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.
The WHCD always has that “Mask of the Red Death” feel to it. A bunch of craven aristocrats and Ivy-leaguers barricading themselves against the unwashed Walmart folks they are forced to cover even as they joke and make merriment at the plight of those “representatives” of the masses. We can only hope that our generation’s masked stranger makes as grand an entrance as the fourth estate thinks themselves to be on their “divine” mission to manipulate us:
From Poe and as prescient now as then:
“Prospero: But Satan rules the universe! I made a pact with him!
Man in red: He does not rule alone… and your pact with him will not save you.
Prospero: There is no other God! Satan killed him!
Man in red: Each man creates his own God for himself, his own Heaven, his own Hell.
Prospero: Let me see your face!
[He unmasks the Man in Red to reveal his own bloodstained face]
Man in red: Your Hell, Prince Prospero… and the moment of your death.”
and what exactly prevents you, Jonathan, to denounce genocide?
Can you finally cough it out?
Netanyahu does what Germans did with other priced real estate, the Warsaw Ghetto.
I feel for you Jonathan. Those nasty people protesting a modern day version of the Final Solution are just SO irritating.
Isn’t it “run the gantlet”?
Technically, yes. You “throw down the gauntlet” and “run the gantlet.”
From an internet grammar site:
“ Gantlet was the preferred spelling in early use of the phrase run the gauntlet—meaning to suffer punishment by gantlet or to endure an onslaught or ordeal—but gauntlet prevailed by the 18th century. Today, most writers use gauntlet, though gantlet, which is especially common in American English, is not incorrect.”
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner would be appropriate if Journalism Ethics was practiced across the USA the other 364 days.
Keep up the good work Jonathan Turley !
Jonathan: I don’t know what WH Correspondent’s Dinner you attended but it wasn’t the one DJT watched. He couldn’t wait to throw in his two cents of criticism: “The White House Correspondent’s Dinner was really bad. Colin Just BOMBED!, and Crooked Joe was an absolute disaster! Doesn’t get much worse than this!”. Nothing new from DJT. He has never liked the WHCD.
For DJT the WHCD is enemy territory. He can’t stand the heat. His last and only Dinner was in 2011 when he had to endure the mocking humor of Obama. DJT can dish out mocking criticism but he doesn’t like it when he is at the receiving end. That’s DJT’s basic problem. He has no sense of humor. DJT also has no appreciation of the arts. Unlike Obama and Michelle he never attended the Kennedy Center Awards to honor artists. Unless the artist is in fawning praise of DJT he’s not interested.
Now I expect that if DJT gets back into office the WHCD will be either cancelled or the only invitees will the reps. from FOX, Newsmax and affiliated right-wing outlets. That should please you!
DJT has no reason to like or trust the WHCD. As for any cancellation, the dinner is hosted by the WHCD, not the president. The president is an invitee.
What would please all conservatives is mandatory critical thinking exercises for the propagandized. Civics classes would really be up there, as well, but ignoring all stakeholders assertions and stated positions while allowing your favorite soap opera news reader to “inform” you is extremely weak. We don’t like weak or indoctrinated.
Have a nice day.
I still follow John’s blog. A lot of days it’s easy to read a headline and just pass over. I understand John has to get paid too. I appreciate the game. The WHCD is always a great show and almost always an opportunity for politicians and journalists to poke fun at each other. Goodness knows we need that now more than ever. For the most part it is lined with serious journalists who ply their trade honestly. Of course, because they are human, they all have some bias. The folks over at MSNBC are an outlier because they vex to the hard and sometimes kooky left. Pretty much unwatchable if you are seeking real news. Likewise, and sadly, a great deal of the folks over at Fox News now fall to the hard or kooky right. It was refreshing to see John in attendance with the folks at Fox who are still real journalists. They are quickly disappearing. It’s near unwatchable also but not to the extent MSNBC is. John plays the party line here saying most of the media is in the tank for Biden. Granted MSNBC is and they don’t hide it. Fox is likewise in the tank for Trump. Here’s where I break with John. He knows that also but either won’t or can’t say it due to the paycheck. All good. However, let’s not forget that Trump wouldn’t attend this event. Folks, this has zero to do with political bias or otherwise. Trump, being the narcissistic sociopath that he is, is simply incapable of listening to someone make fun of him. Even in jest. His mind will not let him. Reread that. Throw all politics aside. I’m GOP by the way but throw it all aside. The previous president of the United States is incapable of listening to someone, anyone, make jest of him due to a dangerous personality disorder. John, you would do well to point this out independently and as a service to the nation. Good day all.
I still follow John’s blog.
Of course you do, considering you want to get paid for trolling.
