President Biden injected a blend of humor and pointed jabs at former President Donald J. Trump, the presumed Republican nominee, during the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday.
With quips like “One candidate’s too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other guy’s me,” Biden, 81, subtly addressed criticisms about his age while highlighting recent gaffes by Trump, 77, such as mistakenly referring to running against a different president in 2024.
“I’m running against the same guy that I beat in 2020, but don’t tell him. He thinks he’s running against Barack Obama. That’s what he said,” Biden remarked.
This marked Biden’s first appearance at the dinner since assuming the presidency, and his presence added a lighthearted touch to the evening’s proceedings.
The Gridiron Club, one of Washington’s oldest journalism associations, hosted the event at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, where politicians and journalists engage in playful roasting through speeches and skits while dressed in formal attire.
While Trump wasn’t the sole target of Biden’s humor, the president didn’t hesitate to swipe at congressional Republicans either.
Biden seized the opportunity to jest about the GOP’s attempts to impeach him and his homeland security secretary, Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
“I heard House Republicans were going to do a skit tonight, but they couldn’t get a speaker,” he quipped, alluding to the challenges Speaker Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy faced during last year’s election processes.
