Fox News host Jesse Watters criticized President Biden's performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, calling it "lame and tame." Watters argued that Biden failed to adequately roast the media and that the event lacked the traditional adversarial spirit between journalists and politicians.
Fox News host Jesse Watters has expressed disappointment with President Biden's appearance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, criticizing the event as "lame and tame." Watters, on his show "Jesse Watters Primetime," argued that Biden failed to live up to the expectations of a comedic roasting and that the dinner lacked the customary adversarial spirit between the press and politicians.
"Once a year, politicians, journalists, and celebrities get dressed up for the White House Correspondents' Dinner," Watters explained. "It's a time when the president and the press, who theoretically have an adversarial relationship, lay down their weapons and pick up their silverware and give each other a good old ribbing over cocktails and filet."
However, according to Watters, Biden's performance fell short of the mark. "Biden brought the party back Saturday night, but he had a hard time breaking bread – literally breaking that piece of bread looked challenging," Watters said. "You'd think having dinner with a thousand of your closest friends and entire industry keeping you in office, you'd be in a better mood, but Biden just looked mad that he had to eat salad."
Watters also criticized Biden's jokes, claiming they didn't land and were primarily aimed at former President Donald Trump rather than the press itself. "The president's jokes didn't land," he said. "The rest of the evening was lame and tame. Most of his material wasn't even aimed at the press. Trump was the punchline."
Watters contrasted Biden's performance with that of former President Barack Obama, who he said delivered a 20-minute set while Biden spoke for only six minutes. "Barack Obama did 20 minutes on stage. Biden only spoke for six," Watters said. "He didn't bash the media. He actually begged the media to bury Trump."
The Fox News host argued that the lack of a genuine roasting reflects a lack of adversarial spirit between the media and politicians. "You're supposed to get up there and roast each other, and neither of them did," he said. "The president and the press are now a protected class. The media is a joke, and Biden can't take one."
Watters' criticism of the White House Correspondents' Dinner aligns with other conservative commentators who have expressed disappointment with the event's lack of humor and its growing focus on political correctness. However, some have defended the dinner, arguing that it provides a necessary platform for journalists to hold politicians accountable and that the tone of the event has changed over time.
