Trump Jokes About Another Term, Praises Free Press at Rescheduled Correspondents’ Dinner
The president gave his first speech at the yearly WHCA event after an assassination attempt ended April's dinner early.
President Trump closed the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday night by announcing — jokingly — he intends to run again in 2028, pulling on a “TRUMP 2028” baseball cap before a ballroom of journalists he had alternately mocked and praised.
“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,” Mr. Trump said. “I will be doing that.”
Mr. Trump cannot seek another term. The 22nd Amendment bars anyone from being elected president more than twice, and Mr. Trump was elected in 2016 and 2024. His reference to a fourth term in the joke invokes his false claim he won the 2020 election.
The president in his first year attending the dinner mixed self-deprecating humor, pointed jabs at political rivals and news organizations, and a defense of open debate.
The event was held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, the former Trump International Hotel, which the president’s company developed in the federally owned Old Post Office building.
The association moved it from the Washington Hilton, which had hosted the dinner since 1968, after a man rushed past security and fired shots heading to the ballroom April 25, forcing the Secret Service to evacuate Mr. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and cabinet members.
Many of those cabinet secretaries were there Friday night, but Mrs. Trump did not attend because of a previous commitment, according to her office. Seated with the president on the dais was White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Mr. Vance was also absent.
“It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well because I built it, and I’m very proud of it because I built it for $2.9 billion less than the Federal Reserve Building, which is a lot smaller, by the way,” he said.
Mr. Trump thanked the Secret Service, singling out Officer Victor Gonzales for confronting the suspect despite being shot.
The association honored Mr. Gonzales and the Hilton staff with its President’s Award for Exceptional Service. “Even after gunfire struck his protective vest, he stayed in the fight, and the attacker was stopped,” said Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, who took over this month as association president.
Mr. Trump said, “Victor did not even want to go to the hospital for a check.”
The man arrested for the attack, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, had checked into the Washington Hilton days earlier and allegedly descended 10 flights of stairs armed with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol, two knives, and four daggers before sprinting for the checkpoint.
He is charged with four federal felonies, including attempted assassination of the president, and faces up to life in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty May 11 and remains in custody.
Mr. Trump called the attack “an assault on our democracy itself” and said that “in America we do not yield to political violence.”
“So in this country, we believe in freedom of speech. We settle our differences not with bullets but with open and vigorous debate,” he added.
Then he pivoted to an hour of material aimed at the press, Democrats, and himself.
On the room’s security-conscious formal wear: “Everyone’s looking really good tonight, and I know it was not easy finding shoes to go along with your bulletproof vests, which many people didn’t want to wear because they’d rather die than look 20 pounds heavier.”
On his coverage: “I read a report. I get 93 percent negative publicity. Ninety-three percent. How the hell did I win the election by so much?”
On his predecessor: “Before I came along, if you wanted to see someone lose consciousness on the South Lawn of the White House, all you had to do is ask Joe Biden a question.”
And on his own record: “Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better, and the third time will be better yet. I’m only kidding.”
The president also gibed his Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is said to have a fondness for roadkill.
Speaking of the beef tenderloin entrée, Mr. Trump said, “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, so it’s very fresh.”
The president returned repeatedly in his comments to the press itself.
“For all of the trouble that you give me, you give me a lot of trouble, a lot of heartache. I hope all of you know that I believe in the free press more than anyone in this room does,” he said, adding that he is “proud to be the most open and transparent president in history.”
Mr. Trump said, “I always find that when you don’t speak to the press, you always get a bad story. When you do speak to the press, you have a shot at getting a good story.”
He warned: “When I’m gone, you’re all going to be broke. Your business model is going to be finished.” He closed by telling the room, “I have a lot of respect for your profession. Your profession is amazing, and I just want to thank you for having me.”
CBS News’ Weijia Jiang, who organized both dinners and whose term as association president ended last week, opened the evening by casting it as a rebuke to political violence: “Tonight, our message is this: We are back. We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”
Ms. Jiang, the first woman of color elected to lead the association in its 112-year history, devoted much of her speech to the First Amendment. “A free press is not a favor to journalists because we’re special,” she said. “We are not special, but America is.”
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