Jeff, there is no reason for you to be ashamed in Biden’s economy that you have to resort to sleazy trolling just to buy a bag of lemons, each lemon going for 89 cents, at least in my neck of the woods. Then there is Ground Beef Chuck 80/20 at $5.49 per pound, which you may not know due to your snobbery, is clearly racist, islamophobic, anti-LGBTQIA+-eieio, and very oppressive to the people of
HamasGaza, compared to the far more expensive Extra Lean Ground Beef Sirloin 93/7 at $7.46 per pound.Thankfully Professor Turley took the time to remind us that America’s oppressors at the
Politburo & PravdaDNC & MSM (but I repeat myself) continue to reflect the bourgeois the Karl Marx derided, and every bit out of touch with the proletariat.by the way, when your Soros handlers pay you in CCP Yuans, what currency exchange rate are you being offered in Beijing vs California?
Enjoy your sour lemons
Well why wouldn’t Biden be ‘unafraid’ to go to one of these?
He knows they’re just going to lick his @ss the whole time.
‘Jokes’ he probably can’t even comprehend anyway, not anymore.
“is simply incapable of listening to someone make fun of him. Even in jest. His mind will not let him.”
You say this as if it’s a bad thing.
Point to other billionaires who would sit there and let themselves be roasted and mocked, viciously, by people who hate and truly LOATHE them?
Actually, if you go back to President Obama’s WHCD speech where he mocked Trump who was a guest, Trump took it well. He smiled, chuckled. They were good jokes, well delivered. Then Trump ran for president and beat Hillary Clinton. That was Trump’s mic drop. And now he will never be accepted back into their good graces no matter what he does, as long as he is alive. An example of just how nasty and vicious these haters can be, under the guise of humor, go back and listen to the host comedian Michelle Wolf ‘roasting’ press secretary Sarah Sanders. That’s not humor. Sarah’s mic drop is that she is now Governor Sarah Sanders.
Last comment, who else could have beat Hillary Clinton, the Chosen One? Anyone? Nope.
So what if sitting through vicious mockery is not Trump’s thing.
Do you think any of those thousands of politicians and swamp people in that ballroom would still be standing after the vicious attacks and relentless hits Trump has taken? Not a chance.
Trump just pulled off the biggest political comeback of all time to be the GOP nominee.
There is no doubt the man can ‘take it’ and he is still standing and fighting for what he believes in.
He has withstood incoming fire, the likes of which literally no one in that ballroom ever could.
That’s a fact.
You want to see a man who can’t take it? Watch candidate Joe Biden viciously attack a voter at a townhall who dared to question him? One example of MANY. This is who Joe Biden actually is: a nasty, entitled SOB who does not understand HE is the servant, not our ruler. He has never EVER understood his position. He has abused it from day one, and don’t you peasants dare question HIM.
And watch as the Democrats in the audience clap when Joe Biden, the candidate, attacks a voter. They do not understand the roles of our political SERVANTS either. The other voters should have attacked Biden and put HIM in his place, but they egged him on instead. Just sickening.
JT “knows that also but either won’t or can’t say it due to the paycheck.”
Nice ad hominem attacks. Next time, armchair psychologist, try an argument.
P.S. Since when did this blog become populated by so many mind readers?
Turley: you’ve exceeded pathetic–you are now delusional. You are NEITHER a journalist NOR legal expert–you’re nothing but a pundit pretending to be either a journalist or legal expert–so why were you at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner? And why didn’t you mention that the pig you are paid to defend refused to attend because he’s so thin-skinned that he can’t take jokes at his expense? I guess I answered my own question. You have the gall to support Fox lie machine by making claims like this: “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.” The BS claim that douchie is consistently “pushing” “damaging stories”, which are baseless in fact, is intended to bolster the credibility of MAGA media that does nothing but lie and support Trumpism MAGA media ARE the biased ones–not mainstream media that refuse to lend credence to Trump and his lies, and the fake “Biden Crime Family” and “Hunter Biden Scandal” tropes. They don’t report on House Republican efforts to impeach Biden with lies, either, because the ARE lies. Peter “douchie” is viewed as a major-league A-hole by non MAGA disciples. Turley, explain to me why and how you and your employer keep pushing the “Biden Crime Family” story and “Hunter Biden Scandal” as if there’s something “there”, when you know there isn’t? Where’s the proof of any money flowing to Joe Biden or favors flowing to any country or person as a result? Why do you criticize the NY proseuction of Trump and claim it’s not valid when you know Cohen was prosecuted for the same offenses, convicted and served time? You keep pretending there is merit to these stories, which is why you are not owed any respect. And, I agree, for reasons that baffle those of us who see the narcissistic hog and his enablers for the danger to democracy that they are, many in the public have somehow come to believe the lies put out by Fox, OAN, News Max, News Nation, Breitbart and other MAGA media. of which you, Turley, are a part. THA T’s the real threat to democracy. Your presence at the WHCD does not change the fact that you are neither a legal expert or journalist–just a paid messenger boy.
When you’ve lost mediaite, there really is nothing more to say about how toxic the WCHD event is.
