US President Donald Trump mixed praise with sharp criticism of the media during the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner, as the event returned three months after its first gathering was cut short by a shooting.

The annual dinner celebrated press freedom while honouring journalists and others affected by the attack, which forced the cancellation of the April event.

Event Returns After April Shooting

Opening the evening, outgoing WHCA President Weijia Jiang of CBS News said the association would not allow the April attack to define the event, declaring that it would return to the Washington Hilton next year.

Trump presented an award to US Secret Service officer Victor Gonzalez, who was wounded while responding to the shooting, recognising his actions during the incident.

The president also congratulated award recipients from several news organisations, including a team from the Wall Street Journal recognised for its reporting on Trump's links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump Alternates Between Praise and Criticism

Before the dinner, many White House correspondents expected Trump to deliver a forceful attack on the media, given his long-running disputes with several news organisations, including The New York Times, CNN and The Wall Street Journal.

At times, Trump's remarks were light-hearted. He joked that "the second time is always better" and repeated a line from the cancelled event, saying, "The show must go on." He also said he respected "most" journalists.

However, his speech soon shifted to familiar criticism of the press. Trump accused many journalists in the room of suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and joked that the dinner represented the largest gathering of such people.

He also suggested some reporters were fortunate the earlier event had been interrupted, saying he had planned to criticise them more extensively.

The president joked that the news industry would struggle once he leaves office because there would be "nobody to report on". He later put on a "Trump 2028" hat and joked about seeking another presidential term.

Call for Free Speech

Despite his criticism of the media, Trump urged Americans to resolve disagreements peacefully and defend freedom of speech.

"We settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate," he said, adding that violence should never be allowed to silence public discussion.

The president appeared relaxed throughout much of the evening, joking that he sometimes believed members of the press simply did not like him. His hour-long speech also included criticism of Democratic politicians and several public figures.

Heightened Security

The dinner took place against a backdrop of continued tension between the White House and the media. Last week, Trump threatened to revoke the licences of several US television networks after they declined to broadcast his primetime speech on election security.

Attendance at the gala was significantly lower than at the original April event, with around 700 guests compared with more than 2,000 previously.

Security was substantially increased. Roads around the hotel were closed, police and National Guard personnel were deployed, and guests underwent multiple security checks before entering the venue. At one stage, attendees were directed to walk in single file past armed Secret Service officers.

The man accused of carrying out the April attack, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, has been charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States. Investigators said he was tackled by agents before reaching a staircase leading to the ballroom where the dinner was beginning.

Among those attending Saturday's event were Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

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25 July 2026

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That “hour‑long ramble” was less a dinner speech than a self‑advertisement capped with a “Trump 2028” hat stunt.

While the WHCA stage was supposed to honour press freedom, Trump turned it into yet another ego showcase, alternating between faux respect and sneering at "<removed>”.

If anyone still had any doubts, the performance confirmed he’s a self‑centred showman who can’t resist dragging the spotlight back to himself whatever the occasion.

The thin joke about 2028 wasn’t just comic relief. Take it as a warning shot that he intends to keep haunting the political stage long after this term ends.

If you watch the video , you ALMOST long for that other senile old dude , Biden.

If the demented old fool still has any touch of self-awareness in him, he would have seen that the night was about his humiliation.

The show began with an AI image of James Madison, co-author of the Constitution, reminding the crowd of the beauty of the First Amendment rights of free speech and a free press, even joking that he couldn't have seen Tweets coming. AI Madison also reminded the crowd that the system was constructed specifically to prevent anything even remotely resembling a monarch. It was a b-slap at the fat old guy sitting next to the dais. It even noted the many "No Kings" rallies that have galvanized the majority of true American patriots.

It got worse, for Trump, from there.

Awards went to the WSJ, against whom Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit, since thrown out by the courts, for the Journal's reporting on Epstein.

Another award went to a journalist who exposed the prurient birthday card Trump had sent his bestie Epstein back in the early 2000s, where Trump's signature was supposed to represent the public hair of a woman.

A third award---for photojournalism---went to an image taken in the Oval Office when a visitor collapsed and others rushed to his aid, while Trump stood uncaring and lacking any sort of empathy for what befell the visitor. The contrast between care and indifference was riveting, and won the photographer the award.

