UNITED STATES: Joe Biden slammed news organisations on Saturday, accusing them of using “lies told for profit and power” to incite hatred. He also made reference to “truth buried by lies,” which is likely a reference to untrue rumours that his victory in the 2020 election was the result of widespread voter fraud. This may be a hint at the presidential campaign theme for 2024.
Biden argued that lies are told to gain advantage and money and that this cycle has given local governments the confidence to impose book bans and strip away the rule of law and our freedoms. He also made light of the possibility of legal action for slander if he referred to Fox News as “honest, fair, and truthful”.
Dominion Voting Systems and Fox Corp. settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million earlier this month. Biden also made fun of Donald Trump by joking that comedian Roy Wood Jr. had offered him $10 to keep his speech brief at a dinner.
Biden argued that a president being offered hush money is a flip. On April 4, Trump was accused of making a $130,000 hush payment to an adult film actor during his 2016 campaign. He was charged with 34 felonies and entered a not-guilty plea.
The annual White House Dinner is a gathering of White House-related journalists and government representatives, as well as celebrities from the entertainment sector.
Presidents typically attend the “nerd prom” dinner, with the exception of Trump, to reference the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and the press. However, the intense partisanship in recent years has made the event a tense affair.
In 2011, then-President Barack Obama poked fun at Trump in his address. Trump had been spreading the rumour that Obama was not an American citizen at the time. Ten years later, Trump was in control of this ritual. Biden argued that free speech is not an adversary but a fundamental of a free society.
Trump asserted that he and his administration were here to send a message to the country and the world. Trump referred to some journalists as “enemies of the people” to express his displeasure.
Biden met privately with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on March 30 and ultimately charged with espionage. He spoke about efforts being undertaken to free journalists who are being detained in custody around the world, saying journalism is not a crime.
The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, and the President visited with Brittney Griner, a professional basketball player who was imprisoned in Moscow on drug smuggling allegations.
Biden switched to a lighter section of his speech after describing the difficult work needed to release Americans imprisoned abroad and joked that he believed in the First Amendment, not just because his friend Jimmy Madison authored it. James Madison was the fourth American president from 1809 to 1817.
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