The White House Correspondents’ Dinner on July 24, 2026, marked President Donald Trump’s return to an event that was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to a tragic incident. The rescheduled dinner, held at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, was a significant moment in Trump’s relationship with the media, which has been marked by both collaboration and conflict.
The evening began with a welcome from outgoing White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang of CBS News, who acknowledged the trauma of the April incident and emphasized the importance of the event in celebrating a free press. The dinner, attended by about 700 people, featured heightened security measures and a more subdued atmosphere compared to previous years.
Trump’s hour-long speech: humor, criticism, and controversy
President Trump’s speech lasted just over an hour and was filled with a mix of humor, criticism, and controversial remarks. He began by acknowledging the April incident, referring to it as “the attempted mass murder” that could have happened that night. However, he quickly shifted to humor and insults, targeting various public figures, including Jane Fonda, Bruce Springsteen, and “Barack Hussein Obama.”
The president also took potshots at late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, Rep. Ilhan Omar, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and even his own speechwriters. Some of his comments flirted with racism, and the audience’s reaction ranged from friendly laughs to scattered titters as the insults piled up.
Trump’s remarks about the media and journalism awards
Trump spent some time expressing pride in the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, which was formerly the Trump International Hotel. “It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it,” he said. He also made reference to the journalism awards that had been handed out earlier in the evening, most of them for stories challenging him and his administration. “Do I have a say in those awards?” he asked with a grimace.
The president also used the occasion to joke about the possibility of serving a third term, something barred by the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment. “Just like my presidency, the second time is always better,” he quipped. “And the third time will be better yet.” He added, “I’m only kidding,” before donning a red cap that said “Trump 2028” and delivering the “scoop” that he was running again.
Reactions and criticism
The dinner was a notable moment in Trump’s relationship with the news media, which he has attacked, sued, and taken administrative action against since he began his second term early last year. Among the audience members were reporters he had denounced and barred from events. The president’s sometimes off-color speech was full of vague potshots directed at individuals he doesn’t like, and the audience’s reaction ranged from friendly laughs to scattered titters as the insults piled up.
One of the winners of the journalism awards, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, was one of the reporters who had been subpoenaed by Trump’s Justice Department over his reporting about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Those subpoenas were withdrawn on Thursday in a New York courtroom, just one of the arenas where the president, in his second term, has been seeking to control media coverage that displeases him.
The rescheduled dinner was taking place at a smaller venue this time that held only about 700 people. Security was markedly tighter, with guests entering via a single entrance, through two ID checks and past a detection dog, armed officers, and security guards. There was no red carpet and no separate cocktail receptions preceding the dinner.
Additional awards and entertainment
Besides the pared-down approach, there was another change at Friday’s dinner: two additional awards. One was presented to Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who was staffing a security checkpoint in April and was struck in his protective vest. Gonzales “placed himself directly in harm’s way and engaged the armed suspect,” Jiang said. “He stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped.”
A second award was presented to the staff of the Washington Hilton hotel, site of the first dinner, hailed for professionalism under pressure. The evening, as in April, featured entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman, who this time got the chance to do his act.
The dress code this time was a looser “black tie optional,” and dinner included grilled peach and burrata salad, lobster, and beef Wellington. The evening, as in April, featured entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman, who this time got the chance to do his act.
Jiang and her fellow board members had worked hard to bring about this WHCA dinner 2.0, not wanting to let a violent act or the image of colleagues hiding under tables remain the final thought. Announcing the rescheduling, she emphasized the dinner’s stated purpose: “A celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century.”
However, it’s also clear that some people felt the dinner should not be rescheduled at all. Many never thought it was much of a good look in the first place, with the sight of journalists in formal wear cozying up to their sources or the objects of their reporting. “It undermines the public faith in how the press does its work, and it makes it look like we are pals with the people we cover,” Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, said when the deliberations were taking place.
The new dinner came at 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. 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.
Trump, though, ended with an attempt to mend fences, to a point. “I have a lot of respect for your profession,” he told the assembled journalists. He also touted his own success and declared: “When I’m not around, you’re all gonna be broke.” And he concluded about the evening: “I didn’t know what to expect. It’s far worse than I originally thought.”
