Next. Tonight, a celebration of the First Amendment and the importance of a free press in the United States. Also, jokes, lots of jokes. All the most powerful people in washington except us all in the same room and about to be roasted by the president and a comedian. The white house Correspondents Dinner starts now. Members of the White House Correspondents association, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, here i am. F announcer fora time honore tradition bringing togethers washingtons people and powerful laughs. I invited luther, my anger translator, to join me here tonight. I mean, really. What is he saying . Tonight, roy wood jr. Takes aim at the politicians and President Biden himself will get in on the fun. I told my grandkids and Pete Buttigieg they could stay up late and watch this show tonight. From roasts. Donald trump has been saying he will run for president as a republican. I just assumed he was running as a joke. To jokes. Reality has a wellknown liberal bias. To mic drops. Obama out. And everywhere in between. Yes. What will happen this year . The white house Correspondents Dinner on cnn starts now. All right, good evening, everyone. Im john berman alongside jessica dean. Its great to be with you. Hello, yes, im excited for tonight. Thank you for joining us on the most anticipated night in washington of the year. In moments President Biden, he will enter the room at the white house Correspondents Dinner. Then next hour he will join roy wood jr. To roast the crowd and, yes, we, the media, ourself. Can we take a joke . Well find out. Also in the crowd, Vice President Kamala Harris, many cabinet officials, senators, house members, also celebrities like john legend, rosario thats ennis cantor, nba basketball player. You never know what celebrity will pop up while watching this video come in. We know Rosario Dawson will be there, Zooey Deschanel and Brittney Griner who spent ten months in a russian prison and the wife and daughter of alexei navalny. The president and the first lady are meeting with Brittney Griner right now. We have an amazing group, a surprisingly amazing group. [ laughter ] joining us in the studio. They will be with us throughout the entire night. We cant thank you all enough for giving up your evening for this and Darrell Hammond is going to join us live. He knows what it is like to be a host. But first weve got Something Special for you. Our man on the red carpet, harry enton in a tux hed so, there he is working the room and you have special guests. I do have some special guests. I have White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly and i have ctm, cnn in morning host kaitlan col collins. Kaitlan was a White House Correspondent. Harry, this is your interview to be a White House Correspondent. Surprising you here right now. Oh, no. So, phil, i heard this is a special evening for you, not just because you got to hang out with me, because youre getting something tonight, is that true . Its mostly the former, obviously, any time i get personal time with you it makes me happy. No, im receiving an award tonight from the White House Correspondents association for Breaking News, a story that i was deeply involved in when president zelenskyy surprised everyone and came to washington. Its cool. Im like excited. This is a very big deal. Very significant for cnn to get this award and for phil to get it for Breaking News when president zelenskyy visited the white house. Its a big honor for cnn but for phil. Im very proud of you, phil. I know you couldnt win the most beautiful person, that was awarded to me. Kaitlan, what are you looking forward . I love it because im a total nerd and as everyone watching at home, its referred to as nerd prom. Its so great. There are a lot of jokes as don was noting there, they roast the president and the press and roast everyone. Its a moment where we come together but also a moment that has a lot to do with democracy and journalism and one thing highlighted are those wrongfully detained including evan a. Alexei navalnys family is here. There are moments that are meaningful along with the humor and moments. If i could add i think this is a central component of the dinner, scholarships are awarded through the White House Correspondents association. Im mentoring one of them. Kaitlan has mentored several in the past. Thats when it is about, the understanding of press and the role we play and the next generation and these kids are so talented. Way better than all three of us were coming in. To deal with them and to watch them kind of enjoy the moment and embrace it as they take their next steps is awesome. I love the fact we can refer to people younger than us as kids. You are not that old. Have you seen any good celebrities . Gershkovich. You are not that old. Have you seen any good celebrities . I saw jason isaacs from the patriot and b. D. Wong from Law And Order Svu and roy wood who is obviously who we interviewed. An interesting thing about roy, hes been preparing this set and hes been basically doing it, he said he has not slept, he actually went to a Comedy Club In Washington Last Night and tried out some of his jokes to an unsuspecting crowd who i dont even know if they realized he is the headliner at tonights Correspondents Dinner. I think it will be a great time and i look forward to seeing you both inside. Maybe the camera will pan over to you once in a while. It depends what the joke is. We pay the camera guys not to. Have you seen lisa vanderpump, la la . I want to toss back to one of my favorite reality tv stars, john berman and jessica dean. Thank you, phil oh, theres the president right there walking into the ballroom at the capitol hilton. Roy wood, we already saw up there on the dais, the Vice President as well. And now the president himself. Harry, if we still have you, as were watching this. Ask phil who he is wearing tonight if he hasnt walked away. Did you hear that question, phil . Who am i wearing . Am i supposed to know the answer can you ask kaitlan . Im wearing abes tuxedo. I dont know if that helps you. Kaitlan, who are you wearing . Im not answering that question on principle. Shes not answering that question on principle, john, but ill tell you i think we all look fabulous and so do you in the studio. Lets listen in a little bit. We are all thrilled to see you here. All right. Team, dont make me shout about decorum. We are thrilled to see you here, all 2600 of you who got all dressed up to celebrate the First Amendment and the fourth estate. Your tickets help fund our scholarships for aspiring journalists who you will learn more about later tonight as well as the work of the White House Correspondentss association and our more than 600 members. I know that schmoozing is a sport in this room. We have more than 600 hard working journalists covering the white house day in and day out and i want to take a moment to thank the people sitting up here on the tage with me. This board is the best whda board in the 109year history of our organization. Stage with me. This board is the best whda board in the 109year history of our organization. [ applause ] and to quote the president , that isnt hyperbole or maybe it is, but this one is too good to factcheck. This team dedicates countless hours to the mostly very unglamorous work of the whca, coordinating and reviewing Membership Applications and managing logistics for travel, foreign and domestic, advocating for competitor, fielding complaints about dirty bathrooms and rodents. Oh, and sometimes calling for decorum at the top of our lungs. This board puts the needs of the press corps ahead of their own jobs and certainly their personal lives. Our pro bono attorney, george laner, over there. [ applause ] he is always here for us with advice that is worth far more than were paying him. Thank you, george. Steve tell ma, our executive director, who you do not see because he is running around backstage does more for this association than i can even fathom and on top of that, he takes a lot of the incoming so thank you, steve. [ applause ] later this year two clutch players plan to leave the whda board which is hard to imagine because they do so much for the press corps every single day. Todd from the dallas morning news. [ applause ] todd, who served as the Print Representative on the board for nine long years, it is hard to overstate how much work he has done for the press corps. The reports are truly the first draft of history and he has been essential in making sure highly qualified poolers are on duty every single day and doug mills, doug mills, everyone. [ applause ] doug has been serving on the board as the Photo Representative for a very long time. We think it is 24 years but no one is counting. He coordinates the rotations for the still photographers and makes sure that they are in position to get the best shots. He is arguably the mayor of the press corps and although wed like to make him mayor for life he has decided this will be his last term on the board. Please give them both some love. [ applause ] and to show my appreciation i picked up a few items from the whca merch store. Can we get the tote bags out. This is lakshmi singh, our announcer for the night. Thank you. Lakshmi is with nprs newscast team. You know her voice and let me tell you the good news about these tote bag, you do not even have to donate 12 a month as a sustaining member to get them, they are just 15 in the merch store and a portion of the proceeds support the work we do. Theres a postcard at your seat with a qr code that takes you there and also we have wifi. There you can purchase hat, stickers, limited Edition Shirts to prove you were here tonight. And, of course, tote bags. Theres also a Donate Button if youre not into merch. Thats on our website, all right. You have all survived the pledge drive portion of this dinner. Now im going to take a brief moment, a personal privilege, being whca president , i would like to thank the employer who pays me, hes been more than supportive, npr. Most especially, my colleagues on the white house beat, scott detrow, yank, marla and our most extraordinary editor roberta rampton. [ applause ] as well as the team on the politics broadcast who produces the broadcast, all of whom have picked up my slack a lot in the past year. I also want to acknowledge my parents who are in the front who gave me [ applause ] they gave me an early start to listening to npr. My sons davis and gibson who have gone back to the room to watch television and eat french fries, they thought my job was extremely boring until they learned i sometimes get to fly on helicopters. [ laughter ] and my husband ira who in addition to being wicked smart and hilarious and always knowing the right thing to say has done more than his fair share of parenting this year. Thank you for always believing in me. More. [ applause ] and if you enjoy tonights show, that is thanks to our producer bob bane and his team, paul flattery, fill damore, kelly brock, all of whom have worked pro bono to put on this event. So that is it for now. You can continue talking and please enjoy your meal. [ laughter ] our servers are the best in the business. The marine band will now play the Armed Service medley and start the show in a bit. And there it is, kicking it off. She is the president of the White House Correspondents association, of course, hosting tonights dinner and its fun to see it all get under way so well keep following it. The president there, the Vice President there and just a reminder youre going to see the president and comedian roy wood jr. Roast washington. This is cnns special live coverage and were back in just a moment. Interesting piece. Let me bring in my expert. Mmm. So many scratches. Oh those are from my car keys. Such a rich history. Yeah. This wont do well at auction. But at at t, its worth a brandnew Samsung Galaxy s23. Wait really . Mmhmm. What about this . At ts deal is back. Wow. Everyone gets a free new Samsung Galaxy s23 with a galaxy phone tradein. Any year, any condition. 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So as he vies for four more year, the spotlight is turning up on Vice President Kamala Harris also in the room this evening who appears all over the president ial announcement video more than a dozen times now republicans are piling on very early in this election cycle as any Opposition Party would, they are putting her under intense scrutiny as she now runs alongside a president who will be 86 at the end of his second term if he is reelected. Lets talk about all this and what were about to see tonight. We are here with this allstar truly allstar panel. Right. Scott jennings, ashley allison, catherine rampell, lz granderson, thank you for being here. Lets start down at the end of the table. What are you most looking forward to tonight . Well, i feel like ever since the start of the white house Correspondents Dinner in like 1924ish with Calvin Coolidge always curious to hear the first thing, roy wood will be phenomenal because he always is but to see if the president has jokes because i was going back and looking. Did Calvin Coolidge had jokes . He had remarks along the lines of congress is supposed to be engaged with legislation according to the constitution which could be some of Calvin Coolidges Signature Dry Wit but might just have been a straightforward did he have a Signature Dry Wit . That would be a joke to joe biden who loves executive orders more than i think he loves legislation. You know what id hike to hear from joe biden tonight, how many note cards must he have in his pockets because like 10,000 note cards so he can know everybody in the room. The First Amendment is in crisis right now. This is the least transparent president in modern history. Half of americans think the news media is out to mislead them. And this president , i dont think has done anything to bolster confidence that he believes these reporters deserve his respect. I would love to hear him i would love to hear him say as i run for reelection im actually going to engage with you and not force you to submit your questions in advance. Thats what id love to hear him say. I always chuckle at people who Categorize Modern Times as being the worst of all time. You know, if you think about how this organization got started, it was because you had a president that didnt want to hold Press Conferences, how is Joe Biden The Most N Nontransparent in history when Woodrow Wilson who was the impetus for this organization prompted journalists to create this because he wouldnt do Press Conference. Im reading from the New York Times. I dont know if you think theyre fake news or not but thats their reporting this week. Listen, im telling you about the history of the country and it just seems as though to call a modern person the worst ever when the reason why it was started because he didnt want to talk to the media at all seems like hyperbole to me. I think tonight is a great opportunity for joe biden to reintroduce himself to the american public, he said lets finish the job, well, this is probably one of the nights when most americans are actually tuned in to whats happening in washington because theres some comedy associated with it. Most americans are too busy trying to think about how theyre going to get their kids to school and will the kids be safe when they get to school . So tonight i would love to see him not just talk about policy but show his personality and then on the other side im really looking forward to roy i want to see the culture come through. I think theres going to be some great opportunities for cultural moments, for people who are sometimes felt like they are not seen in washington, d. C. , to really see themselves in that room tonight. Theres comedy and comities, edy and ity. You get both of it tonight. Sometimes. And that will be fun to see. Yeah, i think what will be interesting is how biden engages with the crowd, right . Top of mind for him right now is this concern, i presume, that voters think he might be too old to be president. And he needs to show he has energy. He needs to show hes got jokes, hes got timing. You know, the white house after the State Of The Union touted for weeks the fact that he had this great moment where he kind of set republicans up to boo him on Social Security cuts, and, you know, took that as a victory like, look, hes on the ball. He can engage, he can, you know, engage in realtime with political enemies and i think his job tonight is basically to show that he has a pulse and hes with it. Dont set the bar too high. Lord have mercy. It is an interesting moment, right, but to reach a lot of people to your point, ashley, like john legend right there. And Chrissy Teigen who are both, by the way, very politicalry active. Not surprising to see them here. I know they really are politically active and enjoy politics. This is going to be a great chance for joe biden in clip, right . A lot of people dont even watch it live. Were so glad for all of you who are. Please stay with us. Dont go anywhere. For those who may not be, theyre going to wake up tomorrow and its going to be clips on social media and that sort of thing. It is a way for them to reach a different audience, frankly, tonight. It really is. I think a lot of people even if you were, you know, i meet young people and theyre like, i was 2 when obama was elected and my heart stops beating but they might not remember when his angry interpreter came in but we still have those clips on social media and when real jokes land, they can go on for generations and think well see it on tiktok, twitter, instagram, and it will give your everyday entrepreneurial influencer an opportunity to take that information and then disseminate it to their audience. Thats how you communicate. You worked in the george w. Bush white house. How