CNN will air special coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner from 7-11 p.m. ET anchored by John Berman and Brianna Keilar in Washington, DC.
(CNN)President Joe Biden took a dig at his predecessor Saturday at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, while also joking about the press, the GOP and the continued existence of the event altogether.
"I'm really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have," Biden said during his initial comments.
"We had a horrible plague followed by two years of Covid," he said. "Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year, now that would really have been a real coup if that occurred."
The event marked Biden's first appearance at the widely attended Washington event since taking office. As the first President to address the dinner's attendees in six years, he stressed his support for democracy and the free press.
Saturday night's dinner, which took place inside the Washington Hilton and was expected to host more than 2,500 guests, returned in full force after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The event's program was headlined by "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah and featured Biden delivering comedic remarks. The White House Correspondents' Association, which hosts the annual black tie event, honored several journalists for their contributions.
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Biden also poked fun at his age, joking that he remembers when the annual dinner began, with President Calvin Coolidge speaking in 1924. "I had just been elected to the United States Senate," he said.
The President said that when he was elected, Noah on his show called Biden "America's New Dad," to which he said, "Let me tell you something pal, I'm flattered anybody would call me a 'new' anything."
Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
US President George W. Bush, left, waves with impressionist Steve Bridges at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2006.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
The White House Correspondents' Dinner is held in 1923. It was started two years earlier by the White House Correspondents' Association, the organization of journalists who cover the president. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend the dinner.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, seated, shakes hands with Raymond P. Brandt, chief of the Washington bureau of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, at the 1945 dinner. Roosevelt was congratulating Brandt for winning the first Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, which was given by the White House Correspondents' Association for distinguished reporting.
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President Harry Truman, second from left, presents a $500 check to Peter Edson, second from right, for winning the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award in 1949.
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Legendary golfer Bobby Jones, left, presents a duplicate of his famous putter, Calamity Jane, to President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the dinner in 1959. In the center is Felix Belair Jr. of The New York Times.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
President Richard Nixon shakes hands with US Navy Lt. Cmdr. John McCain at the dinner in 1973. Just a month earlier, McCain had been released from a Vietnamese prison after being a prisoner of war for over five years.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Until 1962, the correspondents' dinner was open to just men. President John F. Kennedy, center, refused to attend until it was opened to women.
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President Gerald Ford, right, speaks with comedian Chevy Chase, left, in 1976. Chase famously portrayed Ford as clumsy on "Saturday Night Live." Between the two, from left, are "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels and cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
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Ford laughs with Helen Thomas, a White House correspondent with United Press International, at the 1975 dinner. Thomas was the first female president of the White House Correspondents' Association.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter chat with Paul Healy, right, of the New York Daily News and Lawrence O'Rourke, left, of the Philadelphia Bulletin as they arrive to the dinner in 1977. Healy was the new president of the White House Correspondents' Association, and O'Rourke was its outgoing president.
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At the 1987 dinner, President Ronald Reagan called up his wife, Nancy, to say a few kind words to the press. After a pause she responded, "I'm thinking."
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President George H.W. Bush laughs while watching Jim Morris do an impression of him at the 1989 dinner.
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President Bill Clinton holds a placard proclaiming, "Don't blame me. I voted for me," at the dinner in 1996. Clinton was auditioning some potential slogans for bumper stickers.
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Photos: The history of the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Clinton high-fives a "clone" of him played by actor Darrell Hammond in 1997.
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President George W. Bush conducts the Marine Corps Band during the dinner in 2008.
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Comedian Keegan-Michael Key plays President Barack Obama's "anger translator" Luther in 2015.
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Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, attend the correspondents' dinner in 2015. They didn't attend any of the dinners while he was President.
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Obama drops the mic after speaking at his last correspondents' dinner in 2016. "Obama out," he said.
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Covid anxieties
Inside the gala, negative Covid-19 tests were required for entry and masks were voluntary -- just as they are throughout most of Washington.
