Chicago – April 27, 2024
On Saturday night, President Joe Biden will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, providing him with a stage and primetime slot to mock the media and his erstwhile competitor, President Donald Trump.
Biden will address an audience of approximately 3,000 journalists, celebrities, and politicians, maintaining a tradition started by Calvin Coolidge in which presidents address the event at least once during their term. Trump did not attend the event as president but had previously participated as a private citizen.
In recent weeks, Biden has been using an instinct that does not always come naturally to him — a sense of humor — to take on his rival, mocking his hair, the declining stock price of Trump’s social media company, and the former president’s new venture into selling Trump-branded Bibles to deflect some of the outsized attention and coverage Trump is receiving during his criminal trial.
While Biden has given numerous addresses previously, the stakes for what may be his final White House Correspondents’ Dinner are high. His approval rating is slipping, and voters and donors have expressed concerns about his mental capacity.
