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President Joe Biden held a black-tie soiree at the South Lawn of the White House over the weekend—an event many have called a "last hurrah" by the incumbent president.
Knewz.com has learned that the weekend dinner guests included Democratic presidential campaign donors, members of Biden's cabinet, and the President's friends and supporters.
According to reports, former and current ambassadors were also in attendance at the event.
The Minnesota Governor and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz was also present at the dinner, accompanied by his wife Glen.
Notably, President Biden did not mention President-elect Donald Trump even once while addressing the crowd at the White House dinner on Friday, November 22.
The incumbent President opened his speech at the event with a joke, requesting guests to take a seat and not "jump in the pool."
"[First Lady] Jill [Biden] and I are hosting this dinner tonight for a very simple reason — to say thank you. Thank you to so many dear friends," Biden said in his speech.
"We began this journey to redeem the soul of the nation and define the light in the darkness. And I never could have gotten to where the White House has become without you and we never could have gotten as much done as we did without you," the President further said.
"And that's not hyperbole. I mean it from the bottom of my heart," he added.
"Maybe the most important thing you've done is lend your name, your reputation, your character [to] this effort. It's more than just saying we are for that administration. You put yourself on the line and we never forget we're incredibly grateful."
"One thing I've always believed about public service and especially the presidency is the importance of asking ourselves: Have we left the country in better shape than we found it?" the President continued.
"Tonight, I can say with all my heart, the answer to that question is resounding 'yes' because of you. Because you care."
"I look out at so many of you, our cabinet members, our White House staff who poured their heart and soul into their work. And I want to thank their families for the sacrifices they made to allow that to happen. I believe we can be proud. We're leaving America in a better place," Biden was quoted as saying.
During his speech, the outgoing President also outlined a summary of his Presidential term from 2021 to 2024, saying:
"We came into office four years ago. This country [lived] through the worst pandemic we've seen in over 100 years. Our economy was in a tailspin. We just witnessed something we thought we would never ever see in America. A violent insurrection on January the sixth and so much more come a long way since then."
"You passed historic legislation, often with some bipartisan support laws that are really going to change America, not just now, but for decades and decades to come. I know I've only been around a few days, a few years. I can't believe how long it's been, but I fully believe America is better positioned to lead the world today than a point in my 50 years of public service," he further said, per a transcript shared by C-SPAN.
The President concluded his speech with a quote from the Irish poet William Butler Yeats: "Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends."
Biden also referenced the approaching end of his presidential term, saying, "As I look out over such threads, serving as president of the United States has been the honor of my life, but all our time and all is coming to an end."
"Our cause endures. That's because this is the journey of America, America. The America of our dreams is calling us to stay engaged, to never give up, to keep going, to keep the faith."
It has been reported that the guests called the event a “real love fest,” describing the dinner as "sad, but also just a real sense of appreciation for the Bidens."
"It was absolutely gorgeous," one of the guests said.
Another guest was quoted as saying, "Weirdly, it was also really fun — like a last hurrah."
However, it is worth noting that some of the biggest donors of the Democratic campaign – some of them made $250,000 donations to the campaign – were absent from the elite event.
A source who spoke to the outlet Page Sixsaid, "Insiders who were invited and didn’t go are calling it ‘the losers party’... Many said they didn’t want to be associated with the Dems right now because of the embarrassing loss [in the 2024 elections]."
Some of the donors did not attend the event out of "anger" over the fact that the campaign raised $1.5 billion through donations and still "failed," according to the source.