President Biden Vows to Continue Working to Free Wrongfully Detained Americans Abroad at White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

President Joe Biden addressed the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, vowing to continue to work to free Americans believed to be wrongly detained abroad. During his speech, he emphasized the importance of a free press, countering the outlook of the last administration.

“The free press is a pillar, maybe the pillar, of a free society, not the enemy,” Mr. Biden said. He went on to describe those held abroad as “political pawns” and “human beings as bargaining chips.”

The president and first lady Jill Biden, upon arriving at the Washington Hilton, met privately with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March. Gershkovich is one of a number of Americans held overseas on what United States officials see as false charges.

The annual event took a more solemn tone this year as President Biden acknowledged the several American journalists under siege in authoritarian countries around the world. Among the 2,600 people attending the gala was Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, an American journalist who has been held in Syria since 2012.

President Biden’s speech was met with applause from the audience, as he reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the freedom of the press and freeing those who have been wrongfully detained abroad. He concluded his remarks by saying, “We must never forget that a free press is the cornerstone of our democracy.”