Saturday's annual Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington featured jokes about President Trump, the collapse of the global order, the uncertain future for Russia and Democrats, and of course Elon Musk.
One of the headliners was Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a rising star of the Democratic Party. He acknowledged that his speaking slot was a sign of his own political ambitions and was creating a jab for current White House residents.
“If I actually wanted to be president, I wouldn't do this,” he said. “Instead, I'll take my case directly to those in charge of our democracy. The Kremlin.”
Even after all these years, jokes about Trump and Russia are still playing with the official crowd in Washington. People in the Hyatt basement, packed with reporters, editors, television anchors and ambassadors, laughed.
But Trump wasn't there to hear that.
He and his top members of his administration skipped dinner, one of the old-fashioned Washington rituals. The president, who dates back to William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, attended an event organized by the Gridiron Club, a association of top journalists formed in 1885. Historically, it was the chance for the president to sweep along with those who cover him.
Trump skipped dinner in 2017 in his first year as president, but he attended in 2018. That year he made some self-deprecating jokes about the chaos in his administration. (“I like chaos. That's really good. Who's going to leave next? Steve Miller, or Melania?”) It was the first time he'd been present,
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. joked last year about upcoming presidential elections that are not aging accurately. (“One candidate is too old and not worthy of being a president mentally,” he said that year. “The other guy is me”)))))
With no president this year, political and media players were left to fill the void. The joke they made provided a snapshot of this moment in the capital.
The Republican headliner was Michigan's representative Lisa McClain. “I was also told that Robert Kennedy would be here tonight, but unfortunately he couldn't make it,” she said, “He has measles.”
PBS journalist Judy Woodruff opened the room with a joke that Musk would attack her father with so many children and the drinking of Defense Secretary Pete Hegses. She also ripped apart from the Democrats. “In the joint session, I was lost and confused than Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl,” she said.
There was also a skit.
One song and dance figure, he sang, a man dressed to Mr. Musk in a technical support t-shirt, waving a chainsaw and singing about his turn, “I'll turn GOP into AFD.”
One of the less successful acts, centered around two men covered in leaves, pretending to be Hakeem Jeffries, a minority leader, and Chuck Schumer, a Senate minority leader. “Lost in the Woods” was a chorus. (“When you get lost in the forest, no one cares about your pronouns.”)
Another number portrayed Biden, who dressed Amtrak employees. Apparently we got a slightly better reception than the one with leaves.
Still another featured portrayals of two other well-known Democrats, along with New York president Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is fighting against Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. She accused him of being a supporter of Maga in her disguise, and he accused her of being a communist. Another act was sung by Mock Ushavance about being a fake populist.
There was a joke that people outside the volatile room had little understanding, such as when former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe mentioned the nonpartisan think tank Woodrow Wilson International Scholars Center. (It's being targeted by the Trump administration.)
CBS's Margaret Brennan shouted out members of diplomatic corps in the UK, France, Australia and the European Union. “You know,” she said, “all the enemies of America.”
She then introduced the Ukrainian ambassador – there were no jokes – and many journalists in the room stood up to applause.
