Politics

The 2024 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Meets As Protests Rage Outside

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton.

This dinner was memorable from past years in the huge number of anti-Israeli protesters around the hotel. I was dropped off a couple blocks from the hotel and immediately confronted with protesters with cameras demanding that I denounce Israel. Once guests made it to the security line, they walked next to protesters shouting insults and some tossing fake blood. In other words, it was not that different from my campus so there was a sense of familiarity.

I have attended the dinner in prior years, including when I worked for CBS, NBC, and BBC. I was attending this year with my colleagues at Fox News.

The President did a very good job and delivered some very funny lines: “The New York Times issued a statement blasting me for ‘actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists. Hey, if that’s what it takes to get The New York Times to say I’m active and effective, I’m for it.”

He primarily attacked his opponent, which is not surprising. (“Age is the only thing we have in common. My vice president actually endorses me.”). Some lines surprisingly received applause despite their implied slap at the treatment of the WHC by his administration: “In a lot of ways, this dinner sums up my first two years in office: I’ll talk for 10 minutes, take zero questions and cheerfully walk away.”

CNN political commentator Scott Jennings noted that Biden was “mocking” the press and that “He’s not laughing with you, he’s laughing at you.”

He spoke to “all my friends in the press . . . and Fox News.” It was a funny but poignant line for a press corps repeatedly criticized for being in the bag for the Bidens.

I must confess a certain dismay at having President Joe Biden speaking under a huge banner reading “Celebrating the First Amendment.” As I have written in columns and my forthcoming book, President Biden has proven arguably the most anti-free speech president in our history after John Adams. While that record primarily reflects his support for censorship rather than curtailing the free press, the banner held a degree of bitter irony for some of us in the free speech community.

This year’s host was Colin Jost who also had some very funny moments. I have been to some WHC dinners where the hosts were distinctly unfunny and even painful. Jost had some very good jokes, even as he was poked fun at Fox, New York Post, and conservatives. My favorite WHC dinner remains when Ray Charles appeared.  He proceeded to sing a couple of his signature songs. His voice had become even more gravelly with age and it only made the songs more powerful. The whole room was rocking as was then President Barack Obama.

Yet, Jost brought some good material:

  • “My Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che was going to join me here tonight, but in solidarity with President Biden, I decided to lose all my Black support. Che told me to say that, and I’m just realizing I was set up.”
  • “Doug [Emhoff], as you can tell from all the comments about my wife, I’m also used to being the second gentleman.”
  • “The Washington Post is here. … They were the ones taking your coats at the door. Please be sure to tip.

He also ended with a moving tribute to his grandfather, a firefighter in Staten Island, New York, who passed away in the last year.  It was genuine and moving.

Throughout the remarks, Jost remarked how he could not believe the race was tied despite all of the bad coverage of Trump. However, the open support shown for the President last night is why the one-sided coverage is not having much penetration with many Americans. Many in the public now simply tune out the mainstream media after seeing the bias and reframing of the news, including the continued protection of the President by the media. Indeed, Peter Doocy is viewed by many as one of the few members of the White House Press Corp willing to consistently push the President in damaging stories.

I joined figures like Shannon Breem (who I will see this morning as her guest on Fox Sunday), Jennifer Griffin, Trey Yingst, and others at our table. It was great to see Trey out of his usual flak jacket in a war zone, though the Beltway can be an equally lethal environment. The evening would not be complete without my own embarrassing moments. When Trey and I decided to do a selfie, I showed my usual complete inability to handle the basic functions of life. Here is my selfie that I took of the two of us:

Having spent time under fire and recognizing incompetence under pressure, Trey delicately noted that I did not have a clue how to take a selfie, grabbed my phone, and took this picture:

This is why the closest place that Fox allows me to real combat is the United States Supreme Court.

To make matters even worse, my friend Steve Doocy was there (with, of course, that “other Doocy,”Peter). Steve also had to grab my phone to perform this simplest of tasks:

The fact is that, like Blanche DuBois, I have always depended on the kindness of others to get me through the basic requirements of life. As my children can attest, the idea of my work with modern technology as simple as a cellphone is fraught with danger. This is why I try to stay in the 18th Century for much of my academic work.

It was a fun night, though the walk out of the hotel was another running of the gauntlet with protesters throwing the fake blood and screaming profanities at the journalists and others leaving the event. It was around midnight but many protesters remained (though the numbers were much smaller than the crowd at 6pm).

I happily skipped the after-dinner parties since this was long past when all good law professors should be in bed. Nevertheless, it was a fun evening and I have the non-selfies to prove it.