do you remember or did you see the preparation that went into this . Yeah, i went a few times, i mean, look, for republicans this is a different affair than but bush was into it. He was. He got into it and came to play. He was. How did he get ready for it . Some republicans didnt even go like our last president. Im interested in the comedy tonight, because youre right, these president s, bush was into it, whatever. No one ever makes fun of joe biden. Its 25 skits about trump an Nary A Mention joe biden is the president. The United States. I want to see if tonight hes engaging but i want to see if the comedian is going to hold the president a little bit accountable tonight. I hope he does. I think its important. Im really looking forward to roy wood jr. Ive known him for a number of years. He actually was a guest on my radio show in los angeles for a number of years and the one thing that was always true about roy was that he was unafraid to go there against anyone. So you may get your wish. I hope so. But, look, there has never been more material for American Comedy than Joseph Robinette biden. Never . Never ever . Do it again. Do it again. Every day this man wakes up, he is a font of content. No. Yet it goes unused so tonight maybe of all nights well see threw tomatoes at Herbert Hoover and joe biden is the worst for you. Come on, man. I didnt say he was the worst. Hes the best. We just talked about Calvin Coolidge. I do feel its a occasion, comedians are the ones who speak truth to power. Tonight literally a comedian will be speaking truth to power. With most professional associations when you have your annual gala dinner, all of the plumbers are not like they also invite a club toilet to be part of the celebration but journalist, you bring the thing that youre supposed to be dealing with. I should have worked on that analogy before we started out here but, you know, i assume you dont bring a clogged toilet. Heres Phil Mattingly, everyone. Right there in a rented tuxedo. Afraid to tell us who he was wearing before. Phil is winning an award for some amazing work. Just one of the many journalists would will be honored tonight. This is a night about journalism and about free speech. You know, its also a night about jokes. Nice mix so stand by tore all of it. We have the president , weve got roy wood jr. Taking the microphone, of course, special coverage is continuing on cnn. At morgan stanley, Old School Hard Work meets bobold new thinking. Partnering to unlock new idideas, to create new legacies, to transform a company, industry, economy, generation. Because grit and vision working in lockstep puts you on the path to your full potential. Old school grit. New world ideas. Morgan stanley. [music plays] if your instinct is to help. Then clearly you care. You have what it takes to be a care professional. Home instead apply now. The thought of getting screened for colon cancer made me queasy. But now ive found a way thats right for me. Feels more easy. My doc and i agreed. I pick the time. Todays a good day. 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But to be fair, he had just come from an interview on msnbc and i think youre used to softball. Thats probably what i love watching him give im telling you, you give the greatest speeches. Every time he gets to a big word its like watching a highwire act. Is he going to do it . Yes, he did it all right. Welcome back, everyone. Scott jennings, there was just a republican president sitting at the white house Correspondents Dinner. George w. Bush. Chuckling, laughing it up. He seemed to be having a nice time so there is a long history of members of both parties enjoying themselves tonight. Well, Pretending To. Or Pretending To. Let me tell you something, how many times have i been in a tuxedo where i wasnt Pretending To enjoy myself. I hope it wasnt your wedding. No, that was the one. One. One. Now im not enjoying this. [ laughter ] all right. We were just talking about the president s reelection announcement this week, right . Its also a big week on the republican side. One major, there are many announced candidates so far but donald trump is leading the pack right now. His rape accuser e. Jean carroll testified against him in a civil trial and his former Vice President just testified before a Federal Grand Jury Investigating Trump in january 6th. And then there is Florida Governor ron desantis who almost definitely is a president ial contender, a lot of people think he had a rough week with a showing of the polls where he may be slipping some, maybe some donors backing away, what the trump people are spinning and this freud with disney going back and forth. So back with us are our allstar panel waiting for roy wood and joe biden to get up and tell jokes, but while we are waiting for them. What better way to pass the time. What better way to pass the time than talk about this. Catherine, ill start with you. As youre looking at the posturing thats going on right you, what jumps out . I think its been interesting to watch both ron desantis actual behavior and how it is being portrayed and received by his party for that matter. You know, desantis to me has in many ways kind of modeled himself as a mini trump, like a smarter mini trump. Hes gone after immigrants, hes done some of the conspiracy theorizing, he recently said the fed was going to take away your guns, for example. Now hes, you know, fighting with mickey mouse because i think trump has kind of modeled this behavior of fighting with some big corporation, although, you know, fighting with big tech to me seems a little different than fighting with a beloved, you know, Animation Company or, you know, major empire. Media company. And so i think its been interesting to see that there was a turn this week, it seems, although i dont see much of a break in his behavior so i dont understand exactly why there seems to be more negativity, more donors, highprofile republican donors saying that they are abandoning him. I have not been a fan of his to be clear for awhile, but i dont necessarily see any difference in how hes behaving now versus a year ago. This mickey mouse fight has been going on for a year. I was with him in New Hampshire, gosh, what is time . I dont know. Two weeks ago, i think and he was there talking to the New Hampshire Republican Party, and he raised a Record Amount of money for them and, you know, theres all this talk all the time about what hes like with people and can he do retail politics, which they certainly expect in New Hampshire and demand of their candidates and i did watch him like work the room for an hour and he did his speech and all of that, and he seems like a man who is running, you know, theres a lot of box checking happening right now. But i do think and id be curious what you all think but just here in washington in the bubble in which we live sometimes you know, the narratives about candidates before they even get in can be like, oh, all the buzz then that kind of gets boring so it has to be, well, maybe, you know, maybe its going to crash and burn, maybe or shes never going to get hyped and now people are kind of discovering maybe theres a swing back up, you know, he has a comeback. Scott, ashley . I never believed the desantis hype. I still think he would be a very strong contender, look, after the 2020 midterms, because republicans did not do as well as so many people did, but desantis was one of the folks who came out and did better than most in terms of his margin of victory, got a lot of air in his balloon and i think people were really hoping, particularly in the Republican Party, that he took off because many dont want trump. And so he seemed like someone who was still in line with trumps policies, and maybe even to the right of trump on some things when you look at a sixweek abortion ban that went in effect in florida or the banning of books and removing African American history from curriculum. You know, that is really speaking to the right, the base of the Republican Party and so i think folks were hoping he would take off, but you cant peak too soon and maybe if he was going to run maybe he should have ridden that wave and now the story is still going to be told, you better hope its in your favor and right now not going that way. My sense the democrats didnt fight either for that governors race. No. I mean Charlie Crist was basically a Scarecrow Stuck in the feel and they were just sort of hoping he could turn it but he never seemed to be a good candidate to begin with. So i think thats part of the reason why it was easy to see why there was sump a huge gap in desantis victory because he wasnt fighting against someone. His first campaign, however, against the tallahassee mayor, now, that was competitive and barely won that race, so i think the hype is also a little inflated because he didnt fight against anyone. A couple of things going on, number one, you cannot undercount the infusion of energy into the Trump Campaign that this indictment in new york has been. Yeah. Money, energy, people rallying around him so some of this has nothing to do with desantis and everything to do with alvin braggs indictment, thats number one, number two, i think desantis not being in the race and trump being in the race and actually trying, that makes a difference when youre actually campaigning and youre trying, that makes a difference. Number three, it strikes me that 100 of the democrats want trump, 100 of the political media wants trump, half the republicans do and half the republicans dont but you can see there are massive forces aligning to get rid of desantis now because for many reasons people would rather have trump and thats whats happening and i dont know if desantis was caught flatfooted by that but i think its pretty apparent. Many corners of our political spectrum see hip as a threat, trump, the left and theyre working together right now to try to stop him before he ever gets started. Well, having read ron desantis weird offputting book, i think that he is making a very strange entry into this. The book, i should say, he never uses the verb was at any time when you say these people were the salt of the earth. He is like, they represented the salt of the earth. In addition to the horrible nightmare policies but just not a humdinger. Do not recommend but i would say that like why is he starting by fighting disney . Disney has lawyers for things i dont even know exists. When you get on the National Stage last thing you want to do is something youre bad at, something that you know youre set up. Like me getting on tv to eat pudding in an offputting way against ron desantis, but, i dont know. It seems like a bad start. Its really about going back to your earlier point about trump and the indictment. If you really look at the time line particularly starting at 2018 when hes running for governor the first time, right, and he straight up said that we should not be getting to the battle of bathroom wars with transgender individuals. Thats what he said during the republican primary. We should not be fighting trans people when it comes to bathroom. The indictment in 2019 All Of A Sudden now hes going after trans and lgbt, black, everyone, why . Because trump looked vulnerable. Look at a time line. Prior to trumps indictment, he seemed to be more of a moderate floridian. After the indictment, he started pushing towards nebraska, pushing towards louisiana, leaving florida behind because he needed to appeal to a broader base across the country. Thats why hes much more conservative now. We are awaiting the big moment to the white house Correspondents Dinner, roy wood, comedian, will be speaking shortly, President Biden as well. We will go back to the red carpet, though. Weve got incredibly special guests. Oh, look. Look at that. Look at those faces. What are they hiding . Stay with us. Our special coverage of the white house Correspondents Dinner continues right after this. All the thingngs i feel insie when i see my mothers eyes love is a always in her smile there is no home like a mom celebrate the mom in your life. Choose from our collection of gift sets starting at 99. This is a tempurpedic mattress and its designed to help make aches and pains a thing of the past. 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Which, unexpectedly, has made frank quite popular. So its a good thing frank uses fedex to help him expand his reach and make earth a priority. Fedex. Where now meets next. Welcome back, everyone. Our special coverage of the white house Correspondents Dinner is continuing with President Biden set to speak very soon, but right now theres just a lot of talking happening. A lot of mingling and schmoozing. Lets head back to the red carpet where harry enten is with our shineiest stars, brianna and wolf. Im here with two former White House Correspondents and bring an father was talking to me about how helpful wolf was when she decided to become a White House Correspondent. When i decided i was like honored to get the opportunity. Were told to do it. It was a combo. No, wolf was amazing because as soon as i became a White House Correspondent, he sort of was like, look, kid, and he gave me some advice. He took me out for dinner and gave me really good advice. Ill keep it i feel like its secret recipes so im not going to disclose what it was but it was basically about how to be successful as a White House Correspondent and i just always really appreciated that, that you sort of took me under your wing as i know that you do with so many people who get the privilege to cover the white house to try to make sure that they can succeed covering it. You did a great job. I spent seven years as cnns White House Correspondent during the bill Clinton Administration, and i learned a lot and i always felt it was important to tell the new White House Correspondents give them some advice and hope it worked. He was covering the white house at a time when it was such an Inflection Point for what it was for tv coverage of the white house, things really changed during those year. Yeah. You really passed on your knowledge. It was amazing. Thank you. It was the Clinton Administration. Youre too young, harry, to remember. I will say when the Clinton Administration started, i was not yet in elementary school, so imagine the time certainly flies. Wolf, im surprised that they allowed you out of the Situation Room. Arent we in the Situation Room right now. This is my Situation Room. It turns out theyre now giving out Situation Rooms to anyone at cnn who asks for it. You know, because whatever room im in, there is a situation. That thats why we call it the Situation Room. Theres a situation going on at this hotel tonight. Is there . A big dinner. Are you looking forward i am. Ive been going to these dinners, what, for 30 years. What about roy wood, what are you looking forward to . Im looking forward to a few laughs. Thats what i like. We could all use a few laughs. Why do you want to talk with me . We have such a font of reporting knowledge with you and people who have been to so many Correspondents Dinners. Brianna, i assume your favorite was last year when you were sitting with me. Wolf, of all the correspondents donal dinners you have attended, do you have a favorite or does one stand out as being your favorite or most historic . All stand out as being a lot of fun. Sometimes the jokes get a little whoo you know, a few times some of the hosts have made some fun of me sitting over there, so i remember those. I wont repeat the jokes but i remember those. I cant believe that they would make fun of wolf because as i told him before we went on, i spoke to many people at cnn and i have never found a Single Person who has had anything negative to say about wolf blitzer. Theres not a lot of comedians at cnn but sometimes the comedians at these dinners have a few laughs at my expense. Always good natured, even the comedians when they make fun of wolf, though, its very good natured how they make fun of him. I think, you know, the dinner, there are some laughs, but there are also dinners that are pretty consequential when you think of the one right before the Osama Bin Laden raid, you think of that and the one where donald trump attended and obama roasted him and now you kind of look back at that, sort of what did that moment mean . That was historic, yes. That was historic. So i think theres even though sometimes things are funny, sometimes things get crazy, there are also really matters, and of course were always here for the journalch, right . Were always here for the journalism and think about the First Amendment, and especially i think this year with evan being wrongfully detained in russia, this is something that is on our minds. Were all thinking about evan gerschkovich. We want him home. I think thats a sentiment we can all standby. John, jessica, take it away, guys. Three of the kindest people i know and three of the most terrific journalists, thank you all for being with us. And keep it right here on cnn. We are waiting for the night to really get started, and well be back in just a moment. Mercedesbenz electric vehicles. S. Including two yeyears complimentary charging and prepaid maintenance. The vehicles are all electric. The feeling is all mercedes. The choice is all yours. But hurry, these dream days are only here until june 5th. How to grow more vibrant flowers step one feed them with miraclegro shake n feed. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. How to grow delicious herbs step one use miraclegro potting mix. