The White House Correspondents Dinner will take place on Saturday, April 29 at 8 pm, where President Joe Biden and comedian Roy Wood Jr. are expected to deliver humorous remarks and remarks to the press.
The White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) organizes the black-tie event that has traditionally featured presidents and popular comedians poking fun at American politics, current events and politicians. Dinner will air online at the C-SPAN website starting at 8 p.m.
This year’s dinner will be hosted by Wood Jr., correspondent for the daily program on Comedy Central.
“It’s an honor to be part of a long tradition of celebrating members of the media who work so hard to uncover the truth and hold our government to account.” Wood Jr. said in a statement. “It’s going to be a great night that will go down in the history books, or not, depending on which state you live in.”
news week reached out to representatives for Biden and the WHCA via email for additional information.
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A senior White House official told NBC News that the president will advocate for the release of detained American journalists, such as The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested and charged with spying in Russia last month.
“You can expect him to speak out about the importance of the First Amendment, how critical he is to press freedom around the world, and his unwavering commitment to bringing home wrongfully detained journalists and other Americans,” the official told NBC.
Joined by the President and First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglass Emhoff, will attend. Numerous celebrities are also expected, including the singer. John Legend and model chrissy teigenby Deadline.
In 2022, Biden became the first sitting president to attend since Barack Obama in 2016. Former President Trump boycotted the event during his presidency, and it was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During his light-hearted remarks last year, Biden joked about his attendance at the dinner.
“It is understandable. We had a horrible plague followed by two years of COVID,” he said, punching Trump.
In addition to joking about his low approval ratings and age, Biden also told several self-deprecating quips at the event, which was attended by 2,600 politicians, journalists, celebrities and guests.
He White House Correspondents Dinner it often gives the incumbent president an opportunity to mock himself and his political opponents. Saturday’s event may provide Biden, who announced his re-election bid for the White House on Tuesday, some comic relief as he grapples with low approval ratings.
Founded in 1914, the WHCA promotes “excellence in journalism as well as journalism education,” working “to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency,” according to the organization.
Winners of the WHCA’s annual Excellence in Journalism Awards are celebrated at the event, which dates back to 1921.