The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump‘s first-ever White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech would be, in part, ‘vicious.’
And as the night wore on, it indeed lived up to that billing, as the commander-in-chief used his remarks both to praise, and at times, to excoriate – some of the biggest names in Washington’s press corps and beyond.Â
Trump leveled barbs towards California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Bruce Springsteen and Rosie O’Donnell, among many, many others.
Incoming WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich ‘can be nasty,’ Trump said of Fox News‘ White House correspondent, before taking aim at Heinrich’s husband, a Republican congressman, for voting against him on several occasions.
The WHCA award that was given to CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins earlier in the night ‘was all about me,’ Trump said. ‘It’s a fake. She shouldn’t get the award.’
‘You’re at CNN fake news,’ Trump said, directing his remarks at Collins. ‘You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlyn. Just smile.’
Some moments were, admittedly, met with warmer reception from the audience – especially jokes made earlier in the night.
‘It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it,’ Trump quipped when he took the stage at the Waldorf Astoria – the Old Post Office building that until 2022 housed the Trump International Hotel.
President Donald Trump shake hands with CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
He also had the audience in splits with his good-natured dig towards HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and incoming WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich.
‘I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow in his car, and he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight,’ Trump said of the entree. ‘So it’s very fresh.’
‘Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill, but we drew the line at that,’ Trump added, to laughter.
Trump said of Heinrich, ‘She looks so beautiful, but she can be so nasty. How can that happen?’
Other standout moments included Trump taking his love-in with Nicki Minaj to a new level. Within moments of the speech, Trump invoked a gag about her ‘twerking’ at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The president, who previously described himself as the rapper’s ‘number one fan’, joked that she was the ‘only one that really understood’ how to ‘get down’ when bullets were fired outside the dining hall at the original event in April.
‘After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking,’ Trump joked.
‘She’s the only one that really understood what that meant.’
The president had vowed to appear at the rescheduled dinner to show that ‘the show must go on’ despite the attempt on his life at the original event.Â
U.S. President Donald Trump greets CBS News senior White House correspondent and WHCA President Weijia Jiang at the White House Correspondents’ Association
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his wife Katie Miller are seen at the WHCD
His wife, First Lady Melania Trump, was absent from the event on Friday night, and he was instead seated next to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.Â
White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) President Weija Jiang also sat to his left, and the pair could be seen dining and chatting before the speeches began.Â
The rescheduled dinner is taking place with heightened security in the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, a smaller venue that held only about 700 people, instead of the Washington Hilton where the previous event was held.
Speaking at the outset of the event Friday, Jiang, the outgoing WHCA president, highlighted a rare ‘split screen’ moment in the moments after the shooting that halted the original event.Â
‘While journalists in the ballroom were gathering facts and getting them to the public, I got a rare glimpse of something few of us ever see in real time,’ she said.Â
‘In a holding room, President Trump was huddled with members of his cabinet, asking questions, finding the best way to share the answers with everyone, which is our job description too.’
‘I keep coming back to that split screen – not because it was dramatic, but because it quietly proved, no matter how complicated or tense the relationship is between the press and the presidency, what we share is far more important than anything else, and that is our duty to serve the American people,’ she said.
Donald Trump made good on his promise to appear to appear at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner after the original was canceled following another attempt on Trump’s life
Heinrich, the incoming WHCA president, highlighted a similar theme.Â
‘The attempt on President Trump’s life last April was a sobering reminder that democracy is not immune to violence, and the freedoms that we cherish can never be taken for granted,’ she said.
‘Political violence must have no home in America.’
As they dined, attendees heard from current and former White House Correspondents’ Association presidents highlighting the importance of press freedom.
They were also shown footage of the gunman trying to enter the Washington Hilton ballroom in April – an emotional experience for many in the audience, who had been at the same event months prior.
The President was without wife and First Lady Melania Trump, instead seated in between WHCA President Weija Jiang and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria hotel
Trump speaks with outgoing WHCA President Weijia Jiang
Fox News Senior White House correspondent and incoming WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich
Police officers secure the outside of the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC
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That individual, Cole Allen, 31, pleaded not guilty in May to federal charges, including attempting to assassinate the president.
During a press conference after the original April event, Trump described the shooter as ‘a sick person, a very sick person.’
‘He’s a lone wolf, a whack job,’ Trump said of the shooter. ‘These are crazy people. Sick, sick people.’
Besides the pared-down approach, there was another marked change at Friday’s dinner: two additional awards to individuals who risked their lives and otherwise acted courageously to ensure the safety of the president and other attendees.
A video is shown of a man trying to force his way through security and firing a shotgun at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
Attendees watch a video of when a man tried to force his way through security and fired a shotgun at the rescheduled WHCD
Agents stand guard after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner shooting
Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson as a shooter opens fire
The suspect was caught on surveillance footage sprinting past a security checkpoint and headed straight for the ballroom where thousands of journalists were gathered for the annual eventÂ
One award was presented to Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who was staffing a security checkpoint in April and was struck in his protective vest.
‘Officer Gonzales … ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely,’ Jiang said in a statement.Â
‘His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.’
A second award was presented to the staff of the Washington Hilton hotel, site of the first dinner.
Guests received individual QR entry codes in advance, and nobody can get in unless recognized.Â
‘There is NO red carpet at this dinner,’ said a memo Jiang sent to some guests last month, seen by The Associated Press. ‘There are NO onsite pre-dinner receptions.’
The dress code this time is a looser ‘black tie optional,’ and dinner includes grilled peach and burrata salad, lobster, and beef Wellington.Â
The evening, as at the last dinner, has entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman, along with the awards presentations and Trump’s remarks.
Donald Trump and CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang speak at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner
‘The president looks forward to finishing what he started,’ press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, confirming Trump’s attendance
It comes during a time of fast-increasing tension between the media and a president who, in his second term, has tried to exert pressure on media outlets he is unhappy with in a variety of ways.Â
That pressure has ranged from sanctions against members of the White House press corps to regulatory actions through the Federal Communications Commission to outright lawsuits.
Those tensions have only escalated since April, with the latest example reaching a New York courtroom on Thursday.Â
There, criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the government withdrew subpoenas that would have compelled three New York Times reporters to testify about their sources for articles about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.
