule of law. Our rights and freedoms to be stripped away. Were elected representatives. The people are expelled from state houses for standing for the people. I made clear that we know in our bones and you know it too, our democracy remains at risk. And ive also made it clear, as ive seen my life that within our power, each and every one of us, to preserve our democracy, we can we must we will. Id like to make a toast if i had a glass. My grandfather, ambrose finney, he said if, you ever make a toast without looking . Youve got to hold your left hand. Dont think im kidding. Im not. Im probably the only irish river ever to drink in his life anyway. I like to make a toast. Seriously . This Inflection Point in history. First, commit. There will be a nation that will embrace light over truth. Over lies. And finally, finally, finally. Restore the soul of the nation. Hear. Ladies and gentlemen i give you that. Yes. Im going to turn this over to roy. Roy, a part of his yours. Im going to be fine with your jokes, but im not sure about dark brandon. Roy, yourself. Thank you, mr. President. I think think it is now my great pleasure to introduce our headliner the night. Roy would junior. Here. He is a correspondent for the daily who just had a killer as guest host. But roy doesnt just a fake journalist on tv that degree from florida a m university is in broadcast journalism and while pursuing comedy. Roys. 13 years in mourning radio in birmingham alabama at same station where his father, a pioneering radio journalist, once worked. Without further ado, lets give it up for roy wood, jr. Give it up for dark. Brandon. And im happy to be here. Real quick, mr. Presenter, you left some of your classified documents up here. You get the full. Yeah. Get in there. Dont them to him. Ill put him in a safe place. He dont know where to keep a mamas happy to be here, though. Happy to be here. Very, very happy to be here. So its a pleasure to be here amongst our countrys greatest leaders. Distinguished media organizer, both Property Brothers and dr. Fortune. If you see, fouche would take a picture with him, show new booster shot, which ill look good, though. Ive been ive been watching and looking around all night. Youll look good. Youre dressed nice. You got the nice threads on you, got the jewelry glistening look like everybody got. A little piece of the settlement money from fox news. And thats all i have to say about that because im not going to have dominion my. I love to me. Matter of fact, let me just say right now, my favorite voting machine is dominion machines. When i go to the polls, i make sure it is a dominion machine that i use. If youre election need the truth put dominion your booth. Thats. Going to get this. Three people you dont want to see in the courtroom. Thats dominion cardi b or, gwyneth paltrow. You dont lose. I like think tamara keith in the white house. Correspondents association for having me. Thank you for that. Im well that not everybody in this room knows who i am. So lets just address the elephant in room. I know what it is. Half this room. Think im kenan thompson. Other think im louis armstrong, president thinks im the daddy of Family Matters matters. Nonetheless, im happy to be here at this event amongst government who speak to msnbc former government officials who now work at msnbc and future government officials who currently work at msnbc msnbc and often overlook purpose of tonights dinner, you know, serious business, the overlooked purpose of tonights dinner is to award scholarships to students who have shown great achieve moments in journalism. Thats right. These brave young souls are the of the industry. And id like to stop right now and congratulate tonights top scholarship. Arizona state senior george santos. Oh, yeah. George couldnt be here tonight. Hes auditioning for rupauls race. Thats my bad. And we say. Good luck to you, george. Sashay away. And also, speaking of drag queens. Can we with the groom and stuff, can you stop talking about that drag queens . Are not at a school groom your kids stop it and even they were most of them kids go and get shot at school aint no problem. Dont groan. Pass legislation legislation. Like they boos. Dont bother me. Im all right. Mitch mcconnell aint got no soul soul. Its a tumultuous time in the media. The weve got layoffs everywhere. Buzzfeed news, axios, washington post, espn, paramount right now is considering offers from byron allen and tyler perry to purchase b. E. T. Thats how bad it is out there. These companies are so broke giving betty back to people which by the way its not what we meant when we said black people wanted reparations we meant cash didnt give it to us. And im Harriet Tubman ten is but tonight we are all unified under one thing and that scandal. Scandal those scandals have been devour ring careers this year. The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job now. Some people celebrate. But to tucker staff, i want you to know that i know what feeling. I work at the daily. So i too have been blindsided. The sudden departure of the host of the fake news program. Tucker showed up, got caught up like that