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. Lowes knows the first step to motivation is inspiration. So, weve got new everything. New flooring, new paint, new patio sets, new pillows. I can keep going if you want me to. You got this. And we got you. Great estimations interesting piece. Let me bring in my expert. Mmm. So many scratches. Oh those are from my car keys. Such a rich history. Yeah. This wont do well at auction. But at at t, its worth a brandnew Samsung Galaxy s23. Wait really . Mmhmm. What about this . At ts deal is back. Wow. Everyone gets a free new Samsung Galaxy s23 with a galaxy phone tradein. Any year, any condition. Our customers dont do what they do for likes or followers. Their path isnt for the casually curious. And thats what makes it matter the most when they find it. The exact thing that can change the world. Some say its what they were born to do. Its what they live to do. Trinet serves small and medium sized businesses. So they can do more of what matters. Benefits. Payroll. Compliance. Trinet. People matter. All right, were back at it and were kind of watching as the video comes in to see who is in the crowd right now. And we have seen Brittney Griner whos been talking with people. We know she and her wife met with the president and first lady before going into that ballroom tonight. And of course she was detained in russia. And i dont know i dont think shes been to an event of this magnitude since you have to think, god, what a swing for her in terms of being in a prison swing in russia and now being in the room. She just did a Press Conference for the first time this week, and it cant be easy to do that. And now shes in this huge room. There arent many events like this to be fair where you have this many possible people who want to come up and ask you questions but also take their picture with you. So this has got to be quite a thing. Yes, the president did meet with them backstage there. And obviously on everyones mind tonight is evan gerschkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter. And he also did meet with evan gerschkovichs family, he and the first lady before he came out tonight. And i think our colleagues were saying people were wearing free evan buttons on the red carpet tonight. And i think that is so front of mind for so many people in that room, and i expect well hear a lot more about evan tonight as the program goes on. Im sure we will. All right, this is cnns special live coverage of the white house Correspondents Dinner. Make sure you stay where you are because in the off chance you have to get a snack or something youre going to miss all the fun, were talking about the jokes, some of which will be at the medias expense, President Biden, Brittney Griner live pictures as we said. Im sure everyone wanting to talk to her. Nice to see her smile. Yeah. Knowing where you came from, it gives you a sense of this is who i am. Oh my goodness. Wow, look at all those you get hungry for more and then youre just like, wow, im learning about my family. yeah, yep. Which one, whatd you find . Lorraine banks, look, county of macomb, michigan . Look at grandma. Hey grandma unbelievable. Everybody deserves to know who they are and where they came from. Ohhh. Cool. This whole journey has been such a huge gift for our family. First amendment and the importance of a free press in the United States. Also, jokes, lots of jokes. All the most powerful people in washington, except us, all in the same room and about to be roasted by the president and a comedian. The white house Correspondents Dinner starts now. Members of the White House Correspondents association, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, here i am. A timehonored tradition bringing together washingtons most powerful people. Im so desperate for attention i almost considered holding a news conference. And powerful laughs. I invited luther, my anger translator, to join me here tonight. Tonight comedian roy wood jr. Takes aim at the politicians and President Biden himself will get in on the fun. I told my grandkids and Pete Buttigiegs they can stay up late and watch this tonight. Donald trump said he can run for a republican but i just assumed he was running for a joke. To jokes. Real itty has a wellknown liberal bias. To mic drops. Obama. And everywhere in between. Yes. What will happen this year . The white house Correspondents Dinner on cnn starts now. It is only one night a year, and this is that night. The annual white house Correspondents Dinner underway right here in washington, d. C. I feel like we should hang our stockings up on the mantle right now. Its that kind of night. This is the hour where we will hear the jokes from comedian roy wood jr. , also President Biden. And there are going be serious important moments, too, as the night is about honoring freedom of the press. We want to kick off this hour, though, with some very special guests with our very special red carpet king, harry enten, and hes joined im told by sarah snider and kate baldwin. All true . And this is 100 true, but we even have two additional guests. It seems like the line keeps growing here. Sarah to my left, kate over here. Can i jump in . Thank you. We have been joking with them. They are sitting at our table, and we have bamboozled them to come up and hang out with us. We told them there was free food. No free food. And then we showed up it was only harry enten. Have you guys been to one of these before . No, we have not. And when we got the invite via elena she was like we shouldnt go to that, and i said, no, were absolutely going. So its your fault is what weve been informed of. Yes. Okay, so i know a couple of things because we had a nice chat. You just met somebody dont be upset but jow just met someone you thought you would never meet in your life. What was that moment like for you in. Well, who was it . It gave me a smile that is as big as all my face right now. You were kind a fan boy. Total fan boy. Never thought no, i never entertained the thought in my life that i would actually its a perfect incapsulation of what this evening offers up, which is a collision of worlds sometimes strange like now but sometimes amazing like now. Everyone coming together in like a kind of whacky fashion. I reject the word nerd prom because some of us dont even deserve to be in the categories of nerds because im not cool enough to actually be a nerd. Yeah, im not smart enough to be a nerd but you are. Thank you. Youre welcome. I have a question for our two celebrities, which is theres a red carpet behind us. How does this compare to other red carpets . Do you like a red carpet . Cant get enough of them. The thing im learning about her is she only speaks in sarcasm. Yeah, i know. We relish the opportunity. I like to get on that x that say and then stand there as long as i can until uncomfortably they finally say can you please get off . Excuse me, sir, we need the carpet now. They called me ms. Snider, and i told them to knock it off. Tonight we went out there and they were saying something and i couldnt understand, and i realized they were saying can we just get a picture of elena and i said, yep, and i backed off. Now you know how every journalist feels told to walk a red carpet when celebrities are on it. Like its a terrifying anxiety inducing experience. But were having a great time. Its amazing. You guys have made the night. Well, thank you. And you made our night, and now i want to toss it back to one of my favorite celebrities, john berman. John, john love you but not as much as al sharpton. Ill take it. I will take what i can get. Thank you all for that. All of you have a wonderful evening. Ill see kate and sarah on monday and were going to talk about this, believe me. But that was queen sarasee. It was such a kind of smashing together of all these different worlds. You have media, you have politics, you have lebties and hollywood, and it all kind of mushes together in washington, d. C. , which, you know, does have the feel of a small town from time to time, you know. I dont know if any of you all have been in the room i assume you all have. What are kind of your thoughts about it in terms of how it mixes together all these different people . I remember last year i saw pat zajac and i lost it. I mean like i lost it. And its like what are you doing in d. C. , you know . Why arent you flipping letters, you know . But it is an interesting night. There are so much parties. You get to see people you havent seen in a long time and get to see people you havent really worked with and get to ask them why are you here. And its because they care about this country. People come to d. C. , a lot of them go on the hill, a lot of them go to the white house doing some lobbying on policy issues. So its a really cool weekend in the city. I remember when i was there during obamas last white house Correspondents Dinner. And to your point i was star struck by the cast of scandal. That was peak scandal. So my first seat was very close to the cast of scandal. And i leaned over like, girl, whats going to happen next . I they come to me and say, im sorry, your seat is down there, its closer to the front stage. And i initially didnt want to go, and im like scandal is over here. I dont know whats over there but scandal is right here. Everybody kind of gets weirdly star struck by kind of, you know, a surprising kind of mix there i think, yeah. I meet fat joe was at the white house on thursday. I saw him at west exec, and i was like whats the culture doing at the white house . It was literally fat joe and the president they met, and he was hear advocating on transparency in health care and making health care affordable. You dont think those two worlds collide but it happened. Who were you excited to meet . I think the last time i went to this in the bush years it was stephen colbert, i think he was the headliner and i did meet him that night. And i can see he made a big impression. Yeah. Youre still giddy over it now. I mean, you know, there were other celebrities there i seem to recall sort of recognizing. I mean this is not my youre not a pop culture guy. If you were in the avengers i know who you were. If youre on any some sort of Childrens Programming im generally aware of. Other than that. I will say that was queen sarasee right there, and i got to ask her so many things are compared to Game Of Thrones. What actually is Game Of Thrones . Maybe well get our chance later. When we come back someone who knows what its like to be at center stage at this annual dinner. Comedian Darrell Hammond is going to with us, a former headliner at this very same event a few years ago. What jokes would he tell if he were hosting tonight . Were going to talk to him when we come back. 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Only 30 a line per month. The Fastest Mobile Service and major savings . Cant argue with the facts. No wonder Xfinity Mobile is one of the Fastest Growing mobile services, now with over 5 million customers and counting. Save hundreds a year over tmobile, at t and verizon. Talk to our switch squad at your local xfinity store today. There is just so much chaos in the world right now i dont even know what im going to do yet. Look, this is these are all the cards. These are all the bits, and i dont know which oneerize going to get done. What could possibly go wrong for comedian roy wood jr. There he is, you just saw him right there. Roy wood jr. Will be up on stage this hour delivering, you know, his comedic take on the year that has been in politics and the press. And of course no doubt he will roast. The president will be sitting right there next to him. Our next guest has done that several times. Mr. President , have a seat. We must find common ground. Were going to build a bridge to the 24th century. Ill have to refer you to lanny davis on that one. You know i did the tonight show a couple weeks ago and he said he really is an interesting man, but all he did was move back to his parents old house. Thank you for being with us. Its such an honor to see you here, and i have to say youre one of the few people who knows what its like to be up on that stage. What is it like to be standing next to the president of the United States and making fun of him . I think its really the whole thing feels so unnatural because the whole room has more power in it than any room youve ever been in before, and that includes joint chiefs of congress and then theres the president and then theres the first lady. Its like a what do you call it, a High Wire Act it feels like to me. And theres a potential for lots of destruction to your career if you bomb. Its a tough crowd. It was tough for me. I was always a little bit scared. Oh, man, i would be terrified. Yeah, its a tough crowd. That crowd doesnt always take jokes at their own expense very well, so that can be tough. We heard from roy just a little bit ago and he had all the cards. Hes trying to figure out which jokes hes using, which ones he did not. When you did it, did you nail anything down or did you do everything on the fly . I had it planned on the day s in front of me, too. Listen, if you start off and the first couple of minutes its not going well youve got to veer off and try another direction, you know . To be obligating yourself to what youre going to do out there at least in my case it would have been treacherous. Do you have any moments that have scarred you for life . Im not scarred for life. I there was one time i said something i sort of lamely said and i think women should be in positions of power in the military and you can feel the room just go stop and this whole crowd was looking at you like were not helping you and were not going to laugh because they dont want to laugh at something or applaud at something that some of their political friends might find objectionable, and it gets all bipartisan you. And your like, wow, man, i just stepped in the wrong direction for one second. But i kept going. You lived to tell the tale. Yeah, and then i made another mistake. I called bill clinton bill and more Shock And Awe in the audience like what the hell is wrong with you . And then i had to correct that, so i survived okay, you know, but it was scary. And there were definitely some rough patches in the stuff that i did. Yeah, and we were talking earlier tonight about how much has changed just in the environment since when you probably hosted. Now youve got social media and how so many people probably watch this and therell be clips. Maybe in the past you could do it and it might be hard to find again the next day if it didnt go well, but it seems theres even more pressure now because it could live on in the internet. Forever and ever. The whole world knows real quick, like everywhere you look you can see examples of your failures and successes. I mean, that is quite a group, isnt it . It is. Theyre all wearing the same thing. You think the men are look at each other and saying oh, my god, im so embarrassed. Hes wearing what i am. That was a courtesy laugh right there. That was believable. I believe that was jgenuine. Is there any area you think is particularly right this year . If you were doing this tonight what are some of the things you would make fun of . I dont think its ripe. I think its dangerous, you know. Youre going to do some ai, youre going to talk about ted cruz, the audiotapes. Are you going to talk about Mental Competency test snz where are you going to go out there . You want to try and stay down the middle. Its like the closer you get to something someone will be disgusted by and they can get all bipartisan and ooh and sort of do a judge judy on you. The closer you get to that, the funner you are and you occasionally step over the line and thats a crowd that will let you know pretty fast. How hard did you feel you could go on the president and how hard do you think roy woods can do it tonight . I dont think you do know. You want to stay around the locker room towel snap, hey, this is good natured fun. But you dont know. I mean you dont know. As i said it blurs that line. You know, there was this one time when i said a thing, clinton had been laughing and been so supportive to me, and i said that thing about the military and i looked at his eyes and there were like clouds going by. He just abandoned me like but the whole time he was laughing like anyway, its tough. And just like that. It is. Youre right. Its a High Wire Act for sure. Were cheering on roy wood. And its fun to walk down memory lane with you. Darrell hammond, thank you so much. Great to see you. My pleasure. Great to see you both. Were going to be back with more of a special coverage including comedian rowood jr. And President Joe Biden. Stay with us. When bucket lists need checking. Points need redeeming. Work tririps need crushing. Or anniversaries need. Celebrating . No matter who you are, where youre going, or why. With 24 trusted brands by wyndham to choose from. Your wyndham is waiting. Get the lowest price at wyndhamhotels. Com every piece of land has a Story Written By those who work it. Like the caggianos, who are brewing their own legacy. Or the wrens, with their drama free Plot Tranquil and serene. The upshaws . They diy, all the time. While the nelsons play lead in their own adventure, 150 years in the making. Theres a story in every piece of land. Run with us and start telling yours. All the things i feel inside when i see my mothers eyes love is always in her smile there is no home like a mom celebrate the mom in your life. Choose from our collection of gift sets starting at 99. Well, as we wait to meet the president and comedian roy wood jr. To Roast Washington just in a few moments we did send harry enten to the red carpet, and he brought us back some highlights. I just have one question for you. Youre in fact the comedian of the evening, but if you were not the comedian of the evening would you be watching this event . I know exactly who you are. If this was going up against monday night football, ill dvr and check back on it later. Thats a great question. I have no idea what im doing here. They call this the nerd prom. I have to ask how does this compare to your actual prom back in the day . Actually, there is no difference to this prom, the actual prom. Actually i was a nerd so this is great to me. Your accent makes my accent look so crummy by comparable. Nothing compared to your accent. Well, who can make this up . I dont think anybody can make it up. Look, theres Phil Mattingly. I wonder if hell tell us chaos from his baseball days. You know who id love to see this chris rock. You said it not me. Im very hard on myself. Do you suggest dinner if hes looking for a place in arkansas . Of course the barbecue cant be beat there. Its sort of a foodie paradise there, so youll find a lot of different options and some incredible tacos, mexican food. Im harry. I know you because i watch the show wings. You must have been 4 years old, but im glad you watched it. I was on an episode of wings. Youre not too tall for me. No, never. Whatever you want to wear is all right by me. Can you believe they allowed me to do this . Im just standing here im going to myself who am i and what am i doing here . I dont really know the answer to that question but someone thought it wise for me to kbh d come down here and i was like, sure, what the heck. Ive introduced some people and had a few laughs, but at the end of the day washington wont change me, ill change washington. I have no idea what just happened right there. I dont think Assa Hutchinson has any idea what happened right there. My prom. I was told i would not be asked anything about my prom. Oh, harry, that was great. All right, were going to take a quick break. And i promise it really is just moments now. We keep saying it, but it really is just moments now. The president of the United States coming to the microphone at the annual white house Correspondents Dinner. Dont miss it. Scratches. Oh those are from my car keys. Such a rich history. Yeah. This wont do well at auction. But at at t, its worth a brandnew Samsung Galaxy s23. Wait really . Mmhmm. What about this . At ts deal is back. Wow. Everyone gets a free new Samsung Galaxy s23 with a galaxy phone tradein. Any year, any condition. How to grow more vibrant flowers step one feed them with miraclegro shake n feed. