DeSantis slams Trevor Noah for 'lying' about him being at correspondents' dinner

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday he 'rejected' an invite to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and slammed comedian Trevor Noah for 'lying' that he was there.

'I was what I would never attend that I have no interest in that. I did not watch it,' the Republican governor of Florida told reporters at a press conference. 

'I don't care what they do, but for them to advertise me when that invitation was rejected by my office, that is a lie,' he said. 

'They are lying about something that is readily verifiable.' 

He said he had no interested in joining a 'cabal' of elites from Washington D.C. and New York at the black tie gathering of journalists, celebrities, business leaders and President Joe Biden.

'The idea that I would have ever gone is false and why they would want to try to perpetuate a lie about that I don't know. But I think it just shows you why that cabal of people in DC, New York, are so reviled by so many Americans. I think it's a reputation that's been well deserved,' he noted.

Daily Show host Trevor Noah, in his remarks at Saturday's dinner, said DeSantis was in the audience. He mocked the governor a few times during his speech, poking fun at DeSantis' reported rivalry with Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign.

'One of my favorites, Ron DeSantis is here,' Noah said. 'Oh man, I'm actually surprised that he found the time. You know he has been so busy trying to outmaneuver [former President Donald] Trump for 2024. I see you, Ron. I see you, player.' 

DeSantis' name was included in the event's program. 

His team has downplayed any presidential ambitions as he seeks re-election to a second term for governor this year.

DeSantis has led in some straw polls on the race for the 2024 Republican nomination. Republicans around the country have praised him for keeping Florida open during the covid pandemic and defying recommendations on mask wearing. 

Noah joked that DeSantis could pull a Trump in 2024 and claim victory no matter the actual result. Trump still falsely claims he won the 2020 election.

'[If] Trump was the original Terminator, DeSantis is like the T-1000. You're smarter than him, you're slicker than him, you can walk down ramps,' Noah said. 

'Because you see, no, Trump said he won the election, but everyone was just able to look at the numbers and see he was wrong. That's why Ron DeSantis is one step ahead, first you ban the math textbooks, then nobody knows how to count the votes. Boom, my man!' 

Florida's Department of Education has banned dozens of math textbooks, saying they have 'problematic' material. The state tossed out 41 percent of the 132 math textbooks submitted for the next school year, more than half of which the state said referenced Critical Race Theory (CRT), with the rest containing Common Core and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

During Saturday night's event, where almost 3,000 people crowded into a ballroom at the Washington Hilton, President Joe Biden mocked his own low approval rating and called the Trump administration a 'horrible plague.'

'Tonight, we come here to answer a very important question in everybody's mind. Why in hell are we still doing this?' Biden quipped as he took the stage in the room full of journalists and D.C. insiders. 

'I know there are questions about whether we should gather here tonight because of COVID. Well, we're here to show the country that we're getting through this pandemic. Plus, everyone had to prove they're fully vaccinated and boosted,' he said. 'Just contact your favorite Fox News reporter they're all here vaccinated and boosted.'

He then addressed his historically low poll numbers for the first time, claiming that journalists were the only people who were less well-liked.

'I'm really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans have a lower approval rating than I have,' Biden said. 

However, Biden wasn't the only one to embrace comedy at Saturday's affair. The Late Late Show James Corden opened the dinner with a sketch of him taking over the duties of Press Secretary Jen Psaki, which included a cameo from a reporter she regularly clashes with, Fox News' Peter Doocy. 

Corden eagerly took to the podium to take questions from reporters following a briefing with Psaki and Biden, but the ill-prepared Corden was immediately flanked with complicated questions from reporters. 

Among them was Doocy, who Biden was recorded calling a 'stupid son of a b****' in January, with Psaki echoing similar remarks earlier this month. Biden reportedly called Doocy afterwards to apologize.

Despite the critical comments from them, Doocy played his part in Corden's sketch on Saturday, appearing straight-forward and no-nonsense as he took on the fumbling comedian. 

Doocy asks the 'interim-press secretary', 'When the president says one thing, and White House staff say something else, who are we supposed to listen to? The president, or White House staff?'

'Well you know what, David,' the comedian, appearing fed up by the questions from all the reporters. 

'That's not my name,' Doocy quickly replies.

'You say your name is not David. I say your name is David,' Corden snaps back. 

'And I'm stood up here and you're sat down there - unless you wanna be sat at the back with whoever they are' Corden added as he threatened to move Doocy to the far-end of the press room. 

Corden's sketch also involved digs at the Biden administration as Psaki told him that the CDC is 'good,' to which he replies, 'Really? 'They've been pissing me off.'

Psaki also tells him that the economy is strong, with Corden again questioning the validity of the statement. 

'Is it,' he asks doubtfully as Psaki moves on to the rest of the briefing. 

Also at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Trevor Noah slammed the administration for rising consumer costs, taking aim at what analysts predict is a looming recession.

The Daily Show Host touted Biden for coming out to the event on Saturday, saying he doesn't know why the president would miss a chance to hear all about his supposed accomplishments.

'You know, I think ever since you've come into office, things are really looking up. Gas is up. Rent is up. Food is up. Everything,' Noah joked about inflation, which is at the highest it's been in 40 years.