72 thoughts on “The 2024 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Meets As Protests Rage Outside”

  1. A good argument can be made that Abraham Lincoln was the most anti-free speech President in history. He suspended habeas corpus and imprisoned 15,000 people whose opinions about the war he disagreed with. He also closed down 300 newspapers whose editorial opinions he disagreed with. Granted it was during the civil war and most historians excuse his tyrannical actions as justified, but this country is as polarized now as it was in the 1850s. Can we expect similar tyranny to emerge during the next few presidential terms?

    1. Jackson Pemberton said: “Can we expect similar tyranny to emerge during the next few presidential terms?”

      It appears you have been reading your Tom DiLorenzo. Good for you! We have at least one self-described libertarian who comments here who inexplicably touts Lincoln as one of our best Presidents. To answer your question, imo: >95% probability if Demoncraps retain power nationally; 55 – 65% if Repugnicans regain the Presidency and majorities in both houses of Congress. I’d like to be more optimistic, but I think those probability ranges reflect reality.

    2. Lincoln was a Republican. Of course he had “tyrannical actions “.

  2. Anti-Israel protesters chant ‘F*** Joe Biden’ outside White House correspondents’ dinner
    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/anti-israel-protesters-chant-f-joe-biden-outside-white-house-correspondents-dinner

    “Shame on the hundreds of Terrorist sympathizers and the Hamas lovers outside last nights [White House correspondents’ dinner] that were far from peaceful. There is no place for you or your vitriolic antisemitism in this country. Get the hell out – we don’t tolerate terrorism here.”

    — Caitlyn Jenner

  3. I have asked before, but did not get an answer. In the past, when commenting, there was a field for entering my name. That option disappeared a few months ago. How do I affix my name? Thanks. Steve Brown

  4. The ethical dilemma in opposing all freedom of speech and all freedom of expression is punishing some and not others when none have been harmed. Where do you draw the line and which innocent person gets punished for saying things that are disliked. You can’t say that is always followed by we are going to punish you for saying that. The man who died on the cross is proof enough.

  5. Prof Turley, Pleased for you that you had a brief lighthearted moment.
    I would be grateful for an analysis of how the falsely shouting fire in a crowed theater analogy applies to current protest action–throwing fake blood on you, stopping you in traffic, shutting down a bridge with an ambulance in it. How far does the analogy go?
    WGS in AZ

  6. Mr. Turley, how disappointing was it to sit in a room with so many people just pretending to be ‘journalists’ or ‘reporters’?
    Who not only peddle the lies of the establishment but seemingly actually believe them, too?
    Yes, the ‘first amendment’ banner/hypocrisy does sound sickening. They just keep rubbing it in The People’s face.

  7. Did they mention Julian Assange or the Palestinian journalists targeted by Israel? Guess it would have ruined the self-congratulatory mood.

    1. palestinian ‘journalists’…..and the AP folks who shared an office with hamas

  9. Always enjoy your commentary, Mr. Turley. I think the selfie you took was excellent – a quality example of modern impressionism. How cool to be with Trey Yingst and Jennifer Griffin – two of the best of the best. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  10. White House Correspondent’s Dinner & Hamas Supporters a fitting combination the only thing missing was entertainment by Uncle Bosie and the Cannibals.

  11. “Biden” yukking it up with sycophants while his DOJ attempts to take out his political opponent through lawfare and the country implodes is really not the congenial image Professor Turley attempts to convey. It seems more like the final days before the French Revolution. You all mock us, the little people, the people who actually know how much eggs cost and how much it costs to fill a tank of gas. It’s not cute or charming.

    As Marie Antoinette once said, Let them eat the bugs!

  12. Maybe, if the mainstream media and the WH were truthful about the situation in Gaza and if they didn’t lie so much to cover up the crimes of Netanyahu and his government, there would be no need for these protests. But as it is, Israel is killing people seeking food aid; killing people trying to return to their homes; decimating the health care facilities to prevent health care; killing journalists and doctors … all ignored by the mainstream media. So when the WH “correspondents” meet, after denying and lying to the American people, it’s inevitable that they should face the consequences of their duplicity. And playing the “anti-Semitic” card is now exposed as a distraction from the genocide playing out in real time.

    1. “Israel is killing people . . .”

      Yet again, an easy solution: Hamas surrenders unconditionally. (And returns the citizens it kidnapped.) With, of course, the permission of the theocrats in Iran.

    2. If Hamas was not stealing all the humanitarian aid we keep sending for the civilians in Gaza and Hamas would surrender there would not be a situation in Gaza.