do from Vanderpump Rules text message chef. I dont know what Vanderpump Rules is about im just washington a couple of times my friends told me its like bmf, but for white people was secession. No secession is power for white people. No. Tucker carlson is. Power for white people . No, thats white power. You know what . Never mind. Dont worry about doubling the number. Better. We got to get tucker back on the air, mr. President , because right now theres millions americans that dont even know why they hate you. Fox claim dominion conspired with the democrats to rig the election and the democrats should be flattered. They thought that yall were smart enough to rig an election. Warnock needed a laugh to beat a werewolf. But its not over for you. Fox news you still got bad. More bad news coming down the pipe. Thats smart. That voting machine lawsuit is coming, right . Smartmatic is coming. You and they want more money than me. Let me just say it right now. My favorite machine is the smartmatic voting machine. And you election the truth for smartmatic in your. But i think its fair that we should give credit where credit is due. Tucker carlson is the first host to get fired from fox news for something thats only partially about how he treats women. Thats progress. He sat at the ceiling. Speaking of. Don lemon is out of a job job. Don lemon, my dog. Dumb don lemon released statement saying he got fired. Cnn, then cnn released a statement saying that they all don a meeting they had to part ways because don lemon cant even accurately report a story about don lemon. I still think that don deserve more. Anyhow, your somebody messed up. How funny is it that you work in the news, then watch on the news that you got fired from the news. Don lemon is now the most of guy in the history of cnn. Thats not fair. Even jeffrey looking at don lemon, who he wrote me wrong, which. Letting don go was the wrong move, you shouldnt let him go. Not this on cnn. First off, don was fine when yahoo was letting him drink. You shouldnt have cut off his liquor. You know, fire host after the first couple of scandal. Let the stand the scandal has got to stack up. You got to get some you got to get ratings. Yes. Don lemon was a diva. And he said a couple of women are raggedy the face. But thats a promotion at fox. But i ultimately understand why cnn did what they did. I get it. Its about morals. Should be no place on air for someone who speaks with wild disregard and doesnt consider the blowback to their coworkers or their company. Thankfully, cnn has taken steps in the right direction. They got rid don lemon and theyve now given a show. Charles barkley. To charles cohost gayle king. We say good. I think its going to be a good show. The whole show is going be Charles Barkley saying something crazy. Then gayle king looking into the camera. Charles, charles. Scandals. Thats what connects. To so many scandals. The king of scandals, president donald. Just a moment. Can we just all acknowledge can we just all honest and just say that the trump arrests didnt hit like we thought it was going to hit . Were desensitized to scandals now that trump didnt do what i thought it was going to do. The trump arrest was like a pot brownie you ate 4 hours ago. You are. Do i feel just this guy feel justice . Let me travel to georgia. Raymond brown. Maybe that a hit of the dozens thats got some kicked kicked cant follow trump scandals. Its too many trump scandals to keep up with keeping with trump scandals is like watching star wars movies. You got to watch the third one to understand the first one. Then look, you got to you cant miss the second one because this got easter eggs for the thick. Donald trump is the only politician who scandals got spinoffs on disney plus plus. But the trump arrests it made everybody question what they believe. You thought you lean one way politically. Then trump got locked out. Everybody started waffling. Put republicans between a rock and a hard place. Donald trump got locked up for four years, all wrapped up in saying for years, we got to get tough on crime. Trump got arrested, we met black crime. Same thing with the liberals too. Liberals was all confused after trump got arrested. We got to abolish trump, got arrested, bring back reckless. I know about you all, but for me, the easiest scandal to was the trump document scandal. That was the one that was easy to follow. Simple. Theres some stuff thats supposed to be in the white house that aint in the media. Yall did your job. Now jumped on that story as soon as the trump documents story broke, everybody was down to mar a lago. We were reporting live from the documents and i them. And then we found out joe biden had documents, too. And it was like that was not a big deal. Its not a big deal. Everybody got documents. Everybody got document. Mike pence has some back. Oh, look, the chinese spy balloon. Would you look at that . Oh. Well done. Media. Happy to be here. Very happy to be here here. If theres one person that could use scandal, its ron desantis, that boy is just running around, just parsing every contrary virtual law he can think of thinking. Lets go