Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
WASHINGTON — Utah's Gov. Spencer Cox reportedly brought the house down with his speech at the Gridiron Club dinner Saturday night, where he poked fun at himself, his party, Biden and the Democrats — and Utah.
"This year's Republican speaker, Cox, was a perfect fit for the usual fare of self-effacing Gridiron jokes, playing the part of the naive rube who suddenly finds himself in tails and a white bow tie," a Washington Post reporter wrote.
The Post said attendees at the annual dinner responded with "laughter and cheers and applause," on top of a little table pounding. "When he was done, Biden was one of the first on his feet for the standing O."
The Gridiron Club is a journalistic organization in Washington, D.C., with national media outlets and correspondents as members. It hosts an annual white tie dinner — a tradition that started in the 1880s — where politicians and journalists roast themselves and one another.
Cox was the designated Republican speaker at this year's dinner. Other speakers included President Joe Biden, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and Dan Balz, a correspondent for the Washington Post and Gridiron Club president.
"You probably have no idea who I am. You see, I was the second choice for tonight's Republican speaker, but don't worry; my friends call me, 'Discount Glenn Youngkin.' (Virginia) Gov. Youngkin is 6′5″, handsome, played college basketball, went to Harvard and is worth $300 million. So we're basically twins. In a Schwarzenegger/DeVito sort of way," he said.
Later, after joking about how much it would cost to pay a speechwriter for the night's event — including a dig at "Bidenomics — Cox said, "I apologize that you're stuck with me writing my own material. The good news is that I practiced all my jokes in Utah, in front of sober people, so I should be much funnier tonight."
Cox managed to make the audience laugh while telling jokes about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's memory lapses, Biden's age, Congress, Tucker Carlson and the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
The 'fancy part of Utah'
Cox poked a little fun at himself, and his audience, while talking about his home state and his rural upbringing.
"I am from the great state of Utah. Oh, I'm sorry. I should explain. Utah is a state between Tyson's Corner and California."
"Each year, Utah is ranked as the most charitable state in the nation. The best state to start a business, the best state for upward mobility. U.S. News just named us the best economy AND the best state overall. ...
"I'm sure some of you have traveled to Utah. Places like Park City to ski or the Sundance Film Festival. That's 'fancy Utah.' Like if Jon Huntsman or Mitt Romney were a city. I want to be clear that I'm from a different part of Utah."
A defense of Mitt Romney?
"As we approach another election, I want to thank the media in this room for standing up for democracy and protecting us from a power-hungry, narcissistic, misogynist. I mean, can you imagine how terrible our country would be right now if we had elected Mitt Romney in 2012?" Cox joked.
"You deserve a lot of credit for saving us from binders full of women, dogs strapped on top of cars, and … well, that's just 47% of the things I can remember you telling us about Mitt Romney.
"I mean, the nerve of that guy! Russia as our greatest adversary. Pft. We all know that our greatest adversary is Taylor Swift."
'In a world full of arsonists, we desperately need some architects'
In the last moments of his speech, Cox took the opportunity to speak about his 'Disagree Better' initiative, and his hopes that political leaders and journalists can build the nation up instead of tearing it down. "In a world full of arsonists, we desperately need some architects," he said.
"The good news is that there is a market for something different. 70% of Americans — the exhausted majority — hate what is happening in politics and media today. It's not too late to find our better angels," Cox said. "I hope that we, as politicians, and you, as journalists, can find within ourselves more of that precious quality of humility — as Judge Learned Hand said, 'The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.'"