Colin Jost Takes Shots at Fox News, Newsmax, and NY Post in WCHD Monologue — Lays Off CNN, MSNBC and Most Others
https://www.mediaite.com/news/colin-jost-takes-shots-at-fox-news-newsmax-and-ny-post-in-wchd-monologue-lays-off-cnn-msnbc-and-most-others/
‘The Race is Tied?!’ Colin Jost Runs Down Litany of Trump’s Legal Woes in Scorching Rant at WHCD
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/the-race-is-tied-colin-jost-runs-down-litany-of-trumps-legal-woes-in-scorching-rant-at-whcd/
LOL….LOVE your selfie! At least you have a “modern” phone…I’m still figuring out my flip phone! And if you think you’re bad now, wait until you’re approaching 80 yrs, and the technology keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. At least you’ll always be able to provide hours of entertainment for the younguns!
Some of us at 85 are still using all the functions on our phones. I’m pretty tech savey at figuring things out.
anonymous…Show-off!! LOL 🙂
First, fumbling and bumbling with phones and technology (and ski lifts) means you are normal and relatable. My kind of people 🙂
As to the Biden sycophants living inside a bubble, it kills me that these people might actually believe Biden is such a decent man, a dedicated public servant just trying to save democracy and ‘heal the soul of the nation.’ He’s not! Obviously not. Ask regular people all across the country who are chanting F Joe Biden, for starters. Then ask Clarence Thomas about Joe Biden’s ‘decency.’ Then read some actual investigative reporting by Peter Schweizer. Biden is as crooked a politician as it gets. He’s a criminal. He’s a plagiarist and pathological liar to such extent it must be labeled mental illness. Just one look at his screwed up children, and how he exploits and lies about his dead son, and you know, you KNOW, Joe Biden is not a ‘decent’ man. Far from it. And that was Biden before dementia! Now, Biden WITH dementia is actually running for a second term, spurred on by Dr. Jill, as he laughs and jokes about his efforts to frame his political enemies and throw them in prison. The media sycophants sit there and clap like seals. Unreal.
Then we watch most of the mainstream political press completely ignore Biden’s corruption, his lies, his brazen lawlessness. They work hard to cover-up his scandals, instead of covering them. Where did the army of pouncing fact-checkers go? The media bias is obvious – or should be by now. What they do is not journalism. It’s propaganda, state TV. It’s fake news. They sit at the gala praising each other *as if* they are doing “real” journalism. Just LOL.
They play along with his rigged press conferences, providing their questions in advance, so Biden can read his answers from notecards. They put up with Biden’s dismissive condescension, and they sit there and take more of the same from his smug, incompetent DEI press secretary, Karine Jean Pierre. It’s utterly delusional.
Colin Jost sincerely said: “My grandfather voted for you in the last election he ever voted in. The reason he voted for you is because you’re a decent man. I thank you for your decency.” Gag us with a spoon. I mean, come on, try to get a grip on what is *actually* happening under Biden’s so-called “leadership.” There is nothing ‘decent’ about this man or what he is doing to this country.
THe deaf, dumb and blind continue to support him.
“Voting Dem used to be cool. But now, it just makes you a FOOL.”
“ He’s a criminal. He’s a plagiarist and pathological liar to such extent it must be labeled mental illness. ”
A complete and accurate summation of Biden that covers his entire political life. His personal life includes marrying his babysitter, showering with his pubescent daughter, swimming naked in front of female SS agents at the WH when VP and inappropriate behavior with little girls.
A total perv.
I once looked forward to Sunday AM’s as a chance to catch up on the world. Instead, I’ve slowly I’ve ditched a +40 year habit of watching Meet The Press, Face the Nation, and relative newcomer George Stephanopoulos. Since collectively going into the tank for Senator Obama’s campaign in 2011, I’ve begun switching off. Like right now, I’m surfing, instead!
Why isn’t it business malpractice for American media’s C-suite to have walked away from half the audience? As a business owner, I refuse to engage in political dialog with customers because half hold an opposing view – like why risk alienating them? So in what world is scorning 1/2 the market maximizing shareholder value? Legit subject for a class action suit?
If you do not like their message of reality, just say so.
Reality according to the Fundamentally transformed White House?? NO thanks. We can think for ourselves.
Watch Maria Bartiromo on Fox News. SHE has the BEST Sunday show on TV.
It appears to me that Joe Biden (in line with his Hx of plagiarizing, emulating, imitating) is increasingly pretending to be Ronald Reagan, who successfully used humor to win people over. The old Joe Biden, not so much. Back then, he pretended more to be contrite, Catholic, a simple truck driver caught in the middle of protesting arrestees.
Let’s see who goes to prison.
In REALITY, it should be Hillary, Hussein Obama and Biden, not to mention the perjury ridden intel agents…the REAL corrupt haters of America.
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?
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.
Lincoln was a Republican. Of course he had “tyrannical actions “.