    3. GeoCon, you consider anti-Semitism a distraction. Perhaps that is because you might be one. An anti-Semite frequently talks like you, saying all sorts of things that aren’t true or have been proven false. An anti-Semite provides excuses for Hamas that they would not offer anywhere else in the world. Suddenly, such concerns disappear.

      If you have some facts, show them and discuss facts instead of embarrassing yourself with your anti-Semitism. I don’t know if it was on this site or another where one of your anti-Semitic colleagues showed a group of dead Gazan citizens. Someone then provided another shot of the so-called dead citizens after they thought the cameras were gone. The dead Gazan citizens got up and walked away.

      Your theories about Israelis intentionally destroying hospitals did not bear out. There are videos of Israelis protecting patients while providing generators to keep the hospital going. At the same time, your friends who hide behind skirts were doing everything possible to close the hospital down so they could blame it on the Israelis.

      I understand there are Nazi groups scattered around. Why don’t you join them where you will have some real friends.

  13. Trump didn’t go to any of the correspondents dinners during his term because he couldn’t stand getting mocked.

  14. Colin Jost should have delivered the well deserved tribute to his grandfather first and then exit. Tired of him and SNL.

    1. Agree! When he said we’re six long months away from the election I thought I heard him say we’re six long months away from the end of the monologue.

  15. The protesters share something in common with the WH correspondents – neither understands why they are doing what they are doing. Whether a sycophant or a psychopath, the resulting blindness is the same. Thankfully, a few stalwarts are able to slip behind enemy lines to give us an unbiased report of the evening. Allowing Joe Biden to sit beneath a banner extolling the virtues of the First Amendment is like allowing cannibals that ate 2nd Lt. Ambrose Finnegan, a/k/a Uncle Bosie, to sit under a banner asking, “Where’s the Beef?”

  16. Couldn’t the protesters communicate the same ideas with books, letters, and e-mails? It would
    be less inconvenient and bothersome for others just going about their business.

    1. The Jan 6 protesters could have done the same thing. That way they wouldn’t be in jail. Crazy isn’t it?

  18. I thought all the self-congratulatory claims of the WHC exacting “accountability” were undeserved.

    Imagine being a hospital administrator, city manager, or corporate CIO. You look around and, EVERY DAY one of your peers’ organization is being cyberattecked for ransom by foreign actors. Your org has already been through TWO such attacks that stopped your services in their tracks. You paid out an ungodly sum in bitcoin to cyberextortionists, and had to keep it quiet for PR reasons, knowing that secrecy works to the advantage of the attackers.

    You ask, why are we giving the Department of Defense $800B a year, and yet they seem to own zero responsibility for defending America from these foreign attackers?

    You ask, who has Congress delegated focal responsibility to for national strategy to solve this horrendous cancer that grows every year, and makes doing business in this country a test of ability to evade criminal attack by anonymous foreigners?

    You ask, who designed the internet in such a way that accountability for cross-border crime is impossible to exact?

    And then, who are these self-righteous journalists? Not one of them ever asks the questions about foreign criminals attacking the United States on a daily basis. Accountability? WTF?

  19. Well, it thrills me, living out in the hinterlands, that Washington DC is having such a jovial time. Out where the real people live, it is not so jovial or funny. A good chamber of commerce event is usually where things get done and you meet people and businesses who have a real impact on the community on a day to day basis. As far as blood being spilled a medical staff meeting can be one of the worst. Luckily the acid thrown around is usually verbal but still leaves scars.
    Since the president has been living there since the age of 29 I am sure he could run the meeting without engaging his brain, sort of like he runs the country.
    My own preference is an inaugural ball. There you get to see your favorite politician, yell a lot of “we won” and party like an NCAA championship. The main challenge is not drinking too much and finding your way back to your hotel.
    The protesters, well shouldn’t they be in class (if they’re actually enrolled) or sleeping it off at the local Antifa/Hamas meeting hall.

    1. GEB: after attending a George Bush inaugural ball, I found drinking too much, where they charged 5 dollars for a half a can of Coke in a plastic cup problematic. It was difficult to carry that much currency. I can only imagine how much the press minions are charged since then. But as I now in the SW hinterlands, I miss the opportunities to take out the Oscar D Lo tux except for occasional weddings. It still looks and fits fine. Living near the Beltway is seldom missed but it did have a bit of charm….then. Nice to know Clyde’s is still there.

      1. I only have worn a Tux 3 times in my life, all rented. Even when working, no suites or ties. Just not my style, or as my wife says I have no style.

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