Trump Jabs Media at Correspondents’ Dinner

The president also mocked the news industry, suggesting it would struggle once he leaves office because there would be “nobody to report on,” before jokingly donning a “Trump 2028” cap.

President Donald Trump mixed calls for press freedom with renewed attacks on the media as he addressed the second White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner, three months after the inaugural event was disrupted by a shooting.

The annual gala, held under heightened security, marked the White House press corps’ return to the tradition after the April attack forced the first dinner to end abruptly. Addressing journalists, Trump insisted that "the show must go on" and urged Americans to resolve disagreements through open debate rather than violence.

“We settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate,” the president said, adding that “no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that.”

The evening also honoured US Secret Service officer Victor Gonzalez, who was recognised for helping subdue the gunman during the April attack. Trump presented the award and congratulated other recipients, including a Wall Street Journal team recognised for its reporting on his past links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

While striking a more cordial tone at times, Trump revived his familiar criticism of the press, accusing many journalists of suffering from what he described as “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” He joked that the dinner represented “the largest group” of such critics ever assembled and quipped that some reporters were fortunate the first event had been cut short.

The president also mocked the news industry, suggesting it would struggle once he leaves office because there would be “nobody to report on,” before jokingly donning a “Trump 2028” cap.

Earlier, outgoing WHCA President Weijia Jiang said the association refused to allow the April shooting to define the organisation, stressing that the correspondents’ dinner would return to the Washington Hilton next year.

The event underscored the strained relationship between the White House and the media, coming days after Trump threatened to revoke the broadcast licences of television networks that declined to air his primetime address on election security.

Attendance was significantly lower than the April dinner, with about 700 guests compared with more than 2,000 at the earlier event. Security was markedly tighter, with multiple layers of screening, road closures around the venue, and a heavy deployment of law enforcement officers and National Guard personnel.

The alleged gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president after authorities said he was stopped by Secret Service agents before reaching the ballroom where the dinner was underway.

Senior administration officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, were also in attendance.