Former President Donald Trump took to social media late Saturday night to share his thoughts on the 2024 White House Correspondents' Dinner, calling the event "really bad" and an "absolute disaster." In his post, Trump specifically targeted his rival, President Joe Biden, and the event's host, Colin Jost, stating that "Colin Jost BOMBED, and Crooked Joe was an absolute disaster!"
Trump's remarks came in response to pointed comments made by Biden and Jost throughout the evening, as they both took aim at the Republican candidate. During his speech, the 81-year-old president joked about the age issue in the 2024 election, saying, "I'm a grown man running against a six-year-old."
The issue of age has been a topic of concern for both Biden and Trump, as they face off again in the upcoming presidential election. Trump, 77, recently raised eyebrows after delivering a nonsensical rant following the conclusion of his hush money trial. In a clip posted to X (formerly Twitter), Trump appeared to be out of breath and spoke incoherently, prompting people to question his mental fitness.
This is not the first time Trump has faced scrutiny over his mental acuity. In February, during a speech at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) International Christian Media Convention, the businessman made several gaffes and strange remarks, claiming that the Biden administration was targeting Roman Catholics despite the president himself practicing the religion.
At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Biden showed no mercy in his attacks on Trump, using cutting humor and personal insults to take jabs at his election rival. The president referred to Trump as "sleepy Don" and skewered him over recent speeches and his falling out with former Vice President Mike Pence.
Biden also poked fun at Trump's criminal trial in New York, where he is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels. "Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it Stormy weather," the president quipped.
The jovial atmosphere inside the Washington Hilton hotel contrasted sharply with the raucous demonstrations outside, where hundreds of protesters shouted "Shame on you!" at White House officials, journalists, and celebrities as they arrived at the dinner. The demonstrators condemned Biden's handling of the war in Gaza and the media's coverage of the conflict.
Protesters, some draped in traditional Palestinian keffiyeh cloth, held signs criticizing various media outlets and the president, with one banner reading, "Stop media complicity in genocide." They laid out dozens of blue press vests and broken cameras, projecting images of Palestinian journalists who have been killed while covering the conflict.
Ramah Kudaimi, a 37-year-old protester, expressed her dismay at the dinner, stating, "It is shameful that while over 133 Palestinian journalists have been killed over the past almost seven months by the Israeli military, doing nothing more than covering what's happening, the genocide in Gaza, journalists here in the US are partying it up with White House officials including President Biden in this moment when they are so complicit in what's happening by continuing to send weapons to Israel, by continuing to refuse any sort of accountability for the war crimes Israel's committing."
Despite the protests outside, Biden's speech made no mention of the ongoing war or the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. One of the few acknowledgments of the conflict came from Kelly O'Donnell, president of the correspondents' association, who noted the deaths of journalists covering the war.
