During the formal event, Biden took playful jabs at his Republican opponent Donald Trump, poking fun at his own advanced age and addressing the Washington press corps.”Yes, age is an issue. I’m a grown man, running against a 6-year-old,” Biden joked. He later added, “Age is the only thing we have in common. My vice president actually endorses me.”
Outside the Washington Hilton, protesters held banners and chanted about journalist deaths in Gaza, urging journalists to boycott the event and confronting administration officials as they arrived. Biden avoided the large protests at the front of the hotel by entering through a back entrance, where smaller groups of protesters called for a ceasefire.
The event, often referred to as Washington’s “nerd prom,” brought together journalists, politicians, and celebrities in a large hotel banquet hall. The president typically delivers a closing speech that takes friendly jabs at reporters and other guests in the audience. Biden offered advice to the press corps, asking them to focus on the seriousness of the moment and the issues at stake, rather than distractions and sensationalized politics.
The grassroots movement CODEPINK marched to the venue, claiming that the U.S. media perpetuates anti-Palestinian narratives and ignores Israeli war crimes. The movement against the war in Gaza has been growing, including protests at a March fundraiser in New York and on college campuses across the US, indicating a growing revolt within the Democratic base that Biden needs to defeat Trump.
Israel’s six-month war against Hamas in Gaza, in response to the militant group’s attack on southern Israel, has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and has caused a humanitarian crisis for the enclave’s over 2 million inhabitants. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people in Israel and led to 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The White House Correspondents Association, founded in 1914, has held a dinner nearly every year since 1921 to celebrate the reporters who cover the presidency and raise money for scholarships.
!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) {
if (!isFBCampaignActive) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
if (f.fbq) return;
n = f.fbq = function() {
n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(…arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);
};
if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;
n.push = n;
n.loaded = !0;
n.version = ‘2.0’;
n.queue = [];
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’, n, t, s);
fbq(‘init’, ‘593671331875494’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
};
function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) {
if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) {
return;
}
var id = document.getElementById(‘toi-plus-google-campaign’);
if (id) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
t.id = ‘toi-plus-google-campaign’;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074’, n, t, s);
};
function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){
const section = window.location.pathname.split(‘/’)[1]
const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === ‘/’ && allowedSurvicateSections.includes(‘homepage’)
if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed){
(function(w) {
var s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.src=”https://survey.survicate.com/workspaces/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21/web_surveys.js”;
s.async = true;
var e = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];
e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e);
})(window);
}
}
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};
var TimesApps = window.TimesApps;
TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) {
var isConfigAvailable = “toiplus_site_settings” in f && “isFBCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings && “isGoogleCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings;
var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime;
if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) {
loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections);
} else {
var JarvisUrl=”https://vsp1jarvispvt.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published”;
window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){
if (config) {
loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(config?.allowedSurvicateSections);
}
})
}
};
})(
window,
document,
‘script’,
);
More News
IMF doubts Pakistan’s ability to repay debts as support team arrives in Islamabad – Times of India
Locks of Beethoven’s hair offer new clues to mystery of his deafness – Times of India
Citing safety, New York moves mentally ill people out of subway – Times of India