©Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden heads towards Marine One as he leaves the White House in Washington, U.S., March 13, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
By Stephanie Kelly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday criticized former President Donald Trump by joking about his election opponent’s mental health during a speech at the Gridiron Club dinner, a Washington tradition that began in the 1880s.
Biden’s appearance at the dinner, where politicians and journalists trade humorous quips at a formal white-tie event, was the first time a president had attended in person since former President Donald Trump in 2018.
Biden, 81, recently clinched the Democratic Party’s nomination for this year’s presidential election and will face Trump, 77, in a rematch in November. Biden is trying to woo voters, boost his low approval ratings and allay concerns that he is too old to run again.
“One candidate is too old and mentally unfit to be president. The other is me,” Biden said Saturday, before more than 650 guests including Taoiseach of Ireland Leo Varadkar, founder of Amazon (NASDAQ:) and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, whose US operations could be banned by Biden.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Trump also questioned Biden’s mental capacity to become president.
Biden reinforced the importance of the press, which he said is not “the enemy of the people,” in stark contrast to Trump’s previous remarks about the news media.
He also spoke about the war in Ukraine with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who was present at Saturday’s dinner. “We will not bow, they (the Ukrainians) will not bow and I will not bow,” Biden said.
After his speech, Biden came down to the room, took selfies with reporters and called the mother of a guest.
Also speaking on Saturday were Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, representing the Democratic Party present at the event, and Utah Governor Spencer Cox, representing the Republican Party.
Cox, 48, joked that he would announce his candidacy for president “in 2052, when I will be even younger than both President Biden and President Trump.”
Turning more serious, he said there is a hunger among Americans for something more positive in politics.
The 65 members of the club, all representatives of newspapers, performed songs and satirical skits. One song poked fun at Biden and Trump’s ages to the tune of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles.
At last year’s dinner, Mike Pence, who served as vice president under Trump, issued a forceful rebuke to his former boss, saying history will hold Trump accountable for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Unlike its sister event, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April, the Gridiron dinner is not televised and tries to maintain its old-world feel with men in white tie and tails and women in long dresses .
No photos are permitted during the dinner and attendees are asked not to post on social media until it concludes.