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. How to grow delicious herbs step one use miraclegro potting mix. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. Come seek the royal caribbean. [announcer] do you have an Invention Idea but dont know what to do next . Call invent help today. They can help you get started with your idea. Call now 8007100020. Youre actually doing the peoples work, youre the ally of the people, so never, ever stop shining a light on the truth and informing the public. Im very proud of all of you. And its not just me. Its also yeah, i come over here and im going to get bit by a horse. Okay, thats the finger. Good girl. Thank you very much. Speaking of impressions that annoy the hell out of me, id like to introduce you to someone who covered me during my great time in the state of california, please welcome the White House Correspondents Association President , tamara keith. Ally of the people has a nice ring to it. Thank you, governor, and welcome to the White House Correspondents association dinner. For the First Time Since 2016 we have both the president and the Vice President here as well as their spouses. Their presence is a statement and endorsement of a free and independent press. Even if they dont always like the questions we ask or the way we ask them. Now, acknowledging that this is an entire evening dedicated to celebrating journalism and the White House Press corp, im also here to tell you that it isnt about us or the celebrities that are here, though, thank you for your support. Thank you very much for your support. As the governor said as weird as this event is with politicians and glamorous people and totally unglamorous journalists all gathered in the same room, there is something uniquely 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 pull no punches. When were asking questions in the oval office or under the wing of Air Force One or in the Briefing Room we are standins for the 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 very seriously. But not so seriously that we cant have a little fun tonight and laugh at a few jokes including some at our own expense, so welcome to the nations biggest celebration of the First Amendment and the importance work of bringing an inquisitive spotlight to those in power. [ applause ] up first to present the wha awards please welcome White House Correspondent karen travers. Good evening. Im honored this year to present the whca awards to wonderful journalists, some of whom are colleagues on the white house beat, journalists who bring wisdom and experience, sharp insights and tenacious reporting every day to their beats. The award for overall excellence in white house coverage is named for a former Association President , the late Chicago Tribune correspondent. This year the award goes to matt of the Washington Post. The judges is said matt stood out among his competitors for work that went among the humdrum. He captured the spirit of joe biden particularly with stories about the president s brother and how his Catholic Faith influenced his Strategic Vision of the office. The whca is pleased to give the aldo Beckman Award to matt bizer. [ applause ] 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 on a tip in working his sources jeff broke the news of a White House Solar Initiative late on a sunday night hours before the administration announced it on monday morning. The speed of jeffs reporting had an impact on the markets and led to multiple other news outlets citing his piece before the official white house announcement the following day. Please welcome the winner of the deadline award for print from reuters, jeff mason. [ applause ] and now the broadcast award. This years winner is Phil Mattingly of cnn. [ applause ] the judges said Phil Mattingly of cnn was ahead of the competition and the official white house announcement in breaking the news and details of ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyys planned trip to the white house in december 2022. Phil led cnns coverage of zelenskyys visit including asking both zelenskyy and President Biden questions at their joint Press Conference that elicited deeply personal and news worthy responses. Phils 16 live shots in a 24hour period combined scoops, context, and depth. Take a look. Right now planning is underway for president zelenskyy to visit the white house, to meet with President Biden facetoface, a visit that will coincide with the announcement of a new Security Assistance package, a package that will include something zelenskyy has long asked for, Patriot Missile systems that white house officials and 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 cnns Phil Mattingly. The award for excellence in president ial News Coverage by visual journalists this years goes to my dear friend, everybodys dear friend doug mills of the New York Times. The of the winning photo the judges said doug Mills Excellently captured an unscripted moment with President Joe Biden as he emerged from the shadows to celebrate the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 at an event on the south lawn. The image is striking for its composition, symmetry, and use of light. The president s expression and posture intensified the atmosphere with a sense of gravity as do the Gazing Marine Honor Guards who frame him. Lets congratulate the New York Times photographer doug mills. [ applause ] 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 about the spectacular failures about the State Bar Of California to regulate and enforce the integrity of lawyers in the state this year the award goes to hariate ryan and matt ryan of the the los angeles time. The university the University Said the series showed the bars failure to prevent a Trial Attorney from using Client Settlement money to buy his wife 750,000 Diamond Earrings and his mistress, a sitting Appellate Court justice, a 300,000 beachfront condo. It also showed that disbarment rates for black male lawyers are nearly four times more than those of their white peers. Their reporting resulted in reforms, government investigations, increased transparency, and new legislation. Please join me in congratulating harriet ryan and Matt Hamilton of the los angeles times. The Catherine Graham award for courage and accountability named in honor of the legendary the Washington Post publisher goes this year to Josh Gerstein and alex ward of politico. The judges said politicos efforts to report, verify, and publish the Draft Supreme Court opinion reversing Abortion Rights and the organizations followup up work exploring the consequences of the decision were globally historic and groundbreaking. It flipped the longstanding belief here in washington, d. C. That nothing leak from the supremes. Here was journalism about a ruling that had a profound and Immediate Impact on tens of millions of lives. Take a look. Breaking news from politico. They have obtained a draft opinion. The Supreme Court could be poised to strike down roe v. Wade. This is a very unusual if not completely historic unprecedented leak. Utterly unprecedented leak. Really a stunning development. One thats like to shape the countrys social discourse. Based on our reporting information that both myself and my coauthor alex ward obtained it does appear it has the backing of five conservative justices. This now raises questions about the future of roe v. Wade and what this means for Abortion Rights in our country. Please welcome the winners of the Catherine Graham award from politico Josh Gerstein and alex ward. Congratulations. Lets hear it One More Time for all of this years winners. Congratulations, everyone. Thank you. Please welcome to the Microphone Politico White House Correspondent and play book coauthor eugene daniels. What a beautiful evening. Hello, everyone. Obviously there are some of us who come to this dinner very excited to get selfies with celebrities, john legend, Chrissy Teigen, hello, you two. Ill come back later. We saw vander pump and jean sterling, but thats not what this is about. What youre really doing here in this ballroom is Funding Scholarships for the next jen ration 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 another 1 million in additional aid to aspiring journalists like julia benbrook. In 2021 while a student at Northwestern University she won our debra orin scholarship. Tonight she is here as a washington correspondent for spectrum news. Yesterday we had 28 of this years Scholarship Recipients meeting White House Correspondents. They heard from minnesota senator amy klobuchar, a strong supporter of press freedom and the daughter of a journalist. And they got an on the record briefing from Karim Jean Pierre sitting in the seats we hope these students will someday occupy. Anna thompson from chicago, illinois. From diamond bar, california. From denver, colorado. From cleveland, ohio. Jordan taylor from ohio. Abigail turner from ohio. Alexis. Columbia school of journalism. George washington university. The hampton university. Northwestern university. Iowa state university. The university of kansas. The university of maryland. The university of tennessee knoxville. Arizona state university. Uc berkeleys graduate school of journalism. Me and other members of the White House Press corp spent most of yesterday with them, and let me tell you these scholars are much more impressive than any of us were at that age. These amazing young journalists are here with us tonight. If they come to talk to you, give them a job. Now would your students please stand up and lets all give them a round of applause. [ applause ] and watch out because these journalists are going to be hitting you up for scoops and jobs at all of the after parties. Last year at this dinner we announced the creation of a new award for Lifetime Career Achievement as a White House Correspondent, the dawngon payne prize. It was named in honor of two trailblazing women, the first two African American women to serve in the White House Press corp. They were also the first recipients posthumously of the prize that carries their name. Today whca Vice President and nbc news senior White House Correspondent Kelly Odonnell will present the prize to two journalists she worked with closely and considers great friends. Good evening. Tonight we celebrate tonight we celebrate the extraordinary careers of two journalists who are deeply missed. Of pbs news hour in Washington Week who passed away in 2016. And bill plant of cbs news who left us last year. The 2023 prize honors them. Now, beyond their wellknown accomplishments let me share a couple of memories that tell us a bit about who they were. Gwen and i were colleagues back in the 90s. I did know her well at that time. As i was visiting d. C. Covering my very first president ial race i casually shared with her i really didnt get why a campaign made certain Behind The Scenes moves. As gwen was headed to her car, she stopped, turned around, and offered up her experience and smart take on what was really going on. Now, that helped me in the moment, but she gave me something much bigger. She showed me that real pros stop, turn around, and help out. Her example made me want to be that kind of colleague. Thank you, gwen. And bill, more than 50 years at cbs news was a master of the shouted question at the white house, one of the president s favorites im sure. Many of us also knew bills gift of making president ial trips Real Life Memories By Finding Time 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 of us to hear his stories and share some of our own. A rooftop in vietnam hearing about his war coverage was exceptional. What a memory. He encouraged us to saver the journey of this job. Thank you, bill. Gwen and bill were gracious and generous. John dickerson at cbs news shows us how their tremendous careers leave a legacy of excellence. How do you do, my name is bill and id like to show you some of my work. For 52 years at cbs news bill plan showed us his work covering the Civil Rights Struggle, the vietnam war. Bill plant, cbs news. And president s reagan, clinton, bush, and obama. Mr. President , do you believe Osama Bin Ladens denial that he had anything to do with this . Bills approach was simple, ask direct questions and keep your opinion out of it. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to tehran, sir . No, and im not taking anymore questions. His baritone encased the best of Accountability 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. Bill plan . No . Bills not here . Thats shocking. Bill was beloved around the halls of cbs news, collaborative and generate of spirits 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 place where he witnessed the march to montgomery a half a century earlier at a time when a black president seemed impossible. I want news, man. Bill plant who covered the marches then and who is with us here today quipped that the growing number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. Dwen, a preachers daughter came of edge in the civil rights era. Her Journalism Career began at a boston intern. Instead of getting insulted and suing i just hung in there. And were lucky she did. Her talent took her to the baltimore evening sun, the Washington Post, and New York Times. Where she covered the Clinton White house. Then television came calling. First nbc. Bob dole really does have a good argument to make about how his tax cuts will help women. And then 1999 to the pbs news hour and Washington Week, she became the first black moderator of a National Public affairs show. Gwen was also admired for decisive questions and thorough preparation, skills she brought to the pbs news anchor desk as one half of the first all female news network team. She moderated a pair of Vice President ial debates and tangled with president s, too. I also appreciated gwens reporting even when i was at the Receiving End of one of her tough and thorough interviews. In a city so often defined by cold power and its abuse, gwen shared 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 them posthumously with the prize for Lifetime Career and achievement. What a remarkable legacy. And accepting the prize on bills behalf is his son, and for gwen please welcome her brother. [ applause ] how lucky are we to have their example, their record of accomplishment and everything they leave us to inspire us going forward. Thank you all so much. Gwen and bill truly were the best of the best. When i was a teenager my parents showed me a movie that opened my eyes to the possibilities that i didnt even really know existed. We were leaving in hanford, california, which was a smallest town in californias Central Valley surrounded by dairies and cotton fields and orchards, but this movie it transported me across the country. It was about a hard charging tv producer with a clarity of purpose and a really strong feeling about how journalism should be. It took me to washington, d. C. Where news was life and the stakes were always high. The movie was broadcast news, and the dramatic climax takes place on the knight of the white house Correspondents Dinner as holly hunter as tv producer. [ applause ] holly hunter was dressed up as tv producer jane craig and she wears this fancy strapless gown, black with white polka dots on the front. As you can see, it made quite an impression. What i saw on the screen seemed so unattainable, so very far away. Many of the journalists here in this room started at small local papers like the hanferred sentinel or tv stations in tiny markets or niche Industry News letters. And through determination and pure luck we ended up here with jobs that