Joe Biden Helps Kennedy Center Honors Return To Tradition With A. D.C. Weekend Of Politicos, Performers And Proof Of Vaccination
by telling the audience in the Opera House, “Tonight, it is quite nice, very nice, to see the presidential box once again being occupied.”a standing ovation, after which Letterman quipped, “The same with the Oval Office.”, Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, and Berry Gordy pose following the Medallion Ceremony for the 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday.
Instead, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted honorees Justino Diaz, Berry Gordy, Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler and Lorne Michaels for an event in the East Room before the ceremony. The president gave Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, a little ribbing, “He’s trying out seven guys to play me.”He added, “If you can’t laugh at yourself, we’re in real trouble. And you make me laugh at myself a lot.”“Steve, I’m afraid that you understands me too well,” Biden said.
David Rubenstein, the chairman of the Kennedy Center, drew cheers when he said on stage to the audience, “How does it feel to be in a room where everyone is vaccinated and tested?”