If the dinner was a heavyweight fight, the ref would have called it and declared Media the winner by a vicious knockout.

20 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

That “hour‑long ramble” was less a dinner speech than a self‑advertisement capped with a “Trump 2028” hat stunt.

While the WHCA stage was supposed to honour press freedom, Trump turned it into yet another ego showcase, alternating between faux respect and sneering at "<removed>”.

If anyone still had any doubts, the performance confirmed he’s a self‑centred showman who can’t resist dragging the spotlight back to himself whatever the occasion.

The thin joke about 2028 wasn’t just comic relief. Take it as a warning shot that he intends to keep haunting the political stage long after this term ends.

There is a scenario where it was not a "stunt" and Trump could legitimately run in 2028 for POTUS. I'm not going to tell you that you must believe the scenario. I am going to explain why discounting it out of hand relies on a particular belief system that you have voluntarily chosen to accept as the truth. The scenario, whether or not true, is logically consistent and completely within the framing of the Constitution.

The argument is the following: Trump currently is NOT president. Just as Biden was NOT president. The US military actually took over in 2021 after a PEAD signed by Trump in response to the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt that saw hundreds of Congressmen and Senators reject their Constitutionally demanded responsibilities to retire to chambers and discuss the valid objections that was raised against the election fraud. The US military TOLD YOU they were doing this. The National Guard went to DC in January 2021 and Commanding General William Walker told you specifically on an interview with Good Morning America on Jan. 18 that they were there to oversee a "peaceful transition to military power". It was televised. You chose not to believe him and to accept the narrative the TV man and Milley told you instead that it was a misstatement. Walker never retracted this. The scenario continues that with the military currently in control and running a psyop to expose the treachery, the USA is in an interregnum. Biden was not president. Trump right now is not president. It is a phase of espionage warfare designed by the military to expose the plans of foreign influences who attempted to subvert the Constitution through subterfuge and assume control of the USA. Only once the election fraud is properly resolved, the treason exposed and those who attempted to the insurrection vanquished can the US be returned to civilian government.

That leaves Trump, having served only 1 term as an actual president, to run again in 2028.

Again, you don't have to believe this. But if you are making a decision to dismiss it out of hand, you are doing so based on nothing more than a belief system. An equally valid, though admittedly less prominent, belief system allows for it to be true if you trust General Walker's statement over the popular narrative. The future will bear witness to which one is valid.

16 minutes ago, uncletiger said:

An equally valid, though admittedly less prominent, belief system allows for it to be true if you trust General Walker's statement over the popular narrative.

Valid only to the Tinfoil hatted MAGA nut's Brigade!

3 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Valid only to the Tinfoil hatted MAGA nut's Brigade!

The point isn't your opinion of the personalities of those who may or may not hold an alternative belief to yours. The issue is that an assumption that only you and those that agree with you have the correct interpretation of events, and therefore Trump's statement must be a "stunt", is a belief system and not a definitive fact. Only the future knows for certain.

I watch his whole speech....OMG it was so funny and entertaining.....i had to pause it three times just to catch my breath.

17 minutes ago, uncletiger said:

The point isn't your opinion of the personalities of those who may or may not hold an alternative belief to yours. The issue is that an assumption that only you and those that agree with you have the correct interpretation of events, and therefore Trump's statement must be a "stunt", is a belief system and not a definitive fact. Only the future knows for certain.

Can you repost that gibberish in understandable English please!

The media deserves criticism.

I watched portions of it in my view he definitely came off bad old out of touch and he really looks unhealthy just sad and pathetic.

13 hours ago, Fact said:

The media deserves criticism.

Criticism means "expressing disapproval, finding fault, or giving a careful, reasoned judgment about the good and bad qualities of a person, action, or work of art." per Merriam Webster dictionary.

Complaining about Caitlin not smiling enough" is merely more of his sexist woman denigrating slop. Does he tell male reporters to smile more? His tiresome use of 'fake news' without providing any substantiation is not criticism. His core criticism are flagrant lies, non sequitur pointless ramblings without basis or substance, and ad hominem attacks.

Media, unlike Trump, offers corrections and apologies if they make an error in reporting. Has Trump ever, ever apologized with something approaching sincerity for his out and out lies, slander, attacks? Obama was born in USA and the Central Park 5 were innocent: he wanted death penalty. But then Trump got worse. Hard to believe but true.