rule our lives doing stories about immigration policy one day, unidentified flying objects that are definitely not aliens 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 and make it easier for everyone else in the press corp to do their jobs, that is to report on the president of the United States, to shine a light, hold the Administration Accountable and share our reporting with the world. And this is never more important than when the president goes to a war zone. When President Biden decided to make a clandestine visit to kyiv, i made the call to Sabrina Siddiqui of the Wall Street Journal. I asked her to drop everything and come to the white house. She asked if she was in trouble. And if this had been a movie i would have said, no, but youre about to get the assignment of a lifetime. But this wasnt a movie, and what i told her wasnt nearly as dramatic. She and evan vuchi, a photographer with the Associated Press were getting the assignment of a lifetime, though. Theyd be the only two journalists traveling with President Biden to ukraine. Neither of them hesitated. White house journalists go where the president goes, wherever that may be, whether its wilmington, again or a 20hour round trip train ride through the ukrainian country side to spend five hours in kyiv, but sabrina had a question. Remember what i said about jobs ruling our lives . Well, sabrina was just back from Maternity Leave and was still nursing. How would she pump . Luckily i had an answer. I had started the wheels turning days earlier to make sure that the security and logistics arrangements were in place so that she could do both of her jobs. Not only did sabrina write beautifully written full reports with details that served the entire press corp and the entire country, she was able to bring milk back for baby sophia. People often ask which tv show about the white house is the most accurate, and im here to tell you its a lot more like veep than west wing. However, if you were to wonder into the area where the press corp works its more like the office meet hoarders. The press workspace is cramped, and the furniture is literally falling apart. The Briefing Room seats are mysteriously sticky. We have this room that we affectionately call the laveteria. That is combo lunchroom, bathroom. And the last time any of this was updated is when 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 words to remodel the press workspace will be done in the next two months, but before we start demolition i thought wed bring in a couple of home renovation experts for a consultation. This is joe and jill. After years of long commutes to work they finally decided to a fixerupper to put it nicely, but weve got some big ideas to give the White House Press area a big refresh. This is so exciting, a pressroom refresh. This is fantastic. I cannot wait to hear these ideas. We are really great fans of your work. This place is in really serious disrepair. Its dirty, its dingy. Its moldy. We get it. Its a [ bleep ] hole. So what are you thinking because it cant be too out there . Originally we wanted to hire Martha Stuart but she wanted to build a lake and put 24 swans in it. We are pitching an all new workspace, new cabinets, new flooring, anything to give it more modern vibe. Sounds good. There are a few other ideas wed like to get your idea as well. Were only supposed to dee doing the pressroom. Weve been doing this a long time and we believe we know how to turn the white house into the white home. I dont think this is going to fly. Okay. Lets move onto the next idea because you are going to love it. We take the entire west wing down to the studs, get rid of all those ugly offices and create one massive, sleek modern room. Then we bulldoze the rose garden, lose the west colonnade and transform the oval office into a dave and busters. How fun would that be . Fun. Huh, interesting. Your host has ended the meeting. Nailed it hey, martha. I knew youd come crawling back. They always do. Drew and Jonathan Scott are here tonight. So if anyone here is if anyone here is looking to replace their bathtub with a pin ball machine, go find them over there. I share these moments 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 are better than others. We seek to open eyes, change lives, and change minds. And when were at our best, our stories bring accountability to those in power. This is a challenging time for the news industry. My employer npr, just went through a painful round of layoffs and we arent alone. Abc, buzzfeed, cbs, cnn, vice news tonight, the Washington Post. I had to alphabetize the list, it is so long. And it is hitting local newsrooms, too. Whca member jonathan slant was the last newspaper reporter based in washington dedicated to covering the new jersey congressional delegation. And then the star ledger of new york laid him off. You might imagine the politicians from that statewide be breathing easier. Instead many of them protested because they know that the citizens of new jersey need that journalistic spotlight on their elected 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 gerschkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Hes in prison [ applause ] evan is in prison tonight in russia on fake espionage charges simply for doing his job, reporting. He loves blaring russian rock music and as the son of russian immigrants loves reporting about russia, not just about its leaders but about regular people, too. And his family is here tonight. [ applause ] we stand with you and we stand with evan. Debra tyce is here as well seated with the Washington Post. Right over there, debra. Her son oftentypes a freelance journalist was taken captive in syria almost 11 years ago. You were here at last years dinner presting austins case, and unfortunately he is still in syria a year later. Lets bring him home. Evan and austin are among the hundreds of journalists too many to name wrongfully detained in 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 journalists 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 the 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 is never easy, ever. Every president privately and sometimes publicly bridles at 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 People and the constitutionally enshrined principle of a free and independent press. So as 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 is a tradition at this dinner to acknowledge the journalists in the room, the ones who are doing the work that this night is all about. These are difficult times in our industry. There is a lot of uncertainty and fear for what the future holds, but we are still here, so lets stand proud. If youre a journalist who covers the white house please stand up. [ applause ] if you work in radio please stand up. If you work for a regional newspaper please stand up. If you work in local or Regional Television please stand up. Stay standing, guys. If you work for a Major National newspaper or wire Service Please stand. Tv correspondents, anchors, producers, crew, stand up. And finally, 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. [ applause ] and now raise a glass as we proudly continue our tradition of raising a glass in toast to the First Amendment and to the president of the United States. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, President Joe Biden. Thank you, tam, for that introduction i think. Let me start on a serious note. Jill, kamala, doug and i, members of our are here to send a message to the country and quite frankly to the world the free press is a pillar, maybe the pillar for a free society, not the enemy. Thomas jefferson wrote you all know this quote. Thomas jefferson wrote if left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, i should not hesitate to conifer the latter. To evans parents, ella, michael, and sister danielle, we all stand with you. Evan went to russia to shed light on the dark nasz ness you escaped from years ago, absolute courage. A hand written letter from prison to his family evan wrote, i am not losing hope. In an interview his mom ella said one of the american qualities that we absorbed is to be optimistic. Thats where we stand right now. To 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 him home. We keep the faith. We also keep the faith for austin, austin tice. His mom deborah is here tonight. She knows from the conversations with 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 a 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 austin showing the world the cost of war hes been detained in syria for nearly 11 years. Its simply wrong, outrageous, and we are not seeing our effort to get him, find him, bring him home. Tonight our message is this. Journalism is not a crime. Evan and austin should be released immediately along with every other american held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. Paul whelan unjustly held in russia for more than four years whose brave sister ive 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. And other americans being unjustly held in iran, venezuela, china, and elsewhere their stories may not make headlines or hashtags, but every day every day their family looks at that empty chair at the kitchen table, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays without them, the pain of living in limbo. And the sense is almost worse than the pain of having lost a child and having to look at an empty chair. The stress of not knowing, the sorrow of uncertainty, but i want them and their families to know and we understand we see them. They are not forgotten, and i promise you i am working like hell to get them home. As a nation ill never give up on hope. Things can get better. Things can turn. Things can change. Tonight unlike last year Brittney Griners here with her w wife cherelle. Brittney, where are you . Stand up. I love this woman. [ applause ] love you, brittney. This time last year we were afraid for you, brittney, hoping you know how hard all of us were fighting for your release. Its great to have you home. And, boy, i can hardly wait to see you back on the court, kid. Remember your promise. I get to bring my granddaughter, my all state girl to see you, right . Because of our unrelenting efforts we bring home hostages and wrongful detainees from afghanistan, burma, iran, 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 dete detention as a new risk indicator to travel advisements to go along with the threat of kidnapping, to warn americans where these threats are highest abroad. I also signed an executive order increasing the consequences for criminal groups and terrorists who engage in the fallen practice of treating human beings as bargaining chips, political pawns. Just two days ago my administration announced the first sanctions under this new authority, placing individuals in Security Service in russia and iran when part of the wrongful detention of americans. Above all across Government Experts are working day and night to bring our fellow americans home, much of which as you all know we cant talk about, concerned that it would backfire. But my commitment my commitment is to bring them home just as i know your commitment is to continue to be in a fear 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 at Authority Without fear or intimidation. Thats what makes this nation strong. For the night let us show ourselves and the world our strength not just by the example of our power but by the power of our example. Folks, i know a lots changed in the press. Ive had a lot of conversations with a lot of you. This is not your fathers pressroom from 20 years ago. No, im serious. You all know it better than i do. But still it is absolutely consequential and essential. After all, i believe in the First Amendment, not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it [ laughter ] in a lot of ways this dinner sums up my first two years in office. Ill talk for ten minutes, take zero questions, and cheerfully walk away. Yeah, i know i Just Announced my reelection campaign. Some of you some of you scooped that id announce in the video. But really you all thought it in your hearts that id just blurt it out, didnt you . And, look, i get that age is a completely reasonable issue. Its in everybodys mind. And everyone by everyone i mean the New York Times, headline bidens advanced age the big issue. Trumps, however, is not. So that was the New York Times pitch pot. I apologize. I love that guy. I should do an interview with him. You might think i dont like rupert murdoch. Thats simply not true. How could i dislike a guy that makes me look like harry styles . Call me old. I call it being seasoned. You say im ancient. I say im wise. You say im over the hill. Don lemon would say thats a man in his prime. Folks, its wonderful to be back here again proving i havent learned a damn thing. I want everybody to have fun tonight, but please be safe. If you find yourself disoriented or confused its either youre drunk or Marjorie Taylor greene. Thank you for hosting us. I love npr. Because they whisper into the mic like i do. But not Everybody Loves npr. Elon musk tweeted that it should be defunded. Well, the best way to make npr go away is for elon musk to buy it. And thats more true than you think. Anyway, this dinner is one of the two great traditions in washington. The other one is underestimating me and kamala. Well, the truth is we really have a record to be proud of. Vaccinations, transformed the economy, earned historic ledge lacet victories in midterm results. But the job isnt finished. I mean it is finished for Tucker Carlson. What are you oohing about like that . Like you think thats not reasonable . Give me a break. Give me a break. Look, i often say dont compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative. We added a 12 million jobs and ron desantis i had a lot of ron desantis jokes ready but mickey mouse beat the hell out of me and got there first. Look, cant be too rough on the guy. After his reelection as governor he was asked if he had a mandate. He said, hell, no, im straight. Im straight. Ill give you time to think that one through. You got it . Look, yall, keep reporting my Approval Rating is 42 , but i think you dont know this. Kevin mccarthy called me and asked me, joe, what the hells your secret. Ive got to me kidding about that one. The speaker is trying to claim a big win 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 owned by nbc universal. Fox news owned by dominion voting systems. Last year your favorite fox News Reporters were 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, hell, id call fox honest, fair and truthful but then i could be sued for defamation. It aint nothing compared to 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 they read. But then again cnn was like, wow, they actually have 787 million . Whoa. Folks, i go where people are, the daily show. Roy is a great guy. He once dubbed me the jayz of delaware. Dont let that look in your face. You did. Tonight he asked me to keep it short, even offered me 10 if i keep it under 10 minutes. Thats a switch, a president being offered hush money. Look, im going to leave the jokes to the pros, but let me conclude on a generally serious note roy was born in birmingham, alabama. He graduated from a great hbcu, florida a m. He started in journalism and followed in the footsteps of his father who covered the civil rights movement. During black History Month this year i hosted the screening of the movie till. The story of emmitt till and his mother is a story of a promise and loss in the reckoning of hate, violence, and the abuse of power. Its a story seared in our memory and conscience, the nations conscience when mrs. Till insisted that an open casket for her murdered and maimed 14yearold son be the means. She said let the people see what ive seen. The reason the world saw what she saw was because of another hero in this story, the black press. Thats a fact. Newspapers unflinching and brave in making sure america saw what she saw. And i mean it. Ida b. Wells. Ida b. Wells once said and i quote, the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs. Turn the light of truth upon the wrongs. Thats the sacred view in my view, thats a sacred charge of a free press, and i mean that. Thats what someone we still miss so much who we honored posthumously stood for, gwen eiffel. She was among the very best. She moderated my first debate for Vice President and was a trusted voice for millions of americans. Gwen understood the louder the noise, the more its on all of us to cut through the noise to the truth. The truth matters. As i said last year at this dinner, a poison is 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 of conspiracy and palace repeated over and again designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate, and even violence. A cycle that emboldens history to be buried, books to be banned, children and families to be attacked by the state, and the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away, where elected representatives of the people are expelled from statehouses for standing for the people. I made clear that we know in our bones and you know it, too, our democracy remains at risk. Ive also made it clear as ive seen throughout my life 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 always said if you ever make a toast without liquor youve got to hold it in your left hand. Yall think im kidding, im not. Im probably the only irish youve ever met that never drinks in his life. Anyway, id like to make a toast. At this Inflection Point in history lets commit well be a nation that will embrace light over darkness, truth over lies, and finally, finally, finally restore the soul of the nation. Hear hear. Ladies and gentlemen, can i give you that . Im going to turn this over