Washington, March 17: The big news this week, President Joe Biden said at a weekend Washington roast, was that two candidates had clinched their party’s nomination for president. But one was too old, too mentally unfit for the job, he said.
“The other’s me,” Bidden quipped.
The digs against Republican Donald Trump kept coming from the president at the annual Gridiron Club and Foundation Dinner, as Biden deflected ongoing criticism that his memory is hazy and he appears confused, instead highlighting moments when the 77-year-old Trump has slipped up, too.
“Don’t tell him, he thinks he’s running against Barack Obama, that’s what he said,” said Biden, 81, who also quipped that he was staying up way past his bedtime.
It was the first time Biden has attended the dinner during his presidency, and comes as the 2024 election looms and the rematch between Biden and Trump heats up.
The annual bacchanalia, now in its 139th year, traces its history to 1885 – that was the year President Grover Cleveland refused to attend. Every president since has come to at least one Gridiron.
Biden veered quickly into the somber, though, highlighting what he sees as a real threat to democracy should Trump – who continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen – return to the White House.
The speech had echoes of Biden’s campaign remarks, criticizing Trump as well as too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP)