activate voters. Thats not how you activate voters. This country, ron, everybody know how you do politics is america. We dont pass laws. You make a promise to voters and then you dont do it. Thats what the great leaders in this room understand. You know how to make things not happen. The only thing the only thing ron desantis has done that i got to give him credit for this. He got people riled up, all the stuff they understand, dont nobody they dont know what Critical Race Theory is. Get these people riled up about something that they cant even define like crypto or nfts ask any republican this anti crt as in a republican trying to explain crt. They sound like a democrat trying to explain the charges against trump trump. Its bad. Theyre everywhere ive just got to stop it. We got to stop it. We got the files. We got files. Well be right back. Im rachel maddow. I have files. With rachel. Ill get them files on a rap. I think republicans will be surprised, man, if yall would just be real about what crt that youd be surprised some black folks might might meet your halfway. But you got to tell the truth. You cant lie to black people. Call it what it is. Antiausterity policies are, an attack on black history, and an attempt to erase the country billions of black people from. The history books. Thats what it is. You are trying to erase black people and. A lot of black people wouldnt mind some of that erasure as long as that black person is clarence. Billionaire name, harlan crow flying Clarence Thomas all over the world on unreported trips like the instagram model, taking plants. To the maldives and the beaches and pay for mamas house. This billionaire for Clarence Thomas, caucus house. I got a go. I got give it up to billionaires, billionaires, boy, yall yall are relentless, yall. Yall always come up with something new to back. Like, just you think of everything you could buy on earth, you billionaire will come up with a new thing. Yall buy a space rocket. You bought twitter. This man bought Supreme Court justice. Do you understand . How rich you have to be to buy supreme a black one . On top of that, theres only two. One stop in harlem. Crow owns the inventory. We can all see Clarence Thomas. But he belongs to billionaire crow and thats what an nft is. Everybodys got some scandalous stuff. Despite the challenging times live in. I look around this room and i see that are hard working. Many of you i dont even think you should be working that hard. We should be inspired by the events in france they rioted when the retirement age went up two years to 64. They riot because they didnt want to work till 64. Meanwhile, in we have an 80 year old man begging us for four more years of work. Begging, begging. Let me finish job. Thats not a campaign slogan. Thats a plea limitation, no definition definition. I do, i do wish you the best of luck on the campaign trail as president. You got a lot of that. Youre going to have to navigate a lot of hurdles. Youve had quite a few scandals know. We know about the documents. We know about the. But theres been no scandal more damaging than the scandal. Is joe biden, the way they say what you want about our president . Look, when you wake up from that nap, work gets done, you might off. But the infrastructure bill and student loan forgiveness and do we free Brittney Griner . Free Brittney Griner. But i think the most insulting scandal to fall to the feet of the Biden Administration was place at the feet of our madam president , the scandal of what does kamala do. Which is a disrespectful question thats a disrespectful question because nobody ever asked that question of the Vice President until a woman got the job. Im going to ask. I dont know what mike pence the only thing i know about mike pence is that hes really good at playing hide and seek at the capitol capitol. Youve got to be crafty to mike pence and that capitol heating of all the crannies. Dont put camera on her own or mike pence joke. Dont do that. Nobody said they tried to set you up. Madam Vice President of the victim. At the end of the day, as a Vice President , the only thing only you got to do is just be better than cheney. Thats the bar. Just be better than cheney. They made a documentary about cheney. Now, i dont know much about the job of Vice President , but i do know if they can make a documentary about time as Vice President. You Vice President incorrectly. And if a vp is job is really just waiting to in to save the country in case of emergency, then the job of Vice President is the perfect job for. A black woman shouldnt be, but it is. And whatever you do accomplish, whatever you do accomplish, all theyre going to do is just give a man credit for anything you do. All immigration stuff, youve been knocked out, didnt got all this banking and you got the internet down there, did it care of all this postpartum stuff . They just give a man credit for what you do done by the way. Mr. President , great job of being the first woman Vice President of color. I dont even know how you did that part. Wonderful job. Happy to be here. But tonight, tonight is all about you. All the journalists, the