MSNBC host Nicole Wallace claimed Monday there may not be a “free press” under another Trump administration, following a reflection on the White House correspondents’ dinner over the weekend.
Wallace opened up her 5 p.m. hour by reflecting on the White House’s annual star-studded dinner, inviting journalists who cover President Joe Biden to the event. During the breakdown from the evening hosted by “Saturday Night Live” comedian Colin Jost, Wallace said behind the jokes was “something darker,” referring to the upcoming 2024 election in which Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to face off again. (RELATED: VIDEO: Anti-Israel Protesters Cause Chaos For White House Correspondents’ Dinner Attendees)
“The president of the United States dines and then tries to entertain assembled members of the free press,” Wallace said. “The annual White House correspondents’ dinner is one of the symptoms, one of the signs, of a healthy functioning democracy. A one-night-only hiatus from the normal in Washington and an opportunity to suspend those more formal aspects of the relationship between a president and the news media. It’s coming together.”
“At its core, the president doing everything right celebrates and honors the free press,” she continued. “Behind the levity, though, there was something darker, a darker undercurrent, if you will, and a point that the president had to make. It was more profoundly serious because at this exact time next year, depending what happens in November, seven months from now, we can’t say for certain that there would even be a White House correspondents’ dinner, or even a free press, or even a White House press corps. Right?”
“You don’t have to have one, could be another norm Trump blows up. The stakes of the 2024 election are a living, breathing subplot of this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner. It came up in the jokes, came up in the inherent contrast between President Joe Biden, there in the room, and the coup-plotting openly autocratic modeling of himself Donald Trump, who wants to replace him,” Wallace stated.
Following a clip from the dinner in which Jost told a story about his grandfather to Biden and the finale of Biden’s speech for the event, Wallace said the toast from the president “landed differently this year.”
“Because depending what happens in November, seven months from right now, this time next year I might not be sitting here. There might not there might not be a White House correspondents’ dinner or free press,” Wallace continued.
A poll from CNN conducted by SSRS released Sunday regarding hypothetical general election results showed that in a two-way race between Trump and Biden, the former president is leading by 6 points with 49% of voters supports as Biden received 43%, according to the survey.
Even with additional candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein and Cornel West, Trump still dominated the polls with 42% compared to Biden’s 33%, Kennedy at 16%, West with 4% and Stein with 3%, according to CNN.