30th April, 2023
U.S President Joe Biden slammed news outlets for using “lies told for profit and power” to incite hatred, while making pointed jokes about Fox News.
He also subtly shaded former President, Donald Trump, referring to his ongoing court cases.
Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night, Biden referenced “truth buried by lies,” an apparent reference to false conspiracy theories that his 2020 election victory was the result of massive voter fraud.
“Lies told for profit and power. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle of anger and hate and even violence,” Biden said.
That cycle, Biden added, has emboldened local jurisdictions to ban books, and “the rule of law and our rights and freedoms to be stripped away.”
Zeroing in on what he characterized as “an extreme press,” Biden at the same time joked that if he called Fox News “honest, fair and truthful then I can be sued for defamation.”
Earlier this month, Fox Corp paid $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over Fox’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election had been rigged in favour of Biden.
In a dig at former President Donald Trump, Biden joked that comedian Roy Wood Jr., who was also a featured speaker at the dinner, had offered him $10 to keep his speech brief.
“That’s a switch – a president being offered hush money,” Biden said to laughter.
On April 4, Trump was charged with 34 felony counts in a case involving an alleged $130,000 hush payment to an adult film star during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Hundreds of White House reporters and government officials attend this annual dinner. It has also become a venue for entertainment industry stars to mingle with Washington’s power elite.
Reuters