President Obama's humor at the "Last Supper"
(CNN)
US President Joe Biden blasted his predecessor Saturday at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, while joking about the press, the Republican Party and the event's continued existence.
“I am very excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than me,” Biden said during his opening remarks.
“We had a horrible plague followed by two years of covid-19,” he said.
"Imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year, that really would have been a real blow if that happened."
It was Biden's first appearance at a well-attended Washington event since taking office.
As the first president to address dinner attendees in six years, he highlighted his support for democracy and press freedom.
The Saturday night dinner, which took place inside the Washington Hilton and was expected to host more than 2,500 guests, returned in full force after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The event program was headlined by "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah and featured Biden making comedic remarks.
The White House Correspondents Association, which organizes the annual etiquette event, honored several journalists for their contributions.
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Biden also poked fun at his age, joking that he remembers when the annual dinner began, with President Calvin Coolidge speaking in 1924. "I had just been elected to the United States Senate," he said.
The president said that when he was elected, Noah on his show called Biden "America's new dad," to which he said, "Let me tell you something mate, I'm flattered that someone calls me anything 'new.'" .
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The story of the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
US President George W. Bush, left, shakes hands with impressionist Steve Bridges at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006. Roger L. Wollenberg/Pool/Getty Images.
Look in this gallery for more historical photos of the Correspondents' Dinner.
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The White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1923. It was started two years earlier by the White House Correspondents' Association, the organization of journalists who cover the president.
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend the dinner.
Library of Congress.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt, seated, shakes hands with Raymond P. Brandt, Washington bureau chief of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, at dinner in 1945. Roosevelt congratulating Brandt on winning the first Raymond Clapper Award Memorial Award, given by the White House Correspondents Association for distinguished reporting.
Gil Friedberg/AP.
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President Harry Truman, second from left, presents a $500 check to Peter Edson, second from right, for winning the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award in 1949. AP.
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Legendary golfer Bobby Jones, left, presents a duplicate of his famous Calamity Jane putter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower at dinner in 1959. At center, Felix Belair Jr. of The New York Times.
AP.
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President Richard Nixon shakes hands with Navy Lieutenant John McCain at dinner in 1973. Just a month earlier, McCain had been released from a Vietnamese prison after being a prisoner of war for more than five years.
National Archives.
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Until 1962, the Correspondents' Dinner was open to men only.
President John F. Kennedy, center, refused to attend until it was opened to women.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
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President Gerald Ford, right, talks to comedian Chevy Chase, left, in 1976. Chase famously portrayed Ford as bumbling on "Saturday Night Live."
Between them, from left, "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels and cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
Fred Hermansky/NBCUniversal/Getty Images.
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Ford laughs with United Press International White House correspondent Helen Thomas at dinner in 1975. Thomas was the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association.
National Archives.
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President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter chat with Paul Healy, right, of the New York Daily News and Lawrence O'Rourke, left, of the Philadelphia Bulletin, upon their arrival at the dinner in 1977. Healy was the new president of the White House Correspondents Association, and O'Rourke was its outgoing president.
John Duricka/AP.
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At dinner in 1987, President Ronald Reagan called his wife, Nancy, to say a few kind words to the press.
After a pause, she replied, "I'm thinking."
Charles Tasnadi/AP.
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President George HW Bush laughs as he watches Jim Morris imitate him at dinner in 1989. Mark Reinstein / Corbis / Getty Images.
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President Bill Clinton holds up a banner proclaiming, "Don't blame me. I voted for me," at dinner in 1996. Clinton was rehearsing some potential slogans for bumper stickers.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP.
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Clinton high-fives a "clone" of hers played by actor Darrell Hammond in 1997. Stephen Jaffe/AFP/Getty Images.
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President George W. Bush conducts the Marine Corps Band at dinner in 2008. Kristoffer Tripplaar/Pool/Getty Images.
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Comedian Keegan-Michael Key plays President Barack Obama's "rage translator" Luther in 2015. Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images.
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Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, attend the Correspondents' Dinner in 2015. They did not attend any of the dinners while he was president.
Christy Bowe/ImageCatcher News Service/Corbis/Getty Images.
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Obama drops the microphone after speaking at his last Correspondents' Dinner in 2016. "Obama out," he said.
Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images.
coronavirus anxiety
Inside the gala, negative Covid-19 tests were required to enter and masks were voluntary, just as they are in most of Washington.
But there was growing concern that Saturday night's event could spark Covid cases among partygoers, after dozens of attendees, including some Biden cabinet officials, who attended a different party in Washington, Gridiron Dinner, tested positive weeks ago.
COVID-19 cases in Washington are now holding steady after surging following the decline in the wave of the omicron variant, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president's top medical adviser, decided to pull out of Saturday's dinner after a personal risk assessment.
Controversy over jokes by Michelle Wolf at correspondents' dinner 3:29
“In general, the risk is low, but I did a personal evaluation.
I'm 81 years old and if I get infected, I'm at much higher risk," Fauci said earlier this week.
Saturday's event also came after two senior Biden officials recently tested positive for Covid-19.
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive on Tuesday and remains asymptomatic.
And the White House's top communications official, Kate Bedingfield, tested positive on Friday and is experiencing mild symptoms.
The president was not considered a close contact in either case.
Kamala Harris tested positive for covid-19 and is in isolation 2:18
But Biden's decision to continue attending the dinner, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week, was "a risk assessment and a decision he made in his personal capacity."
And Biden intended to go, she said, to express her support for a free press.
First Lady Jill Biden also attended.
The White House said before the event that the president would take extra precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19, including skipping the food portion of the program.
Biden sat on the dais, away from the packed dining room, and he was not expected to attend receptions before or after.
During his speech, Biden also poked fun at Fox News and noted the COVID-19-related requirements to attend the event.
"If you're at home watching this and wondering how to do it, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. They're all here. Vaccinated and boosted. All of them," he said to applause.
Correspondents DinnerDonald TrumpJoe Biden