defenders, free speech, the people who show to the world through different mediums through television, through print, through radio through whatever. Trying to let us see on tiktok. But the industry that covers all of these scandals isnt immune to them. Still, the issue of good media is that most people afford that. All the essential fair and nuanced reporting. Its all stuck behind a paywall. People cant afford rent, cant afford food, not healthy food, they cant afford an education. They cant afford to pay for the truth. Same as you want about a conspiracy. But at least its affordable. Well, unless you allege owns it tells you about 900. And i understand that we have to put the stuff behind the paywall because creating the truth is important. People cant afford the truth, but you all can to go find the truth for free. The work you do as journalists is important. Its essential. Its dangerous. My father, an embedded reporter on the front lines with black platoons in vietnam. He was in the south african soweto riots. He covered that. The civil war in rhodesia, which we know today, zimbabwe. My father came back home and cofounded the National Black network because wanted to tell black stories. To American Urban Radio Networks now. And theyve been doing it 50 years. And thats part of what my father wanted to do, you know. And i know it was hard because know, black daddies love telling you when something was difficult. They were shooting at me. Boy, i did. I never dropped my tape recorder. My daddy to a war stories. Brian williams. I, lester holt didnt laugh at devlin. Okay, so i havent had good journalism. Of course, thats the truth of the matter. The journalism cost the people. It also cost the journalists. It could even cost you your freedom. We talked, evan, of the wall street journal sitting in a russian prison as we speak on espionage charges, which espionage charges, by the way, thats the foreign equivalent of saying someone sits description, evan and hundreds of journalists imprisoned all over the world for doing their job. We got to defend journalists. Most of the National Stories in this at some point were first, a local story. And. Those stories in championed by reporters at outlets that of them have now folded. And if we cant figure out a way to pay local reporters, then as a country, were only left with that many more blind to where the ball is happening. You hear about all these newsrooms getting cuts as every article that tamaras sending me in the last two months is just the newsroom is getting cut and people were cut budgets. But you never hear about the multimillion dollar executives reducing their salaries. These organizations. Now, how do we fix this. I dont know. Im a comedian i was just up in its not my job to have solution. Thats how we go. But local local reporting is very important my mothers here tonight and and i know shes furious right now because im trying to put on camera. But my mother was amongst a group of black student protesters fighting for equality in the sixties at delta state and. And that was a dangerous time. But those types of incidents were covered by local reporters. And some of the shame came from the National Embarrassment of treating inhumanely is part of the pressure that helped to create that type of what would have become of my mother and those other protesters. If a local journalist there telling the story. And now is different. But thankfully my mothers story was told, she got to complete a degree at delta state and continue on the florida a m and got another degree. And then for the last 45 years has worked at a historically college as an educator and administrator and. One of those many black colleges. They need a little bit more fun. You got a 20 on your job. Send that down to one of the black colleges. To my mom. I say thank you for everything youve done for me and for helping countless students in birmingham now have the opportunity to a College Degree and to see an opportunity to grow. You know. My mothers journey may not have even begun if not for brave journalists who chose to chronicle history in real time. And i dont know how to repay my mom for what shes done for me and what shes done. So many people in alabama. But just know, momma, if if a white billionaire call you and offer to buy your house, please sell it. Because i might want to become an nft. Thank you so much. So the correspondents association, thank you so much to tamara keith. Thank you all so much tonight. Thank you. Roy, you, mr. President. Thanks again to our executive producer, bob bain and his excellent team. Thank you to the washington hilton, you to our members and now Kelly Odonnell, who will take the reins as whca president in fewer than three months. Kelly will escort the president of the United States and his ice cream charge dessert off a stage . May the force be with you . Kelly you take over this job and everyone here, please remain in your seats until the president , the Vice President , the first lady and second gentleman have departed. Goodnight, everyone. Thank you you. This has been lakshmi speaking for her fourth audience association. Thank you and good