Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Steve, for this introduction. And special thanks to 42% of you who actually applauded.
I’m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than me. It’s hard to say after what we just saw.
This is the first time the president has attended this dinner in six years. Understandably. We had a terrible plague, followed by two years of Covid.
Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year. That would be a real coup if it happened. A little hard, huh?
But I am honored to be here at such an event with so much history.
As already mentioned, the first president to attend a White House reporters’ dinner was Calvin Coolidge in 1924. I had just been elected to the United States Senate. And I remember – I remember telling him, “Cal, just be yourself. Get up and talk from the heart. You’re gonna be great, kid. You’re gonna do it right.”
Of course, Jill is with me tonight. Gilly, how are you, kid? I think she does an amazing job as a first lady. The first lady who continues to work full time, and she does as a professor.
She doesn’t pay much attention to the polls, although she said the other day: Instead of posing as Jill Biden’s husband, she might have to present herself as her roommate.
I have attended this dinner many times, but this is my first time as president. And the organizers – it was difficult – made it quite difficult for me tonight. Although the good news is that if all goes well, I have a real chance to replace James Cordon.
It was great to have him at the White House the other day, just when he announced he was leaving the show. A great performer comes out on top after eight years of work. Sounds almost right to me.
And it’s hard to follow professionals like James and Billy Eichner. Billy, where are you again? You … where is he?
Well, Billy, you’re known for interviewing – your interviewing skills. Billy, you need to know what you’re doing, buddy. You know it, you know it well. And you have to – I think – you have to host “Meet the Press”. Maybe they’ll start watching it again.
I never had – I never had to – I never had to open – I will never be – I will never be invited to Meet the Press again. Anyway.
I never had to open before Trevor Noah. Trevor is great. When I was chosen, he did a show and called me “America’s new father.” Let me tell you something, my friend: I am flattered that someone will call me “new” whatever. You are my man.
And, people, these have been difficult years for the country. That’s one of the reasons it’s great to be here again.
Everyone in the White House is so excited. I told my grandchildren and Pete Butigig that they could stay up late and watch this show tonight.
Tonight – tonight we come here and answer a very important question that everyone thinks: why the hell are we still doing this?
I know there is – I know there are questions about whether we should get together tonight for Covid. Well, we are here to show the country that we are going through this pandemic. In addition, everyone had to prove that they were fully vaccinated and reinforced.
So if you’re at home watching this and wondering how to do it, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. Everyone is here, vaccinated and reinforced – everyone.
And look, Fox – Fox News, I – I’m really sorry that your favorite candidate lost the last election. To make up for it, I’m happy to give my Chief of Staff to all of you so he can tell Sean Hannity what to say every day.
In fact, Ron Klein is here at the CBS table that hired Mick Mulvani. Mick, on CBS? I was stunned. I decided he was going to be in The Masked Singer with Rudy.
Great rent, guys. Really amazing.
Look, I know this is a difficult city. I came to office with an ambitious agenda and expected it to face fierce opposition in the Senate. I just hoped he was a Republican.
But I’m not worried about the deadlines. I’m not worried about them. We may end up in a more partisan stalemate, but I am convinced that we can resolve it during my remaining six years in the presidency.
And, folks, I’m not really here to bake a GOP. This is not my style. Besides, I can’t say anything about the GOP that Kevin McCarthy hasn’t released on tape.
And, you know, at the same time, at the same time, a lot of people say that the Republican Party is too extreme, too divisive, too controlled by one man. They say, “This is not your father’s Republican Party.”
Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Today’s Republicans say, “Destroy Mickey Mouse’s house.” And very soon they will storm Cinderella’s castle, you can be sure.
But Republicans seem to support one man – a man named Brandon. He has a really good year and I am happy for him.
Let me end with a serious word.
We live in serious times. We are going through a devastating pandemic and we need to be vigilant. I know Kamala wanted to be here, for example, and fortunately she’s doing well. You all need to know that she sends the best of herself.
We are in a time when what we have taken for granted for so long is facing the most serious threats. And I’m dead serious.
supervisor [sic] – Abroad, the liberal world order that laid the foundations for global peace, stability and prosperity after World War II is indeed under serious attack.
And at home, a poison passes through our democracy of all – all this is happening with massive disinformation, where the truth is buried by lies and lies live as truth.
What is clear – and I mean this from the bottom of my heart – is that you, the free press, are more important than ever in the last century. No, I really mean it.
I have always believed that good journalism holds a mirror in front of us to reflect on good, bad and truth. Tonight I would like to congratulate the winners and scholarship holders who continue this sacred tradition.
We have all seen the courage of the Ukrainian people because of the courage of the American reporters in this Chamber and your colleagues around the world who are on earth and taking their lives into their own hands.
And although he is not in Ukraine, but in Russia – mom, I would like to meet with you and dad to talk about your son.
We just saw a heartbreaking video: nine were killed, reported by Kyiv – hit by a kamikaze drone after an attack on a mall; shot in the neck during the conversation- [sic] – while – when documenting the flight of Ukrainians; died when Russian missiles hit a TV tower in a residential area. A journalist from Radio Svoboda was just killed a few days ago.
So many of you who tell stories and take pictures and record videos of what is happening there, the uncovered truth shown – showing – the destruction and devastation and, yes, war crimes.
Tonight we also honor the legacy of two historical reporters, Alice Dunigan and Ethel Payne. I’m glad you saw that tonight. I didn’t know you were doing this. These are the first black women White House reporters to break the convention to cover a segregated nation.
We honor the killed, missing, imprisoned, detained and tortured journalists; covering the war, exposing corruption and holding leaders accountable.
We honor members of the press, both national and local, covering a once-a-century pandemic in which we lost a million Americans, a race that relied on race and the existential threat of climate change.
The free press is not the enemy of the people – far from it. At your best, you are guardians of the truth.
President Kennedy once said, and I quote, “Without debate, without criticism, no administration, no country can succeed, and no republic can survive.”
The First Amendment provides the free press with exceptional protection, but with it comes, as many of you know, a very heavy obligation: to seek the truth as much as you can – not to inflame or entertain, but to illuminate and educate.
I know it’s hard. And I’m not careful. The industry is changing significantly.
There is incredible pressure on all of you to deliver heat instead of shedding light, because technology is changing so much that the system is changing. But it matters. No kidding. It matters. The truth matters.
American Democracy is not a reality show. It’s not a reality show. This is the reality itself. And the reality is that we are a great country.
Our future is bright. It is not guaranteed, because democracy is never guaranteed. You have to win. You have to defend yourself. It must be protected.
As you have heard me say many times: There is nothing damn thing this country cannot do when we are united and do it together. And I know we can do whatever we want, that’s right.
I’ve been here a long time, as has been said many times tonight. But I give you my word as Biden: I have never been more optimistic about America than I am today. I really think so.
In times of great change, it offers great opportunities. Because despite all the crises, all the partisanship, all the shouting and ostentation,
I really know this, and you know it too: we are a great nation because we are essentially good people.
And here in America, good journalism, good satire for our leaders, for our society, is a typical American thing. This demonstrates the strength of our example.
And I, honest before God, believe that this reveals our soul – the soul of our nation. And that’s what I’d like to raise tonight, if I may.
(The President raises a toast.)
To journalists and their families, to people and their elected representatives, to the United States.
And by the way, Madeleine Albright was right: We are the irreplaceable nation.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to pass this on to Trevor, I’m holding my own.
And, Trevor, the really good news is: Now you can bake the President of the United States and, unlike Moscow, you will not go to prison.
The podium is yours.
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