'Running against a 6-yr-old': Biden lets Trump jokes fly at annual roast

US President Joe Biden didn't waste time. Just minutes into his speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday, Biden launched into the issues dominating the 2024 election, including his age and former Prez Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York.

"The 2024 election's in full swing and yes, age is an issue," Biden said in a roughly 10-minute speech.

"I'm a grown man running against a 6-year-old."

"Donald has had a few tough days lately. You might call it 'stormy' weather," Biden said, an oblique reference to Stormy Daniels, a porn actor who claims to have had sex with Trump in 2006 and received a hush-money payment in the days before the 2016 election, a deal at the centre of his New York trial. The comments were notable given Biden has forbidden his aides from talking about Trump's legal troubles.

While he rarely mentioned Trump by name early in his presidency, Biden has aggressively taunted him as of late and kept it going Saturday. "Age is the only thing we have in common," Biden, 81, said of Trump, 77. "My vice-president actually endorses me," he said, referring to former vice-president Mike Pence's decision not to endorse Trump.

Biden also used his speech at the dinner to warn about his political opponent's threats on democracy - increasingly a focus of his message to voters. "Focus on what's actually at stake," he said. "The stakes couldn't be higher."

The century-old event, often referred to as Washington's "nerd prom", provided a break to journalists and govt officials from their normal jousting for a night of glitz and gossip in celebration of the free press. Outside the gates of the Washington Hilton, however, outrage over Biden's support for Israel's war in the Gaza Strip was evident. As journalists and politicians arrived at the hotel, pro-Palestinian protesters chanted, "Shame on you!" Other protesters wearing press vests with the names of more than 100 Palestinian journalists who have been killed in Gaza lay down in front of the dinner venue.

Colin Jost, the co-anchor of "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live", spent roughly 23 minutes poking fun at the prez. But Jost's speech was relatively light, even supportive of Biden. He ended it by noting that his grandfather, who recently died, had voted for Biden in the last election. "The reason he voted for you is because you're a decent man," he said.

Trump reacted to the event by calling it "really bad" in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Crooked Joe was an absolute disaster! Doesn't get much worse than this!"