‘I’m seasoned’: Joe Biden laughs off age gags

The US President took it on the chin at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Joe Biden toasts the roast at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. Picture: AFP

US President Joe Biden took it on the chin at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner as he laughed through sharp jokes about his age, and hit back with a few of his own.

Washington’s political and media elites gathered on Saturday for their annual big night out in the US capital for an event that ranged from the traditional comedy gags to sombre calls to free reporters imprisoned abroad.

Guests included model and influencer Chrissy Teigen and former Republican attorney-general Bill Barr from across the political divide.

Bill Barr mingles at the dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday. Picture: AFP

Headlining the after-dinner entertainment on Saturday was Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr, who gleefully mocked Mr Biden, 80, for running for a second term in the White House that could mean he was still president at age 86.

Wood noted recent angry protests in France against raising the retirement age. “They rioted because they didn’t want to work until 64. Meanwhile, in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work,” he dead-panned, drawing a broad smile from Mr Biden, sitting only metre away.

“ ‘Let me finish the job’– that’s not a campaign slogan, that’s a plea,” Wood added.

“Say what you want about our President but when he wakes up from that nap, work gets done.”

Brittney Griner and her spouse Cherelle Griner arrive for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday. Picture: AFP

Mr Biden targeted CNN presenter Don Lemon who was sacked allegedly after sexist and ageist on-air remarks.

“Call me old – I call it being seasoned. You say I am ancient – I say I’m wise. You say I’m over the hill – Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime.”

The dinner institution had started to wither, first boycotted by Donald Trump then shut down altogether to fend off Covid-19.

Even last year, strict Covid testing, frequent use of masks and diminished attendance resulted in a low-key affair.

But this year’s event for 2600 guests was sold out, and attended by both Mr Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Having the president and vice- president in attendance restored a tradition last observed in 2016, the final dinner before Mr Trump entered the White House.

“Folks, it is wonderful to be back here again, proving I haven’t learned a damn thing,” Mr Biden said.

Chrissy Teigen arrives with musician husband John Legend. Picture:AFP

The occasion is meant to celebrate the constitution’s First Amendment guarantees of free speech and to advocate for a free press worldwide.

Before the dinner, Mr Biden met with the family of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested and imprisoned in Russia in March on espionage charges.

US officials strenuously deny the allegations, and a large media campaign has been launched to push for his release. Gershkovich is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia on spying charges since the collapse of the Soviet Union. “We are working every day to secure his release. We’re looking at opportunities and tools to bring him home. We keep the faith,” Mr Biden said.

Last week, Moscow said it had denied a consular visit to Gershkovich in retaliation for Washington not issuing visas to several Russian journalists, as bilateral ties remain frozen more than a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Also among the dinner’s star guests was basketballer Brittney Griner, who was released by Russia as part of a prisoner swap last year and who has vowed to fight for other detainees.

AFP