Joe Biden took the stage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner looking like a classic comedian, sporting a tuxedo and a big grin across his face. While his short speech at the event was packed with humorous punches, former President Barack Obama’s certainly got more laughs.

The best of Biden’s jokes were directed towards a table back in the hall, where journalists from Fox News were seated. “To all those who do still not know where to get the COVID-19 vaccine from, just ask a Fox News host”, Biden said. He said they had all been “vaccinated and boosted”, a requirement for attending the Washington DC event.

“I am not really here to roast the GOP. That is not my style”, Biden said while preparing to do just that. “Besides: there is nothing I can say about the GOP that Kevin McCarthy has not already put on tape.” The joke was a veiled jab at the recent audio recordings of McCarthy that slammed former President Donald Trump.

Florida’s recent tussle against Disney World was also brought up by the President. Referring to President Ronald Regan’s speech demanding the fall of the Berlin wall, Biden said that the Republican party wants to “tear down Mickey Mouse’s house.” He added, “pretty soon they will be storming Cinderella’s castle, you can be pretty sure”. 

The cycle of self-deprecating humour continued this year. Joe Biden brought up the “Let’s go, Brandon” controversy, which was then turned into a meme by Republican supporters. “The Republicans seem to be supporting one fella: Some guy named Brandon. He is having a really good year”, Biden said as the pool of journalists laughed.

However, Biden’s speech on Saturday night was not all jokes. Towards the end of his address, he moved on to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and recognised the contribution of “journalists who risk their lives.”