to roy. Roy, the podium is yours. Im going to be fine with your jokes, but im not sure about its all yours, pal. Thank you, mr. President , i think. It is now my great pleasure to introduce our headliner for the night, roy wood jr. He is is a correspondent for the daily show who just had a killer week as guest host. But roy doesnt just play a fake journalist on tv. That degree from florida a m university is in broadcast journalism. And while pursuing comedy roy spent 13 years in morning radio in birmingham, alabama, at the same station where his father a pioneering radio journalist once worked. Without further ado, lets give it up for roy wood jr. Yall, give it up for dark brandon. Thank you. Im happy to be here. Real quick, mr. President , i think you left some of your classified documents up here. Dont give it to him. Ill put them in a safe place. He dont know where to keep them. Happy to be here, though. Happy to be here. Very happy. Very happy to be here. Its a pleasure to be here amongst our countrys greatest leaders, distinguished media organizations, both property brothers, and dr. Fauci. If you see fauci take a picture with him. Thats your new booster shot. But yall look good, though. Ive been watching you, looking around all night, yall look good, dressed nice, got the threads on, got the jewelry glistening. Looks like everybody got a little piece of that settlement money from fox news. And thats all i have to say about that because im not finna have dominion on my ass. Ill just say right now my favorite voting machine is dominion voting machines. When i go to the polls i make sure it is a dominion machine that i use. If your election needs the truth, put dominion in your booth. I aint finna get sued. Theres three people you dont want to see in the courtroom. Thats dominion, cardi b or gwyneth paltrow. Youre going to lose. Id like to thank tamara keith and the White House Correspondents association for having me. Thank you for that. Im well aware that not everybody in this room knows who i am, so lets just address the elephant in the room. I know what it is. Half this room think im keenan thompson, other half thanks im louie armstrong. President biden thinks im the daddy on family matters. Nonetheless, im happy to be here at this event amongst government officials who speak to msnbc, former government officials who now work at msnbc, and future government officials who currently work at msnbc. An often overlooked purpose of tonights dinner, you know, serious business, the overlooked purpose of tonights dinner is award scholarships to students who have shown great achievements in journalism. Thats right. These brave young souls are the future of the industry, and id like to stop right now and congratulate tonights top scholarship recipient, Arizona State senior george santos. Oh, yeah, george couldnt be here tonight. Hes auditioning for ru pauls drag race. Thats my bad. We say good luck to you, george. Sachet away. And also speaking of drag queens can we stop with the grooming stuff . Can you stop talking about that. Drag queens are not at a school to groom your kids. Stop it. And even if they were, most of them kids going to get shot at school. It aint no problem. Dont groan. Pass legislation. Like them boos are going to bother me. Im like mitch mcconnell, i aint got no soul. Its a tumultuous time in the media, though. Weve got layoffs everywhere, buzzfeed news, npr, axios, the Washington Post, espn. Paramount global right now is considering offers from byron oallen and tyler perry to purchase bet. Thats how bad it is out there. These companies are so broke theyre giving bet back to black people, which, by the way, is not what we meant when we said black people wanted reparations. We met cash, you need to give it to us in the Harriet Tubman 20s. But tonight we are all unified under one thing, and thats scandal. Scandals scandals have been devouring careers this year. The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job. Okay. Some people celebrated. But to tuckers staff i want you to know that i know what youre feeling. I work at the daily show so i too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of a host of a fake news program. Tucker got caught up, got caught up like that dude from vanderpump rules. 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 that one. Weve got to get tucker back on the air, mr. President , because right now theres millions of americans that dont even know why they hate you. Fox claimed dominion conspired with the democrats to rig the election, and the democrats should be flattered that they thought that yall was smart enough to rig an election. Warnock needed a runoff to be the werewolf. But its not over for you, fox news. You still got more bad news coming down the pipe. That smartmatic voting machine lawsuit is coming. Thats right, smartmatic is coming for you and they want more money than dominion. As a matter of fact, let me just say it right now. My favorite voting machine is the smartmatic voting machine. No election needs the truth with smartmatic in your booth. But i think its fair 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 shattered the [ bleep ] creel. Speaking of don lemon is out of a job. Don lemon, my dog don lemon. Don lemon released a statement saying he got fired from cnn, then cnn released a statement saying they offered 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 deserved more, cnn. That aint how you fire somebody. Its 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 obnoxious guy in the history of cnn. Thats not fair. Even Jeffrey Toobin looking at don lemon like, ooh, he rubbed me the wrong way. Letting don go was the wrong move. You shouldnt have let him go, not this soon, cnn. First off don was fine when you was letting him drink. You shouldnt have lcut hif his liquor. You dont fire your host after the first couple of scandals. Let the scandals stack up. Yes, don lemon was a diva and he said a couple of women were ragied ir ragdy in the face, but thats a promotion at fox news. But i ultimately understand why cnn did what they did. I get it, its about morals. There should be no place onair for someone who speaks with wild disregard and doesnt consider the blow back to their coworkers and their company. Thankfully cnn is taking steps in the right direction. We got rid of don lemon, and theyve now given the show to Charles Barkley. To Charles Barkleys cohost gayle king, we say good luck. The whole show is going to be Charles Barkley saying something crazy and then gayle king looking into the camera, charles, charles. Scandals. Thats what connects us. So many scandals. The king of scandals, president donald trump. And just for a moment can we just all acknowledge can we just be honest and just say that the trump arrest didnt hit like we thought it was going to hit . Were so descentatized to scandals now that trump arrest didnt do what i thought it was going to do. The trump arrest was like a pot brownie you ate four hours ago and youre like, hmm, do i feel justice . This dont feel like justice. Let me try one of those georgia arraignment brownies, maybe that will hit me. Okay, thats got some kick to it. Cant follow trump scandals. Theres too many trump scandals to keep up with. Keeping up with trump scandals is like watching star wars movies. Youve got to watch the third one to understand the first one, and you cant miss the second one because its got easter eggs from the fifth one. Donald trump is the only politician whose scandals got spit on by disney plus. But the trump arrest made everyone question what they believe. You thought you leaned one way politically and then trump got locked up and everyone started waffling, put republicans between a rock and a hard place. For years, all yall been saying for years we got to get tough on crime. Trump got arrested, we meant black crime. Same thing with the liberals, too. Liberals was all confused after trump got arrested. Weve got to abolish prison. Trump got arrested, bring back rikers. I dont know about yall but for me the easiest scandal to follow was the trump document scandal. That was the one easy to follow. It was simple. Theres some stuff supposed to be in the white house that aint. And the media, yall did yalls job. Yall jumped on that story. As soon as the trump documents story broke everybody was down to maralago, were reporting live from the documents were going to find them. And then we found out joe biden had documents, too, and it was like, oment, its not a big deal. Everybody got documents. Mike pence had some documents. We cant care about ooh, look, a chinese spy balloon. Would you look at that . Ooh. Welldone, media. Happy to be here. Very happy to be here. If theres one person that could use a scandal its ron desantis. That boys just running around just passing every controversial law he can think of thinking thats going to activate voters. Thats not how you activate voters in this country, ron. Everybody know how you do politics. This 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 ive got to give him credit for, this boy done got people riled up over stuff they cant understand. They dont know what Critical Race Theory is. Got these people riled up about something that they cant even define like crypto or nft try to explain crt, they sound like a democrat trying to excha explain the charges against trump. Its bad everywhere. We have to stop it. We got the files. We got files. Well be right back, im rachel maddow, i have files. Rachel get them files on you, thats a wrap. I think republicans, yall would be surprised, man, if you yall would just be real about what crt is, you would be surprised, some flak folks might meet you halfway. You have to tell the truth. You cant lie to black people. Call it what it is. Anticrt policies are an attack on black history and an attempt to erase the contributions 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 Thomas. Billionaire named harlan crowe flying Clarence Thomas all over the world on unreported trips like an insta ggram model. Paid for his mommas house. Paid for his mommas house. I have to give it up to billionaires. Billionaires, yall are relentless. Yall always come up with something new to buy. Like just when you think of everything you could buy on earth, billionaire will come up with a new thing. Space rockets, you bought twitter. This man bought a Supreme Court justice. Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a Supreme Court a black one, on top of that theres only two in stock. And he owns half the inventory. We can all see Clarence Thomas, but he belongs to billionaire harlan crowe. And thats what an nft is. Everybodys got some scandals, though. Despite the challenging times we live in, i look around this room and i see people that are hardworking. 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 rioted because they didnt want to work until 64. Meanwhile, in america, we have an 80yearold man begging us for four more years of work. Beg begging. Begging. Let me finish the job. Thats not a campaign slogan, thats a plea. Please let me finish it, let me finish it. I do i do wish you the best of luck on the campaign trail, mr. President. A lot of things youre going to have to navigate. A lot of hurdles. Youve had quite a few scandals. We know about the documents, we know about the laptops. But theres been no scandal more damaging than the scandal of, is joe biden awake . Say what you want about our president , but when you wake up from that nap, work gets done. He might doze off, but oh, in infrastructure bill. Oh, student loan forgiveness. Oh, did we free Brittney Griner . Free Brittney Griner. But i think the most insulting scandal to fall to the feet of the Biden Administration was placed at the feet of our madame Vice President. The scandal of, what does kamala do . Which is a disrespectful question. Because nobody ever asks that question of the Vice President until a woman got the job. Nobody asked. I dont know what mike pence did. The only thing i know about mike pence is that hes really good at playing hide and seek at the c capitol. You got to be crafty to catch mike pence in that capitol. He know all the nooks and crannies. Dont put the camera on her on a mike pence joke. Dont do that. Dont be they trying to set you up. You see what they doing . At the end of the day, as a Vice President , the only thing you got to do is just be better than dick cheney. Thats the bar. Just be better than dick cheney. They made a documentary about dick cheney. Now, i dont know much about the job of Vice President , but i do know if they can make a documentary about your time as Vice President , you Vice President ed incorrectly. And if a vps job is really just waiting to step 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 they going to do is just give a man credit for it. Anything you do, oh, immigration stuff you knocked out, the banking, the internet, taking care of all this postpor tum stuff, they just going to give a man credit. By the way, mr. President , by the way, great job after being the first woman Vice President. 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 of free speech. The people who show truth to the world through different mediums, through television, through print, through radio, through whatever china let us see on tiktok. But the industry that covers all of these scandals isnt immune to them themselves. The issue with good media is that most people cant afford that. All the essential fair and nuanced reporting is all stuck behind a pay wall. People cant afford rent, people cant afford food, not healthy food, they cant afford an education, they damn sure cant afford to pay for the truth. Say what you want about a conspiracy theory, its affordable. Unless you alex jones, it cost you about 90 0 million. And i kuns that we have to put the stuff behind the pay wall, because creating the truth is important. People cant afford the truth. But you all cant afford to go find the truth for free. The work you do as journalists is important, its essential, its dangerous. My father was a reporter on the front lines with black platoons in vietnam, he was in the south african riots, he covered that. The civil war in roe diez ya, which we know today as sib bab way. Me father came back home and cofounded the National Black network, because he wanted to tell black stories. American urban Radio Network 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, you know, black daddies love telling you when something was difficult. They were shooting at me, boy, but i never dropped my tape recorder. My daddy tell war stories like brian williams. Lester holt didnt laugh at that one, okay. Good journalism costs, thats the truth of the matter. Good journalism cost the people, but it also costs the journalists. We talked about evan of the Wall Street Journal sitting in a russian prison. Espionage charges, that, by the way, is the way of saying he fits the description. We have to defend brave journalists. Most National Stories in this country at some point were first a local story. And those stories are championed by reporters at outlets that many of them have now folded, and if we cant figure out a way how to pay local reporters, then as a country, we are left with that many more blind spots to where the bull is happening. You hear about all these newsrooms getting cuts, thats every article that ive been seeing the last two months, the n newsroom is getting cut, cutting people, cutting budgets, but you never hear about the multimillion dollar executives reducing their salaries within these organizations. Now, how do we fix this . I dont know, im a comedian, i was just up here its not my job to have the solution, thats on yall. But local reporting, its very important. My mother is here tonight. And i know shes furious right now, because im trying to put her on camera, but my mother was among a black student protesters fighting for equality in the 60s at delta state university. And that was a dangerous time. But those types of incidents were covered by local reporters and some of the shame that came from the National Embarrassment of treating people inhumanely is part of the pressure that helped to create that type of change. What would have become of my mother and those other protesters if a local journalist wasnt there telling the story . And now its no different. But thankfully, my mothers story was told. She got to complete her degree and continued to florida a and m and got another degree and then for the last 45 years has worked at an historically black college as an educator and administrator, and one of those many black colleges need a little bit more money. You got a 20 on you, joe . 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 have the opportunity to see a College Degree and to see an opportunity to grow, you know . [ applause ] 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 ever repay my mom for what shes done for me and what shes done for so many people in alabama, but just know, momma, if a white billionaire off er to buy your house, please sell it, because i might want to become an nft. Thank you so much to the correspondents association. Thank you so much, good night. [ applause ] thank you, roy. Thank you mr. President. Thanks, again, to our executive producer bob bane and his excellent team. Thank you to the washington hilton, thank 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 Cone dessert, off the stage. My the force be with you, kelly, when you take over this job. And everyone here, please remain in your seats until the president , the Vice President , the first lady and second gentlemen have departed. Good night, everyone, thank you. This has been the white house Correspondents Dinner. You saw comedian roy wood jr. Standing right there and President Biden, right behind him with an impassioned defense of journalism. President biden pointed out, he said, journalism is not a crime, and talking about evan in detention in russia. Roy wood jr. With this striate dent defense of local journalism around the country. And from both of them, relentless jokes many, many jokes at our expense. Were here to be the punching bags. It was fun to see that all play out and what is so unique about this, of course, is that youre sitting right next to the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world and you are roasting them and we are allowed to do that in this country and that is a great thing. Very first world world words wood jr. s mouth, mr. President , you left your documents here. Were seeing everybody walking out, and i keep thinking about the crush of cars around the washington hilton right now and what a traffic jam thats going to be as they get the motorcade through the city. But again, just a night, to your point, with the through line here, just the defense oif journalism, getting evan, austin, back home, talked about brit taney griner a lot. And then just getting a lot of those jokes in. Our panel was watching right along with us. Everyone laughed at least once over the course of this. Al ann dra, what did you think . On the whole, there were fewer jokes and just genuine serious talk about the state of journalism and the need for local journalism, which i guess almost is sort of a state of journalism referendum, everything seems pretty dire, we better remind people this is important. We cant make too many jokes, because everyone is losing their jobs and we need to figure out a model that will allow us to keep livelihoods. But i thought the jokes were great. I loved, like, Vice President ed in such a way theres a documentary about you, youve done it wrong. You Vice President ed wrong. Lz . You know, i love the fact that he not only took time to defend local journalism, which is dear to my heart, i started off at a local newspaper reporter and was a local newspaper reporter for many years, but he defended his mother and talked about his mother, and i it reminded me, not to be cynical about this whole thing, right, because were here, we do it all the time, were like, yeah, yeah, but to a lot of people in that room, being there means a lot. And to roy wood jr. , it meant a lot. And it meant a lot for him to be able to be in a position to be with his mother. What an incredible moment for a comedian, for a man, for a black man in america. Thats the thing i remember most is how much he decided, im going to take this time, shine it away from myself and my moment, and thank my momma. It was awesome. I appreciated the ode to local journalism, as well, and the importance of getting the first draft of history right, or as right as we possibly can. I thought that was really important. But one thing i wanted to talk about was bidens remarks. I actually thought he did a great job, you know, there was a lot of endearing selfdeprecation there he did two minutes of age jokes. Like i said, before the when we were pregaming, i thought that that was going to be part of the focus here is to kind of undercut that attack and i thought it was a pretty effective counterpunch, whatever you want to call it. I thought he was pretty endearing, and he did a great job. And, you know, some jokes at our expense, our colleagues expense it happens. It happens. I thought biden did great. I thought roy did amazing. I know youre like, surprise i would like to hear about how great biden was. Please, keep going. What i thought was most interesting in both of their sets, they called out hypocrisy on both sides, and how we talk about bidens age, but not trumps age, how we sometimes say women are past their prime, but men are hitting their prime at certain ages. He didnt pull punches neither one of them did, and i appreciated that. And i think for the american public, its why theyd disgusted with politics, because its like, wait a minute. You have this stance on policy when its going in your favor, but when its not, you want to flip it. And so people can read through the bs, they are sick of it, and i mean, i found it refreshing to call it out on both sides. Democrat, republican, press, you know, elected officials. I thought it was good. I thought the best jokes were the dominion jokes. Oh they were great. And went back to it with smart i thought that was a pretty funny rip. On biden, the line that will stick with me is, in a lot of ways, this dinner sums up my first two years in office, ill talk for ten minutes, take zero questions, and walk away. He wasnt laughing with you, he was laughing at you. I mean, the reality is, i think hes mocking the press. The guy does not take questions, hes up there joking about it. And i just and theyre clapping and laughing about it and i i dont know. I think he owes im proreporter, and i think the president of the United States ought to have to talk to these reporters and not mock them. How did it compare to the speeches that donald trump gave at the Correspondents Dinner . Trick question. He didnt give them. He didnt show. Because he doesnt respect reporters. And thats the hypocrisy. He did take their questions. Does take their questions. Well, he demonized the entire profession. Im not saying he didnt. So, its like, you know, sure, have your critique of joe biden, but i would take his stance on the press and freedom of speech over donald trump any day. I mean, he wouldnt even tgo to the dinner. I would say my objection to trumps treatment to the press is not whether he went to this black tie event, its more like calling us the enemy of the people. Right. Thats, i think and feeding a lie that a whole network followed that now has to pay the best voting machine apparently in the world or the secondbest. Or smartmatic. That was pretty good. I think the other thing that i would take away from this is the paradigm shift that needs to happen when it comes to age. You know, as many people know, i also worked at espn for a long time, i covered sports and last week we had a young man call lebron james old. Right. And while he is old as far as an nba player, he took exception to it. And beat that, you know, that mans ass. And it think when it comes to age in this country, considering that were getting older, that were living longer, were going to have to change our attitudes about age, as well, because just because you hit a number doesnt mean youre at a certain point in terms of your capacity to give back to the community and to society. And i think watching joe biden just be old makes us uncomfortable, and we assume because were uncomfortable hes incapable. Those are two separate tracks, and i think this campaign is going to force us as a nation to reconsider culturally how we talk about age, because every metric that ive seen suggests were only getting older as a nation. Roy wood jr. , it was interesting, because there was, again, that riff about, he joked about joe biden napping, right . So, hes making an age joke there, but then flipped it around and said, when he was waking up from the nap, that he was getting things done, and then on stage there, joe biden was laughing at that, i mean, there was a cutaway of joe biden laughing. Objectively, he has been on the planet as long as hes been on it. Theres so sort of, oh, im going to shave off a few years. And i have to say, as a person who will some day be old and has nothing be massive respect for people who are old, i do wish that more of the People Holding the levers of power were not, like, also leaning heavily on the levers of power in order to stand upright. I do im going to get there and im sorry, but i i do think he also the whole, like, hes begging for a job at age 80 was another joke about his age, especially compared to in france, when you can apparently retire at 64 why am i not in france . Well, i think to your point that, like, its going to be an issue about age is also going to be an issue about gender, because he directly called the thing about, well, what is kamala doing . Well, what is any other Vice President doing . I fundamentally believe that the way the Vice President has been treated is because she is a woman is because she is a black woman. I also appreciate, though, joe biden was intentional in calling out black women in his speech, and i dont think that that was by accident. He knows black women are his base. He knows he cannot lose that important part of his coalition. And we when we hear us being identified, we appreciate it, and i think that was smart tonight. And it wasnt hyperbole, either. Its true. There were though lies detected. You may be uncomfortable with it, but its the reality of the Democratic Party that black women have long been the backbone, and when you go there particularly when you look at what happened in georgia, its really hard to argue with what President Biden was talking about. Its interesting, too, because his age is directly connected to Vice President harris in that. I think we can all expect that because his age is going to be so central to this, that republicans are going to zero in on, well, hes very old, and if anything happens to him, this is your president. And we can expect to see more attacks on her and theyre really going to make that, i think, very central to their argument. Voters have zeros in on it. I mean, shes had a pretty rough couple of years, so rough, in fact, there was reporting this week that people in the white house were ordering other people in the white house to rehab her image and rebrand her before this didnt they do the same thing with w. When h. W. When it came to dan quail . Every four years, theres occasionally some secondguessing about whether or if the sitting Vice President will be on the ticket again and then they always you know, things are leaked and then its always decided, oh, no, its too risky to change it. That video, the announcement video makes clear theyre not changing a thing. Shes all over that. I just want to say on the age thing for just one second here, it was front and Center Tonight in the jokes, and on the stage, and it is something thats an issue in the campaign, and im just curious if the way President Biden handled it tonight, if you all think it will be an effective way for him to handle it when hes not giving a comedy address . I believe that the things that will remind americans of his age are moments in which hes speaking from the top of his head, where he has to be quick, when hes moving, going to remind them of the older people in their lives. And that may or may not lend itself to safety, but i think that would be the natural corre correlation. Americans are living longer, so, we have joe bidens in our own home. It depends on who hes running against. If the republicans nominate trump, who is also old theyre both up there, if republicans nominate somebody much, much younger, then it becomes exacerbated. The Senior Moments versus somebody who looks a lot more vigorous. Its a one thing a politician cant lie about. They can lie about everything else, and they will, but in this case, it will be on full display. Also because in the last campaign, he never had to come out of the basement. This one, im not sure he can get away with it. So, youre going to see more of him, and however we compare it to whatever the republican nominee is, i think will drive i just have to say, joe biden has been president now for two years, he just had a state visit with south korea, hes been to kyiv, he went to ireland, its not like this man has not had a rigorous schedule and has not been he has one of the most successful legislative agendas for a democrat or republican. He is proving that he is up to the job in terms of his age. Now, granted, you get older every year, but so do we all. I think that, sure, if he runs against trump, it becomes less of an issue. To your question, though, john, i do think you cant run from it and i appreciate that that was not what was done tonight. It is what it is. Like, if your age is the worst thing you have going for you, i think you, like, can run a pretty good campaign, especially if day in and day out for the next two years of his administration he continues to get things done. It kind of becomes a moot point. The thing that concerns me more about 2024 isnt the age of a candidate, its the age were living in. Artificial intelligence and the conversations and the language and the vocabulary of Technology Today is moving extremely fast. And i dont necessarily need the president of the United States or the Vice President of the United States to be able to articulate the inthere ka sis of artificial intelligence, but i need to trust that theyll be able to identify the individuals who are going to be able to make sure the administration is prepared for the new wave of technology. So it becomes a question of, do you trust the decisionmaking of this person regardless of their age for the age that were in. I think it was a very deliberate joke, it was kind of a throwaway joke, but i think it was deliberate joke to have that dark brandon meme moment, to show shes plugged in. Granted, its not as complex an issue as a. I. There was not chatgpt reference in there, but i do think that that was part of, like, showing that hes, you know, hes he understands some part of kucurrt part of tectechnilogical cultur i dont need you to be the king of technology, just know how to anoint people to be able to make sure were ushering it in responsible. And its just that hes in on the joke. All right, stay with us. Theyre not going anywhere. Were not going anywhere. You dont go anywhere. Our coverage continues, were going to get insight from three people who were in the room tonight. How to grow more vibrant flowers step one feed them with miraclegro shake n feed. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to knknow to grow. How to grow delicious herbs step one use miraclegro potting mix. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. And this is ready to go online. Any questions . Yeah, i got one. How about the best network imaginable . Lets invent that. Thats what we do here. Quick survey. Who wants the internet to work, pretty much everywhere. And it needs to smooth, like super, super, super, super smooth. Hey, should you be drinking that . Its decaf. Because were busy women. We dont have time for lag or buffering. Who doesnt want internet that helps a. I. Do your homework even faster. Come again. Sorry, what was that . Introducing the next generation 10g network only from xfinity. The future starts now. Brittney griner sitting with her wife. Brittney, where are you, kid . Stand up, come on. I love this woman. [ applause ] love you, brittney. This time last year, we were praying for you, brittney, hoping you knew hard we were all fighting for your release. Its great to have you home. And boy, i can hardly wait to see you back on the court, kid. Remember your promise, i get to bring my granddaughter, my allstate girl to see you, right . All right, President Biden there, obviously talking about Brittney Griner, who was in the room with her wife. By the way, a moment in and of itself when you have a president of the United States acknowledging, as if its nothing, which, again, were 2023, so, perhaps it is nothing, a woman and her wife together in the audience, but then noting, Brittney Griner, home after being in detention in russia. And it is such a remarkable and he said, a year ago, you were in a jail cell in russia, and now, tonight, youre here, and it is such a remarkable turn of events and to have her in the room, you know, what were your thoughts . I looked and wondered, why did she decide to cut her locs off . Its an important conversation, because as someone with locs, i know its a spiritual journey. And when i cut mine, that means theres a different point of my life that im reentering. So, im wondering, did she cut them for part of her healing . She wanted to let that part go, if the energy and the spiritual hements are in her hair and she wanted to cut it off . Shes going to grow new hair, where is she in that journey . Locs are not for everyone, but because ive talked to her over the years, i know they are important to her, so, im curious to see in her healing, you know, what does this process mean for you now . What are you symbolizing . Are you suggesting that you are now past this . Are you saying youre in some sort of limbo and you are still waiting for the other, like, emotional shoe to drop . Im shes in my prayers, ill put it this way, because its really hard, i would assume, to move on from Something Like that, and the cutting of the locs to me, when i saw that, i was like thats a significant change for her. Deep trauma. I actually know, if you care. Yes, i do. The reporting that i have read is that when she was in russia, it was so cold and her hair would, you know, locs take a long time to dry, and so it was a form of function for health actually, because she wasnt able to cover her hair, so, it was almost like selfcare for her herself, because of her being detained. I thought she arrived and she still had her locs, no . No, not to my that wasnt the videos that i saw, i looked like she still were being told she cut them when she arrived. But maybe they were the point is, its a reminder she was in a russian prison for a long time and she was at the white house Correspondents Dinner tonight. It was a heck of a journey. And you had an interesting point, when we were in a break, you said, the fact that shes out and about and talking about it and telling that story over and over again, perhaps that is a good signal for healing. I would think so, right . You dont want to be reminded of trauma unless you are prepared to handle that trauma. Not to keep harping on the hair thing, but again, im just when i say the visual, and that shes