Biden Shocks Crowd With Brutal Fox News Jokes At WHCD— Then Rails Against ‘Lies For Profit’ In Speech’s Climax
President Joe Biden stunned the WHCD crowd with a brutal set of jokes about Fox News, then lashed out at “lies told for profit” during the climax of his speech.
Saturday night saw the big annual mix of politics and celebrity that the world calls the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, the hashtags call #WHDC, and the cool kids from 2009 call “Nerdprom.”
This year’s event featured headliner and Daily Show star Roy Wood Jr. following the (once again) customary speech by the president.
In addition to pointed jabs at other targets, Biden took some hard shots at Fox News, including an opening salvo at Tucker Carlson that earned stunned groans from the crowd and a rebuke from Biden:
But the truth is, we really have a right to be proud of vaccinated the nation, transform the economy, urge historic legislative victories and midterm results. But the job isn’t finished.
I mean, it is finished for Tucker Carlson. (groans)
What are you “woo”ing about like that? Like you think that’s not reasonable. Give me a break! Just give me a break!
Moments later he trained his fire on Fox News — but with a kicker aimed at CNN:
Look it’s great the Cable News Networks are here tonight. MSNBC, NBCUniversal, 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 they’re here because they couldn’t say no to a free meal and I call Fox honest, fair and truthful, then I can be sued for defamation.
And I never compare what they do to me. Look, I hope the Fox News team finds this funny. My goal is to make them laugh as hard to CNN did what I’ve read the settlement.
But then again, CNN was like wow, they actually have $787 million.
And as his speech wound to a close, the president delivered a thinly-veiled diatribe against “lies told for profit”:
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 its truth. Lies total for profit and power, lies and conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate, and even violence. A cycle that emboldens history to be buried, books to be banned. Shown on the face families be attacked by the state, the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away or elected representatives, the people are expelled from state houses for standing for the people. I made clear that we know in our bones and you know it too our democracy remains at risk. And I’ve also made it clear as I’ve seen throughout my life, it’s within our power each and every one of us to preserve our democracy. We can, we must, we will. I’d like to make a toast if I had the class. My grandfather Ambrose Finnegan, said if you ever make a toast that look you got to hold your left hand.
Don’t think I’m kidding. I’m not. I’m probably the only Irish you ever mentioned never to drink in his life anyway. I like to make a toast seriously. At this inflection point in history, let us commit there will be a nation that will embrace light over darkness, truth over lies and finally, finally, finally restore the soul of the nation here, here.
Watch above via CNN.
