Biden, Trevor Noah Headline White House Gala Dinner (Videos)

U.S. President Joe Biden attended the White House Correspondents' dinner Saturday night, two years after the Covid-19 pandemic.

First Lady Jill Biden and "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah also gathered in the charity event at the Washington Hilton, which paid tribute to journalists' sacrifices in war zones.

"I'm really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have," Biden said in his opening comments. "We had a horrible plague followed by two years of Covid."

"Trevor, the really good news is, now you get to roast the president of the United States," Biden stated while introducing the comedian. "And unlike in Moscow, you won't go to jail."

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His remarks took a more serious turn, acknowledging journalists covering the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and warning of "a poison running through our democracy... with disinformation massively on the rise."

"You, the free press, matter more than you ever did in the last century," the American leader noted.

Later on, Noah opened his speech, stressing that he was honoured to host "the nation's most distinguished superspreader event."

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Journalists "have been so hard on you, which I don't get," he joked to Biden. "Ever since you've come into office, things are really looking up -- you know, gas is up, rent is up, food is up. Everything."

Then, Noah became serious as he called the right to a free press a "blessing."

"Ask yourself this question: if Russian journalists who are losing... their freedom for daring to report on what their own government is doing," he said, "if they had what you have, would they be using it in the same way that you do?"