Biden Praises Journalists At WH Correspondents Dinner, Expresses Special Love For Brittney Griner

As expected, President Biden began his remarks at Saturday's White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner on a serious note to and about journalists, calling the free press a pillar of a free society, not the enemy. “Tonight, our message is this: Journalism is not a crime,” said Biden.

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate…to prefer the latter,” the President quoted Thomas Jefferson then moved on to acknowledge the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March in Russia and charged with espionage.

“Evan went to report in Russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from years ago. Absolute courage. A handwritten letter from prison to his family, Evan wrote that he has not lost hope,” Biden said. “We’re working every day to secure his release, looking at opportunities and tools to bring him home. We keep the faith.” 

Brittney Griner, Biden's Main Focus, Diplomatic Coup?

Biden then mentioned several other reporters whom he referred to as hostages or wrongfully detained abroad, but his warmest words were directed toward Brittney Griner, who attended the WHCA with her wife Cherelle as a guest of CBS News.

“Tonight, unlike last year, Brittney Griner is here with her wife Cherelle. Brittney, where you are, kid? Stand up. Come on. I love this woman. Love you, Brittney,” Biden said. 

Griner, all six-foot-seven of her, stood up and nodded as the room burst into applause.  

“This time last year, we were praying for you, Brittney, hoping you knew how hard all of us were fighting for your release. It’s great to have you home," Biden continued. "And, boy, I can hardly wait to see you back on the court, kid. Remember your promise. I get to bring my granddaughter, my All-State girl, to see you. Right?” 

Biden announced that he recently signed an executive order increasing the consequences for criminal groups and terrorists who “engage in the appalling practice of treating human beings as bargaining chips, political pawns.”

Griner, who was detained at a Moscow airport in Feb. 2022 for possessing cannabis oil just one week before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was widely viewed as a pawn in Putin’s long-term plan to exchange the high-profile WNBA star for his KGB colleague and notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, which is exactly what happened this past December after Griner's 10-month ordeal in a Russia prison.