Washington, D.C., reporters and Trump administration officials gathered for the redo the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Friday evening, sending a defiant message as they came together to celebrate the free press and First Amendment in the wake of the attempted attack on the dinner three months ago.
Beltway reporters, pundits, and government officials at the Waldorf Astoria hotel noticed heightened security and a smaller crowd in the room at Friday night’s WHCA Dinner. While about 2,600 people attended the dinner in April, just about 700 were in attendance at Friday evening’s do-over.
WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION DINNER DO-OVER FEATURES ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES, SMALLER CROWD
As a result of the gunman breaching the security checkpoint outside the April 25 WHCA dinner, the July event was moved from the Washington Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria hotel, with surrounding streets shut down, screenings made by airport-style security, and entrances to the dinner limited.
Attendees noticed the tighter security, including the restrictions prohibiting bringing drinks from the outside bar into the ballroom, and the more serious tone of the evening from the start.
Given the Trump administration’s oftentimes volatile relationship with the legacy media, this WHCA dinner was much anticipated, especially given that it was President Donald Trump‘s first time attending the event as a sitting president. As the person famed with coining the term “fake news,” Trump has filed several lawsuits against reporters and media organizations. The Friday event also came the same week as Trump’s Department of Justice withdrew subpoenas for information from several New York Times reporters related to their reports on security concerns about the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.
One of the starkest moments of the event was when the WHCA gave reporters from the Wall Street Journal the “Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability” for their reporting on Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, just feet in front of Trump. Trump stood up and shook the hands of each of the reporters who worked on the coverage, including those whom he filed a lawsuit against over their report on a birthday letter he allegedly sent Epstein, a letter which he denies writing.
In the dramatic moment, Trump threw up his hands and smiled as he greeted and shook each of the reporters’ hands.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Wall Street Journal reporters awarded the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for their reporting on Trump’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo by James Downs.
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President Donald Trump throws up his hands as he greets Wall Street Journal reporters awarded the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability at the WHCA dinner for their reporting on Trump’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo by James Downs.
At the dinner podium throughout the night, Trump was flanked by outgoing and incoming WHCA presidents Weijia Jiang and Jacqui Heinrich.
Heinrich made a surprising announcement that the 2027 WHCD will return to the Washington Hilton, where the gunman breached security in April. The Hilton had been the venue of the dinner for nearly 60 years until Friday evening, and Heinrich vowed to return to it as she gave an award to members of the hotel’s staff.
Trump also announced that he would be returning to next year’s WHCD, along with several news items he broke during his over an hour-long speech on Friday evening.
2028, TERM LIMITS, MEDIA TENSION: EVERYTHING TRUMP COVERED IN WILD MARATHON SPEECH AT THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION DINNER
During his marathon speech, Trump announced that he believes there should be term limits in Congress, while also quipping about running for a third term himself in 2028, which would defy the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution on presidential term limits.
“I’m pleased to announce my intention to, and this is somewhat of a scoop, my intention to run for a fourth term as president of the United States, I will be doing that,” Trump said, putting on a bright red “Trump 2028” hat. He then indicated that he was possibly joking by ultimately saying, “but on a serious note, I want to say once again, I just want to thank you all.”
As for the president’s relationship with the press, he made several jokes about reporters during the program that fell flat in the room of journalists.
Trump made comments about CNN primetime anchor and White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. He repeated comments he has made previously about her looks and compared her to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The moment was met with several groans from the audience in the room.
“She’s a young, attractive woman. She never smiles,” Trump said.
He also spoke about Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey, calling him “unhireable,” but also talking about how many stories he can write. Both Collins and Dawsey received individual awards for their work as White House correspondents at this year’s ceremony.
Jiang defended Collins and Dawsey in her remarks following Trump’s speech.
“I just want to congratulate all of our award winners again. My friend Kaitlan, who has a beautiful smile, and Josh Dawsey, who is one of the most prolific journalists of our time,” Jiang said.
Jiang also shared her thoughts on the resilience of the reporters, law enforcement officials, and Trump administration members who attended the original April dinner, honoring Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who tackled the April gunman, with an award at the event.
WHCA PRESIDENT VOWS ‘WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED’ IN DINNER OPENING REMARKS
Jiang spoke several times throughout the evening, making the case for the importance of the free press and First Amendment, and sharing her personal story from growing up in West Virginia as the daughter of immigrant parents to covering the president in the White House. She intertwined this message with the recent 250th anniversary of the United States.
“In many countries, reporters who criticize the government are detained without trial; their stories erased. In the worst cases, they never make it home. Tonight, we think about all of them, and we think about the protections that set us apart as a nation. Just 20 days ago, America turned 250 years old. The First Amendment is a big part of how she made it this far, and it falls on all of us to make sure it carries her through to the next 250 and beyond,” Jiang said.
Christian Datoc and James Downs contributed to this report.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