But there had been growing concerns that Saturday night's event could lead to Covid cases among partygoers, after dozens of attendees -- including some of Biden's Cabinet officials -- who attended a different Washington party, the Gridiron Dinner, tested positive weeks ago.
Cases of Covid in Washington are now steady after rising following the decline of the Omicron variant's wave, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the President's chief medical adviser, decided to bow out of Saturday's dinner after a personal risk assessment.
"In general, the risk is low, but I made a personal assessment. I'm 81 years old, and if I get infected, I have a much higher risk," Fauci said earlier this week.
Saturday's event also came after two top Biden officials recently tested positive for Covid-19.
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive on Tuesday and remains asymptomatic. And the White House's top communications official, Kate Bedingfield, tested positive on Friday and is experiencing mild symptoms. The President was not considered a close contact in either case.
But Biden's decision to still attend the dinner, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week, was "a risk assessment and a decision he made on a personal basis." And Biden was intent on going, she said, to express his support for a free press. First lady Jill Biden also attended.
The White House said before the event that the President would be taking extra precautions to prevent catching Covid-19, including skipping the meal portion of the program. Biden sat on the dais, away from the crowded dining room, and wasn't expected to attend receptions before or afterward.
During his speech, Biden also poked fun at Fox News and made note of the Covid-related requirements to attend the event.
"If you're at home watching this and you're wondering how to do that, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. They're all here. Vaccinated and boosted. All of them," he said to resounding applause.
Adjusting the tone for Biden's comedic set
The President had a rare chance for his comedic chops to shine Saturday night during remarks at the dinner, but the opportunity arguably came at a tough moment for the country to have a laugh.
The economic recovery from Covid-19 has stumbled in the first quarter of 2022, with numbers revealing this week that gross domestic product declined at an annual rate of 1.4% during the first three months of the year -- marking the worst quarter for the American economy since the spring of 2020. Russia is continuing to wage war with Ukraine. And as his party heads into a highly consequential midterms season, Biden's approval rating has stagnated -- with a recent CNN Poll of Polls average on Biden's handling of the presidency finding that 41% of Americans approve of the job he's doing, with 54% disapproving.
Biden on Saturday acknowledged the difficulty he's had in getting his agenda across, while also touching on his grand promises of being able to reach across the aisle, saying, "I came to office with an ambitious agenda, and I expected it to face stiff opposition in the Senate. I just hoped it would be from Republicans."
The speech also took place at a time when the American political environment remains extremely polarized, arguably more divided than in 2016 -- the last time a president delivered a speech at the dinner.
While more partisan gridlock is possible, Biden said he was confident he could sort it out in a second term.
"We may end up with more partisan gridlock," he said. "But I'm confident we can work it out during my remaining six years in the presidency."
On Republicans' use of the phrase "Let's go Brandon" against Biden, he said, "Republicans seem to support one fella. Some guy named Brandon. He's having a really good year, and I'm kind of happy for him."
Biden's speech had been in the works for a few weeks, officials said, and wasn't finished as of Friday. But at the outset of the writing process, the President told his team he envisioned an address that went beyond just an amalgamation of one-liners, wisecracks and gags.
The White House sourced a long list jokes from across his staff to craft Saturday night's set. Officials said the chief of staff Ron Klain, members of the communications team and others inside the White House sent jokes to Biden's speechwriters for consideration. Rob Flaherty, the director of digital strategy, and Dan Cluchey, a senior speechwriter -- both said to be among Biden's funniest staffers -- sent material.
Biden was expected to do a few practice runs to get a feel for the delivery and timing, a person familiar with the matter said.
Biden used the appearance to loudly affirm his belief in a free press after his predecessor -- who skipped the yearly dinner throughout his time in office -- labeled reporters the "enemy of the people."
"At home, poison is running through our democracy," he said, but "What's clear ... You, the free press, matter more than you ever did in the last century."
As he yielded the mic to Noah, Biden said to him, "Now you get to roast the President of the United States. And unlike in Moscow, you won't go to jail."
This story has been updated with additional information Saturday.
CNN's Kevin Liptak and Ariel Edwards-Levy contributed to this report.