White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reconfirmed that President Joe Biden will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after it was announced that his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who would be skipping Saturday night’s event due to COVID concerns.
“He has made the decision that he wants to safely attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to show his support, his support for a free press,” Psaki said Wednesday, citing the special importance of reporters’ coverage to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
She went on to say it’s important for Biden to show this after former President Donald Trump skipped media dinners during his one term in office.
“This is in stark contrast to his predecessor, who not only questioned the legitimacy of the press on an almost daily basis, but I don’t think he ever attended the dinner,” added the spokesman. “So he felt that was important and, in consultation with his doctors and health team, conducted a risk assessment.”
Psaki added that the president will take extra precautions, including possibly wearing a mask when not speaking. Psaki – who has contracted COVID twice – said she would likely wear a mask too.
“And we have taken steps as well, including not having him present to eat dinner,” Psaki said. “And he’ll be there for the program, which includes a series of speakers, presenting grants, you know, and of course his speaking and his roasting – where he’ll be on the menu, as he likes to say – Trevor Noah speaks .’
She added, “As with anything, it’s a risk assessment and a decision he made on a personal basis.”
Psaki said Fauci’s decision deserved some privacy, as the 81-year-old chief medical expert told ABC News, the news organization that invited him, that he was no longer accepting the ticket due to his personal risk of contracting COVID-19 would, CNN reported first.
Fauci attended the Gridiron Dinner on April 2, which turned into a superspreader event, with at least 80 of the approximately 630 attendees subsequently testing positive for COVID.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reconfirmed that President Joe Biden will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after it was announced that his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who would skip Saturday night’s event
President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is skipping the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday due to COVID concerns
President Joe Biden, who appeared at Madeleine Albright’s funeral on Wednesday, is expected to continue attending the Correspondents’ Dinner after the last major media dinner, the Gridiron, became a superspreader event
A picture of the crowded ballroom at the Gridiron dinner on April 2nd at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. The Gridiron dinner, which required guests to be vaccinated, became a superspreader event with 80 positive COVID cases subsequently reported
The White House Correspondents Association is going a step further than the Gridiron Club by requiring guests to take a COVID-19 test 24 hours before dinner.
All guests must also be vaccinated or have a medical excuse.
For the Gridiron Dinner, the guests only had to show their vaccination card.
Among the high-profile guests set to catch COVID after Gridiron: Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo—who was one of the speakers—New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Congressmen Adam Schiff, Julian Castro and Elaine Luria.
Fauci was on the podium with Raimondo and Garland but sat a few seats away.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that President Joe Biden still plans to attend the Correspondents’ Dinner, saying, “Like many Americans, he does risk assessments.”
“It’s possible that the president will test positive,” she added.
Former President Barack Obama (right) sits on the podium during the dinner portion of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2013
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was last held in 2019 (pictured), with thousands in the Washington Hilton ballroom
Biden also attended the funeral of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Wednesday and will travel to Minnesota on Sunday for the funeral of the late Vice President Walter Mondale.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Kamala Harris’ office announced that the vice president tested positive for COVID after her trip to California and is now in quarantine.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was last held in 2019.
Thousands of attendees dine in the Washington Hilton Ballroom.
Traditionally, the president gives a comedy part — and then gets roasted by a comedian.
Former President Donald Trump was never present during his tenure – but was famously attacked by then-President Barack Obama as a private in the audience in 2011.
This year’s headliner is The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah.