‘Is Joe Biden awake?’: Roy Wood Jr goes easy on Biden for roast at Correspondents’ Dinner

Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. went easy on Joe Biden during his set at the White House Correspondent Dinner – after the president used his own time on the podium to make jokes at the expense of several of his contemporaries .

Tasked with following the event’s most anticipated speaker, Wood Jr. stayed true to promises made to the media over the past week, in which he said his goal as this year’s host was to walk away still with a job.

With this in mind, an ensuing series of pointed remarks from the 44-year-old seemed to subtly roast the 80-year-old head of state, who minutes before tore into GOP figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Donald Trump.

Saving his venom for easy marks such as Don Lemon and embattled Fox News, Wood only made fun of Biden’s age, while devoting the rest of his set to calls to support for local journalism and barbs toward figures already lambasted by the president.

The most substantial of the night at just over 25 minutes, Woods’ speech made light of Biden’s advanced age – while joking about his mental faculties – by likening himself to Reginald VelJohnson’s perpetually sleepy character in Family Matters. 

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‘Is Joe Biden awake?’ ‘ Wood Jr. joked in one of the few segments of his lengthy set that addressed Biden, whom the comic ardently shook hands with upon taking the stage.

The comic went on to offer the crowd a subtle snap toward the American leader, by declaring: ‘Say what you want with our president – when he wakes up from that nap. Work gets done. He might doze off but then it’s infrastructure bill.’

Wood went on to emulate what he perceived as the president’s train of thought – a thought process the Daily Show reporter seemed to suggest was fragmented and perhaps poorly thought out.

‘Student loan forgiveness. Bring Brittney Griner home,’ Wood Jr. said, simulating Biden’s stilted speech.

Moments before, Biden offered his own speech – one markedly shorter that touched on the serious subject of the freedom of the press and the recent detainment of journalists like the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich.

Also mentioned by Biden was Brittney Griner, the WNBA star whose recent detainment in Russia threatened to reignite lingering tensions between Moscow and Washington.

Griner, released in Decemebr, was among the various figured in attendance at the Washington Hilton auditorium to hear the president speak, and was called on by Biden to stand during his speech, before being met with a round of applause.

But after those topics were addressed, Biden, 80, took the rare chance to lambaste his conservative counterparts using humor – seizing it with virtually no verbal flubs or mishaps to take away from his timing.

The result were a barrage of barbs that honed in on not only the Georgia Firebrand and axed Fox News personality, but  Don Lemon and Gov. Ron DeSantis, honing in on recent comments that may have gotten the former axed from his post at CNN, in which he suggested that women over 40 were no longer ‘in their prime.’

Seeing the opportunity for a needle at the expense of his fellow progressive, Biden began the joke by referencing his status as the older head of state in history.

‘Call me old? I call it being seasoned,’ he joked, before adding, ‘You say I’m ancient. I say I’m wise. You say I’m over the hill. Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime.’

The dig spared no expense toward the recently fired Democrat, who was axed from CNN last week after 17 years with the company – two months after he suggested on-air to his female coworkers that GOP candidate Nikki Haley, 51, should tread lightly when pushing a proposal that elderly politicians should face competency tests.

His reasoning behind the remark, offered to outraged coanchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins at the time, was because ‘a woman is in their prime in their 20s and 30s and maybe 40s’. 

Collins was among the hundreds in attendance who whooped and applauded the president during his set, which, while brief, was enough to get multiple more shots in – with members of the GOP bearing the brunt of the rest of the verbal assault.

The president went on to joked that Fox News was here ‘because they can’t afford to say no to a free meal’ – referencing their recent $787million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.

‘I’d call Fox News fair, honest and truthful, but then I’d been sued for defamation,’ Biden ruthlessly sniped in the wake of that bombshell payment, which was made early last week after the network had promised to fight the defamation suit in court.

For their part, Fox News’ staffers in attendance – including father-son Fox & Friends stars Steve and Peter Doocy – took the gag in stride, and were seen chuckling along with the rest of the audience.

Before honing in on another Fox personality, Biden poked further fun at himself – and his advanced age – while slipping in a not-so-subtle barb against the owner of Fox’s parent company, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch.

‘I get that age is a completely reasonable issue,’ Biden said during his less-than-ten minute spiel. ‘It’s on everyone’s mind – by everyone I mean the New York Times.

Of the elderly Comcast owner, he said: ‘I like Rupert Murdoch – how can I dislike a guy who makes me look look Harry Styles?’

Biden went on to reference his recently announced White House bid, while bashing Murdoch’s recently axed golden goose, 53-year-old Carlson, telling members of the crowd of his new campaign, ‘The job isn’t finished.’

He quickly added of the Fox firebrand, whose firing the same day as Lemon came as part of a historic shakeup never before seen in the world of cable journalism: ‘I mean, it is finished for Tucker Carlson.’

Attendees applauded the dig, after Biden took a particularly pointed jab toward Greene, the polarizing Republican congresswoman whose controversial comments have been the subject of headlines in recent months.

Biden began his roast of the polarizing politician by telling those in attendance: ‘I want everybody to have fun tonight, but please be safe.’

He quickly added: ‘If you find yourself disoriented or confused, it’s either you’re drunk — or Marjorie Taylor Greene.’

The punch line went on to land, with members of the crowd from both parties seen laughing and applauding shortly afterward.

Shortly before, Biden bashed both of his potential opponents come 2024, first zeroing in on DeSantis – and a suit filed against he aspiring GOP presidential candidate this week amid his ongoing row with Disney World resort.

‘I believe in the First Amendment, and not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it,’ Biden began before referencing the Florida governor.

‘I had a lot of Ron DeSantis jokes ready, but Mickey Mouse beat the Hell out of me and got there first.’

The president then proceeded to take a swipe at Donald Trump, referencing his 2020 rival’s recent indictment in New York over a hush money payment made in 2015 to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Setting up the joke by praising headliner Roy Wood Jr, he joking  told the crowd that the Daily Show correspondent – who went on after the president – told him to keep his set brief, and less than ten minutes.

Biden said Wood – who replaced his ousted boss Trevor Noah as host for this year’s dinner – offered him $10 to stay within that time limit.

He went on to joke, at Trump’s expense: ‘That’s a switch – a president being offered a hush money payment!’

The president’s set was met with rave reception in real-time both on social media and in the Hilton’s ballroom, where a slew of high-profile personalities gathered to hear him and others speak.

Chuck Schumer and actress Julia Fox were among those applauding the president during his speech – after the unlikely pair raised some eyebrows as they made their way down the red carpet side by side.

Clad in a tuxedo for the black-tie event, the 72-year-old Senate leader posed for multiple photos with the actress, who last month vehemently denied using diabetes meds to lose weight during an ill-fated fling with rapper Kanye West.

Known for daring, sometimes atypical fashion choices, the 33-year-old model elected for a less traditional getup – donning some dramatic face makeup and a black, leather ensemble that would make both Beetlejuice and Kiss proud.

Also seen arriving was headliner Daily Show correspondent Wood Jr., who said that his goal as host is simply to walk away still with a job. 

Other high-profile attendees seen piling into the Washington Hilton included Kelly Ripa and Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey.

All dressed to the nines, the amalgam of stars and politicians managed to circumvent a boisterous group of climate activists who formed a blockade outside, promising to prohibit entry.

Others seen mingling outside the Washington Hilton’s hallowed auditorium included CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and comedian Billy Eichner, with President Biden poised to arriving within the hour as well. 

The youth-led group posed up outside previously posted a video accusing the president of committing ‘ecocide’ – a term used to describe the destruction of the environment by deliberate or negligent action.

Outside the Hilton around 7pm – about an hour removed from the dinner’s scheduled start time – members who have taken issue with Biden’s recent approval of several oil projects were seen shouting and egging on members of the Metro police.

The procession has so far remained peaceful, but remained stationed outside as other notable personalities arrived at the event – with the chaos outside doing little to deter the festivities.

CBS broadcaster Gayle King, for instance, was seen waving at paparazzi while posing on the red carpet with a hot-pink, full length number that harked back to Reese Witherspoons’ character in Legally Blonde.

Kaitlan Collins, who up until last week was Don Lemon’s co-anchor on CNN This Morning before the newscasters’ abrupt ouster, also stopped to pose for the cameras, showing off tasteful, bedazzled black dress – with a bag to match.

Outspoken Democrat – and onetime George W. Bush Diplomat – Fran Drescher also was seen making her way in the hotel, with the 65-year-old Nanny star emanating class in an all-white suit.

Also donning all-white was White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who also arrived unhindered despite the activists still seen outside.

Back on Thursday, the 48-year-old Biden staffer incited controversy when she addressed a recent photo of the head of state holding what appeared to be a cheat sheet of a reporter’s question during a White House press briefing, calling it ‘entirely normal.’

The president will get a rare chance to flex his comedic muscles Saturday, as perhaps the most anticipated speaker of the night – in front of a star-studded audience that will also include his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, and recently released WNBA star Brittany Griner.

Griner, who recently said she was ‘done’ playing overseas following he ten-month detention in Moscow, is set to attend with partner Cherelle Griner as guests of CBS News. 

The pair were not seen among the amalgam of stars and political personalities arriving ahead of the event’s scheduled 8pm start.

That said, other big names spotted included Father-son journalist pair Peter and Steve Doocy, of Fox News, who also stopped to wave at snappers before finding their seat.

Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, too, made a red-carpet appearance, posing for a photo with wife Gisele roughly a month removed from his six-week stint at  Walter Reed for depression.

Fetterman, 53, finally dressed up for the occasion after being met with backlash online for his unformal attire during his first day back at the Capitol less than two weeks ago, of a hoodie, gym shorts, and sneakers.

Since facing criticism for donning clothes many felt unbecoming of an elected official, the politician refused to take any questions from reporters, a few months removed from his hard-fought victory over Republican Rival Mehmet – better known by his TV descriptor, ‘Dr’ – Oz.

Others seen before the dinner’ start included United States Army General Mark Alexander Milley and the reverend Al Sharpton.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk