Trump addresses rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner, mixing tribute with attacks
In his first correspondents' dinner speech as president, Trump marked the April attack that halted the original gala, then turned to lengthy criticism of political opponents and the press.
President Donald Trump addressed the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Friday, July 24, 2026, at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C. It was Trump's first time speaking at the annual press gala as president, after boycotting the event during his earlier term.
The Friday dinner was a scaled-down redo of the association's traditional spring gala, which had been disrupted by gunfire at the Washington Hilton earlier in the year. Trump opened his remarks by reflecting on that attack. “As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” he said. “Tonight we come back together to answer that heinous attack with unwavering resolve,” adding that the gathering was meant to show that “in America we do not yield to political violence.”
A speech that ran more than an hour
The speech lasted more than an hour and drew an at-times muted response from attendees, according to ABC News. Trump said the address he had planned for the original dinner was “going to be a doozy.” He recalled: “I was so psyched. I was going to rip people, and I don't know. Just something changed. It's really for the better, but I just wouldn't want to do that. But we'll do a little ripping if you don't mind.”
Trump touched on his White House ballroom and other projects, defended the war in Iran, and offered some praise for the White House press corps. “I have tremendous respect for the people in this room,” he said. “Sometimes I don't feel you treat me fair. Maybe you do. I don't know.”
Attacks on opponents, and a 'Trump 2028' cap
Alongside the tributes, Trump criticized reporters by name and returned to frequent Democratic targets, including former President Joe Biden, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others. ABC News headlined its report “Trump lobs insults at political opponents, press during rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner.”
The speech ended with the president donning a red cap reading “Trump 2028” after joking that he was running for another term — a nod to a slogan barred by constitutional term limits. The correspondents' dinner, a decades-old Washington tradition organized by the White House Correspondents' Association, raises money for journalism scholarships and honors reporting on the presidency.