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Rescheduled dinner, fresh insults
President Donald Trump returned to the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday night and delivered an hourlong speech that praised some journalists, took potshots at others, and made jokes about public figures’ weight and intellect.
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Trump opened by referencing the April disruption, saying, "As I said three months ago, the show must go on," and he referred to "the attempted mass murder" that could have happened at the original event.
The rescheduled dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria with a smaller crowd of about 700 and tighter security, with guests entering via a single entrance and passing through two ID checks.
Trump also wore a red cap reading "Trump 2028" and quipped about a third presidential term, while NPR reported the event followed a gunman’s shots in the lobby of the Washington Hilton that forced evacuations.
In the ballroom, Trump said, "It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it," as he mixed remarks about the journalism awards with jokes and insults directed at people in the room.
Collins singled out again
Trump again targeted CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, whom he accused of not smiling enough, and People described how he singled out Collins during a lengthy White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech.
Trump told the room, "She’s a young, attractive woman. She never smiles," and he added, "So smile, Kaitlan, just smile."
AP reported that the audience reacted at first with friendly laughs but quieted as the insults piled up, including more potshots at figures such as Bruce Springsteen and "Barack Hussein Obama."
In a statement after Trump’s remarks, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said, "Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the US Constitution."
NPR also reported Trump said he’d be taking a softer tone than he planned in April, saying, "That was going to be a doozy," as he described being prepared to "rip people."
Awards, security, and what’s next
The dinner’s program included awards presentations after Trump spoke, and AP said the event included reporters he had denounced and barred from events, underscoring tensions as the WHCA tried again this week to hold its annual dinner.
AP quoted Weijia Jiang welcoming the crowd with, "We are back," and she added, "We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word."
The Guardian reported the speech took place in Washington on Friday evening at the Waldorf Astoria, three months after the original event was scrapped in April when a man fired a shotgun at a security checkpoint outside the ballroom.
The Guardian also tied the night’s tone to press freedom and Trump’s own attacks, quoting Trump telling journalists, "Don’t believe the fake news."
ABC News reported the April incident involved Cole Allen opening fire inside the Washington Hilton hotel, and it said Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales was shot but the bullet struck "his protective vest and [he] continued responding to the threat," as Trump commended Gonzales for engaging the attacker without hesitation.
