It’s been a beat since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner returned to form with the sitting President and a comedian sharing the dais. After Donald Trump refused to attend the event and then the pandemic canceled two years, the WHCD roared back this weekend with The Dai

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ly Show’s Trevor Noah roasting the press and President Joe Biden to perfection; a gaggle of parties hosted by the likes of Paramount, CAA and UTA; and celebrity attendees including Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, Drew Barrymore, Martha Stewart, Diane Lane, Fran Drescher, Billy Eichner, Sophia Bush, Brooke Shields, Chris Tucker, Jason Isaacs, Fat Joe and Roy Wood Jr.

Some offered their take on the news, with Barrymore noting her love for the “Drew’s News” segment of her daily syndicated show. “I’m a major news fanatic and I like hearing all different angles and different stories,” Barrymore said. “It was the most important segment to me to do on the show, and I’m really glad they’ve allowed me to do it and it’s working. It starts our show every day.”

Others had words for Biden. “I want him to see doing as good of a job as he can,” Eichner said, before offering his own wish list for Capitol Hill: “Cancel student debt. And I’m part of the LGBTQ community and there’s a lot of awful, dangerous, cruel shit happening in Florida and all over the country. They are attacking young queer people and there’s a wave of anti-LGBTQ, anti-trans legislation happening all over the country, and we can’t let it go.”

Here are some musings from DC’s splashiest annual soiree:

• Big events are back. For now. There were scant masked faces to be found as the crowd of roughly 2,600 attendees entered the Washington Hilton in all their finery. More than 70 people tested positive after attending the high-profile Gridiron dinner in DC in early April, and despite a mandate that all dinner guests show a same-day negative test, Dr. Anthony Fauci opted out of the soiree several days earlier out of concern over Covid. This gave some fodder to the evening’s entertainer, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, who delivered a blisteringly funny address. Fresh from his Grammys-hosting gig, Noah said it was “a great honor to be speaking at the nation’s most distinguished super-spreader event” and added, “I expect this from Sean Hannity, but the rest of you, what are you doing? You spent the last two years telling everyone the importance of wearing masks and avoiding large indoor gatherings. Then the second someone offers you a free dinner, you turn into Joe Rogan.”
• No one can keep up with the Kardashians. There were plenty of A-list names in attendance, but the spotlight fixated on Kim Kardashian and her current beau Pete Davidson, who made their red carpet debut as a couple at the event. Staff scrambled to clear other talent—including presenter Gayle King, who later jested about the experience from the podium—from the carpet as the guests of Disney/ABC entered the room, posed briefly for photos and made a getaway accompanied by a hefty security detail. Even other notable guests were snapping pics and vying to get face time with the couple; Martha Stewart posted a photo with the pair on her socials soon after the dinner began.
• Trevor Noah delivered. Nevermind that a ton of top comedians are performing in LA venues this weekend for Netflix
  
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  Is A Joke, the best comedic stage in the country last night was in DC. Noah took shots at the press—including a jab at Meet The Press’ Chuck Todd and a zinger for Fox News, which he likened to a Waffle House location: “It’s relatively normal in the afternoon, but as soon as the sun goes down there is a drunk lady named Jeanine threatening to fight every Mexican who comes in.” And at the President, including a dig at the conclusion of his roast: “Please be careful leaving tonight. We all know this administration doesn’t handle evacuations well.” Ultimately, Noah praised the power of a free press. “I stood here tonight and made fun of the President of the United States,” he said. “And I’m going to be fine.”
• This President has a sense of humor. And to no surprise, some in the room didn’t like the jokes. After showing a prerecorded video featuring James Corden subbing for Jen Psaki as White House press secretary, Biden took the mic and poked fun at his low approval ratings before moving into Trump and the far right. Noting during the six years since a President attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner the country suffered a “horrible plague—followed by two years of Covid,” he added, “Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year, now that would have been a real coup.” Regarding questions about whether the event should have taken place in-person this year with the pandemic still lingering, he said: “Everyone had to prove they were fully vaccinated and boosted. So if you’re at home watching this and you wonder how to do that, just contact your favorite Fox News reporter. They’re all here, vaccinated and boosted, all of them.”