there, i think shes emerging as something different. And im just curious to see what this new person will be and what it will have to offer beyond just basketball. It is is it not striking that, here we are, its 2023 and youve got the most powerful, most of the most powerful people in the United States in this one room exception for us. Except for us. They forgot us. Theyre all in this room, were talking about journalists who are imprisoned, Brittney Griner, different situation, but si similarly imprisoned in russia, and that thats still happening, that, you know, when evan was put in prison, it was the first time they had done that since the cold war. And it does signal i dont know, im curious what you all think. Does it signal that were in kind of a different era . Yes. I mean dealing with the russian regime look at the chain of events. We im very glad Brittney Griner is here. We had to trade an arms dealer called the merchant of death to get her home. We did that. Then they go and take evan hostage. Right. Weve done nothing on seen nothing response on whelan. We have her home, thats good. Now we have an arms dealer on the loose and evan, who i dont know whats going to happen to him. I dont know whats going to happen to paul. I think the reality is that the record for biden here is the jury is still out on whether all this was handled, because the way theyre dealing with our people and our journalists, and its awful. Its terrible. Can you imagine having to wake up every day, wondering what news, if any . And if the news will be good or bad. Can i ask you, scott, dont you feel just as an american, an american to an american, looking at our american president speaking to the parents that are and the family that are in that room, that his administration is committed to bringing them home . I mean, i at some point, i just feel like forgetting about politics, its like i think he understands the weight of that. Hes met with their families. And they are doing what they can do. And it just hasnt happened. But it i mean, i believe him when he says we will not stop fighting for you. And if we dont believe that, like, what can we believe, to bring innocent people home from unjust detaindetainment . I believe he would love for all these people to come home. I think were dealing with a madman. I think were dealing with a terrible government that wants only bad things for the United States. And they only want to embarrass us and they want to make our people prisoners for the purpose of hurting them, hurting their families, and embarrassing the United States. And dealing with that there may not be any answers, but im just saying, at this moment, i dont feel like were in a great place on how to deal with the russians. Because its obvious what they are willing to do. Bottom line, its a dangerous time to be a reporter anywhere in the world. Exactly right. Including in the United States. Including in the United States. There have been a number of journalists killed just doing their jobs in the United States recently, as well. Or threatened. And again, huge props to the journalists who are overseas in war zones and brave enough to go to russia with the restrictions and the threats that are there. No doubt. Stay with us, everyone. Were going to go to the red carpet to get some reaction from people who were inside the room when we come back. Lactaid is 100 real milk, just without the lactose. Tastes great in our iced coffees too. Which makes waking up at 5 a. M. Toto milk the cows a littttle easier. moooo mabel says for you, its more like 5 15. Man mom, really . Come seek the royal caribbean. Great estimations interesting piece. Let me bring in my expert. Mmm. So many scratches. Oh those are from my car keys. Such a rich history. Yeah. 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Their path isnt for the casually curious. And thats what makes it matter the most when they find it. The exact thing that can change the world. Some say its what they were born to do. Its what they live to do. Trinet serves small and medium sized businesses. So they can do more of what matters. Benefits. Payroll. Compliance. Trinet. People matter. Real quick, mr. President , i think you left some of your classified documents up here, you can get them but to tuckers staff, i want you to know that i know what youre feeling. I work at the daily show, so, i too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of a fake news program. Despite the challenging times we live in, i look around this room and i see people 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 rioted because they didnt want to work until 64. Meanwhile, in america, we have an 80yearold man begging us for four more years of work. That was inside the room of the white house Correspondents Dinner, so, lets go to the red carpet, harry enten is there with sara sidner what did you think . We watched on tv, how did the jokes land in the room . I was in the room where it happened, i want to note that for my mother. And we all were on the floor most of i mean, laughing. It was funny. And whoever put together joe bidens speech, he killed it. Like, it was it was funny. And he had plenty of digs for plenty of us, and roy was on fire. I mean, it was it was fun. It was well meaning. We all got our digs in, they got their digs in on us, we got our digs in back. What did you think . I thought it was fantastic. People were having a good time. Yeah, i thought roy did a really great job. Now, i got to point out that the president did shout out npr, and he said he loved npr. Because we whisper in the mike just like he does, which is pretty awesome. Roy did an amazing job. I spent some time with roy a few weeks ago at daily show to ask him what he was going to do here, and he said he was going to be tough but funny. And he delivered on both. His predecessor, trevor noah, set the bar pretty high. Roy, i think, leaped over it, with a set that wasnt just funny, but was also serious when i needed to be, talking about the power of journalism to move forward the Civil Rights Struggle and the need to stand up for journalists who have being treated as criminals, just for doing their job. He got that message in, but he was also able to deliver Tucker Carlson jokes and make us all laugh a little bit about the absurdity of things that we face in the media space. It was wonderful. I wasnt actually allowed in the room, they kept me out here, locked and chained, but i would i would just say that, you know, ive known roy for awhile, you know, i hang out at the comedy cellar in new york, and to watch roys career just sort of accelerate so fast, it really was amazing to sort of see and, like, oh, my god and hes the nicest guy in the world. And supportive of other comics. Hes a mentor to comics that are coming up. We saw a star born here in a way, even though roys been on the daily show for awhile, hes don comedy specials, he stepped up in a way that i think people are really going to notice in the wake of this. And he also talked about, in all seriousness, he talked about coming from a journalist background and the struggles that he watched his parents have during the civil rights movement. And their role in that movement. And the fact that local journalism was so important. It was essential and still is. And so, he really hit some strong points. I feel like were talking about this like its a football game. I just had that feeling. Where is our telestrator . I know. But he had some incredibly strong and poignant points, but then he did it with such flare and such comedy, and the timing on every single joke, he nailed it. One of the things that he pointed out is that, of course, the Media Industry is going through a lot now. Weve had a lot of layoffs, a lot of people have lost jobs. Its a dark time sometimes to face the media space these days, and we needed a chance to laugh and we also needed a chance to sort of salute and pay tribute to people who have done great work, and thats whats so important about a night like tonight. The laughs are important and those are great, but it is also important to remember what this work means. And people who have paid some of the ultimate prices to do it. And sara, i know you know about this, too, you know to hear about people who are imprisoned, simply for doing their jobs, to hear about people who have been hurt or been criticized for being the enemy of the people, i mean, i thought it was important that the president stood up and one of his first words was, you are not the enemy of the people. And, you know, we needed to hear that. And so, you know, it may sound a little bit like a cheering section for the press, but at a time when theres so many layoffs and theres so much talk about advertising cutbacks, its good to hear that people value what we do, and its a good rallying cry for us to kind of pull together and move forward. And look, we would be remiss if we did not mention evan, and also austin tice exactly. Evan has been imprisoned by the russian authorities for literally simply doing his job. And, you know, you have to and austin tice has been in syria, has been taken for many, many years now, it is essential that we stand up for these journalists, because they are just trying to do their jobs. Just trying to do their jobs, and, you know, im going to make this turn here, let me just say, ive enjoyed every minute of my job this evening, and john, jessica, toss it back to you. You guys did a great job. Its been a blast meeting all these great people. Thank you for bringing me up at the last second. Thank you. So much fun. Guys . Harry, this was really a nice fit for you, i got to tell you. I feel like you really just took to it. I should note, harry i took to it i think he should host next year. Oh, god. No, no, i think this is a nice little thing, its a little bit different than the magic wall, but its all good for me. Harry, you are magic no matter where you are. Eric, thank you very much, sara, ill see new the morning pretty soon. You guys were all great. And harry, for a long time, used to get his mail, no joke, he used to get his mail at the comedy store. I looked at you when you said that. Thats a whole story for another time. We do have a highlight reel for harrys big night on the red carpet, after the break. Oh, my god. Your accent makes my accept look so crummy by comparison. What are folks 60 and older up to these days . Getting inspired volunteering playing pickleba. our ancestors had power, our ancestors had hope and our ancestors had ambition. Born in 1847, formally enslaved, started buying land, was in the house of representatives. We didnt know our family was part of black reconstruction. Exactly. Okay, seriously. Finding out this family history, these things become anchors for your soul. Dry skin is sensitive skin, too. And its natural. Treat it that way. Aveeno® daily moisture with prebiotic oat is proven to moisturize dry skin all day. Youll love our formula for face, too. Aveeno® this is frank. He runs a sustainable camping supply business. Hes smiling because fedex is growing its fleet of electric vehicles. And these, are the camper scouts. Earning their eco badge. Theyre sharing this news to their global scout community. Which, unexpectedly, has made frank quite popular. So its a good thing frank uses fedex to help him expand his reach and make earth a priority. Fedex. Where now meets next. So, we just spoke with harry enten, who has been working the red carpet all night for us. Truly working it. Really working it. Talking to all the big stars coming in and out of the white house Correspondents Dinner. We wanted to show you some of the truly magic moments. I just have one question for you, obviously, youre the comedian of the evening, but if you were not, would you actually be watching this event . Youre the data guy. I am. You know who i am . And i know who you are. Going up against monday night football, all right, ill check back in on it later. Thats a great question. I have no idea what im doing here. They call this the nerd prom. How does this compare to your actual prom back in the day . Well, i dont have to date to either one. Well, i was a nerd, so, this feels right to me. Your accent makes my accent look so crummy, and people always say i have this thick new york accent, but nothing compared to yours. Who can make this up . I dont think anyone can make it up. Oh, look, theres Phil Mattingly. I wonder if hell tell us tales from his baseball days. You know who i would love to see do this event . Chris rock. If will smith is not here, it will be okay. You said it, not me. Do you suggest he gets for dinner, if hes looking for Something Interesting to eat in arkansas . Well, of course, you know, the barbecue cant be beat there. You stand then, you stand now, when the heck do you ever sit down, ill start on this end. Its sort of a foodie paradise, so, youll find a lot of different options. And some incredible tacos, mexican food. Im harry. Harry, im tim. Yeah, i know you, because i watched your show wings. You must have been 4 years old. I was on an episode of wings. Were you . I played this tall girl at a singles dance and i started crying because im too tall. Youre not too tall for me. Oh, never. All three of us wear heels, actually. Thats a little known secret of this team. Whatever you want to wear is all right by me. Can you believe they allowed me to do this . Im just standing here, going to myself, who am i . I dont really know the answer to that question. Someone thought it wise for me to come down here. I was like, sure, what the heck, ill interview some people. Ive met some people. Ive had a few laughs, a few jokes, but at the end of the day, washington wont change me. Ill change washington. I dont think he even knew he was being filmed then. Thats just harry talking to the ether at some point. Hes just venting. He just wanted to get a few things out before he gave up that microphone and that red carpet tonight. But our thanks to harry. He did an excellent job. Got to the bottom of a lot of issues. All right, if you didnt get to catch President Bidens jokes tonight, we have highlights for you when we come back. And shines as bright as she does. The youre always there e for me diamond. The im me because of you diamomond. The youre my inspiration diamond. The diamond that honors every side of her. Diamonds by pandora. Exquisitely beautiful, labcreated diamonds. How to grow more vibrant flowers step one feed them with miraclegro shake n feed. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. How to grow delicious herbs step one use miraclegro potting mix. Thats it. Miraclegro. All you need to know to grow. Paradontax blood when you brush could lead to worse over time. Help stop the clock on gum disease now. Parodontax toothpaste. 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Call the barnes firm now, and find out what your case could be worth. Call one eight hundred, Eight Million President Biden cracked some jokes tonight at the white house Correspondents Dinner. He took jabs at everything from his age to fox news. Watch this. After all i believe in the First Amendment, not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it. In a lot of ways this dinner sums up my first two years in office, talk for ten minutes, take zero questions and cheerfully walk away. Yeah, i know i Just Announced my reelection campaign. Some of you some of you scooped that id announce in the video, but really you all thought in your hearts id just blurt it out, didnt you . And, look, i get that age is completely reasonable issue. Its on everybodys mind. And everyone and by that i mean the New York Times. Headline, bidens advanced age is a big issue, trumps, however, is not. That was was the New York Times pitch pot. I apologize. I love that guy. I should do an interview with him. You might think i dont like rupert murdoch. Thats simply not true. How could i dislike a guy that makes me look like harry styles . Call me old. I call it being seasoned. You say im ancient. I say im wise. Folks, this morning well be back here again proving i havent learned a damn thing. I want everybody to have fun tonight, but please be safe. If you find yourself disoriented or confused its either youre drunk or Marjorie Taylor greene. Tam, thank you for hosting this. I love npr. Because they whisper into the mic like i do. But not Everybody Loves npr. Elon musk tweeted that it should be defunded. Well, the best way to make npr go away is for elon musk to buy it. And thats more true than you think. Anyway, this dinner is one of the two great traditions in washington. The other one is underestimating me and kamala. But the truth is we really have a record to be proud of. Vaccinated the nation, transformed the economy, earned historic legislative victories in midterm results. But the job isnt finished. I mean it is finished for Tucker Carlson. He had some zingers. He did. No, he was loaded for bear as they like to say. No, you heard the president there. Those were the jokes. And talking his age as openly as he was was certainly interesting, more tonight in a comedy routine ive heard him really for the entire presidency. Really talking about it seriously and it really is a way i think they can get at it without him sitting down and do a big interview about it. Hes selfdeprecating about it and acknowledging its a big issue. A great night tonight. This was really fun. We had a good time. And were important to you. One day in that room. Thats going to do it for us. Thanks for watching cnns special coverage of the white house Correspondents Dinner. Have a great night. Mmm. So many scratchehes. Oh those are frorom my car keys. Such a rich history. Yeah. This wont do well at auction. But at at t, its worth a brandnew Samsung Galaxy s23. Wait really . Mmhmm. 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