Watch Live: White House correspondents’ dinner returns after hiatus

The White House correspondents’ dinner returns Saturday night after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be addressed by President Biden, who is the first sitting president to speak at it in six years. Former President Trump was not able to attend.

Ahead of the dinner, Mr. Biden tweeted about the press Saturday, writing that he “always had respect for the press, but I can’t say enough about how much respect I have after their reporting in Ukraine. “

“They’re risking their lives every single day to make sure the world hears the truth,” Mr. Biden said.

Earlier this week, the president said the event was to “celebrate the press. “

“Think of what the American press has done,” Mr. Biden said Thursday. “The courage it took to stay in this warzone. It took courage to report every day. Although I’ve always respected the press, I can’t express how much I respect them now that I’m watching them in these dangerous zones, where they are under fire and risking their lives to ensure the truth is told. Imagine if we didn’t get this information. It would be a completely different world. It would be a different world. “

The annual dinner is the main source of revenue for the White House Correspondents’ Association, which comprises hundreds of journalists from print, broadcast, digital and radio. Scholarships for promising journalists are also funded by the proceeds of the dinner. The dinner also includes professional journalism awards.

In another return to past tradition, a comedian — Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” — will headline for the first time since Michelle Wolf‘s 2018 monologue that skewered and shocked Washington’s elite. After Wolf’s set, the correspondents’ association announced historian Ron Chernow would deliver remarks in 2019.

Some celebrities, notably Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, are expected to be among the approximately 2,600 in attendance.

How to watch the White House correspondents’ dinner