On April 26, the U.S. Secret Service shot and detained an armed man who tried to forcefully enter the lobby of the Washington Hilton hotel, where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was taking place, one of the media spectacles of the year in the U.S. capital with the presence of President Donald Trump, the first lady, Vice President JD Vance, and top government officials. The same hotel where Ronald Reagan survived an almost fatal assassination attempt in 1981. The attack thwarted an already controversial event, which last night, in a different location, with far fewer guests and under extensive security measures, was repeated, this time without incidents.
The Correspondents' Dinner is the ultimate political press party in Washington, a moment to celebrate and joke where presidents and top Congress members often attend to participate and endure jokes. The atmosphere is relaxed, aiming for everyone to take jabs. Trump had not attended in his first term nor in 2025, but this time he confirmed his presence, generating as much anticipation as controversy.
On one side, there are those who believe that the celebration belongs to the press and should not be overshadowed by the personality of the current White House occupant, who is also the most media-accessible president in the 250 years of the Republic. He constantly appears, answers journalists' calls, gives interviews, something that would have been unthinkable for most of his predecessors.
On the other side, there are those who believe it is harmful to attend the gala as usual and ignore or even laugh at the antics of the most hostile president towards the press in history. Normalizing someone with that power having ongoing disputes with major newspapers, demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from them. He has caused layoffs, insults reporters daily, especially female reporters, and has allies starting to build a media empire on television. Last week, Trump again threatened to revoke licenses of several U.S. networks, this time because they decided not to broadcast his prime-time national address live, fearing, rightly so, that it would spread confusion about election security and baseless accusations of massive fraud in 2020. His Justice Department subpoenaed a New York Times journalist to reveal sources by force.
In the middle are many who understand, for obvious reasons after what happened at the first dinner, that the journalist's duty is to be where the news is. And few make more news, or at least headlines, than Trump. Being there in April undoubtedly gave weight to that argument. Even if the price is normalizing, for one night, his behavior.
Trump once again showed his constant disdain last night in a lackluster event that will not go down in history and will be remembered for a speech without impact, no new material, relying on clichés, with only one of his favorite provocations standing out: "We are all doing very well [with me as president] and to show how much I care about the press, to boost your ratings, I give you an exclusive: I am pleased to announce my intention to run for a fourth term as President of the United States. I will do it... I won three times, now I will do it again. I will do it... I won three times and did very well the second time, by the way," he said about 2020, "a rigged election." The provocation is direct to political journalists and citizens, joking about something critical. The Constitution clearly limits a president to two terms, but Trump and his team have been flirting with the idea of continuing since he set foot in the White House again.
The dinner was held at another hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, with barely 700 guests, less than a third of those present in April. His one-hour rambling intervention attempted to be humorous and even complicit at times, but ended up being very similar to any of his usual speeches. He smiled and even applauded and shook hands with award winners for stories about him. He elicited nods when he said, "Tonight we gather again to respond firmly to that heinous attack. We are all here tonight to show that in the United States, we do not yield to political violence. In this country, we believe in freedom of speech. We settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate."
However, soon after, the usual Trump returned, insulting presenters and journalists by name, including some in the room. Spreading falsehoods, attacking the Muslim congresswoman he despises the most, flaunting his cruelest nicknames for the opposition, fat jokes, transgender jokes, boasting that the media would go bankrupt without him. He even openly lamented the poor quality of the script prepared by his team.
Overall, it was boring, lacking the room's complicity, often met with silence at his failed attempts. It was uncomfortable when journalists awarded their colleagues... for investigations on Trump, Epstein, or their friendship relationship. Remembering that some reporters had to move homes after the president's lawyers made their addresses public. "There is an existential difference between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it. One is healthy and benefits us all. The other is precisely what the founders wanted to avoid," reminded the outgoing president of the correspondents' association.