WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attended the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday, telling hundreds of journalists, “As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” after the annual event was postponed following a shooting in April.
About 700 guests attended the dinner at the Waldorf Astoria under heightened security, including multiple identification checks, armed officers, security guards and a detection dog. The original event at the Washington Hilton was evacuated after a gunman attacked a security checkpoint.
WHCA President Weijia Jiang opened the evening by acknowledging the April attack.
“Tonight our message is this: We are back,” Jiang said. “We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”
Trump, who had previously hinted he might deliver sharp criticism of the media, instead offered a shorter speech after sitting through awards honoring journalists, including some recognized for reporting critical of his administration.
“This is really the largest group of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ people put together at one time,” Trump said.
The association also presented a special award to Secret Service agent Victor Gonzales, who was struck in his protective vest while responding to the April shooting, and recognized the staff of the Washington Hilton for their response during the incident.
The dinner took place amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and news organizations, including disputes over press access, regulatory actions and legal battles involving journalists. Ahead of the event, a coalition of press freedom groups urged the WHCA to publicly condemn what it described as efforts by the administration to undermine press freedom.