President Donald Trump attended the first White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner to accompany this year’s postponed gala in Washington, D.C., on Friday night, and in a rambling speech that lasted just over an hour, he delivered sharp remarks to the assembled journalists, during which he insulted several journalists, politicians and celebrities with whom he had been sparring.
President Trump said, “I’m happy to be here at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. There are so many great people, so many people I like.” “Some people don’t like it at all, but most people respect it.”
Trump initially seemed unsure of the tone he was trying to convey, suggesting he was pulling punches compared to the rant he had planned at the original WHCA dinner, which was interrupted by a gun-wielding assailant. “I said, ‘What am I supposed to do here? Is this supposed to be fun? Should I take it seriously? Should I be a comedian?’ So I think you probably said, a little bit of everything.”
But Trump quickly began bashing the press. “Tonight is all about the fake news media and the handling of prizes – the writing, production and performance of fake stories like the Academy Awards,” Trump said. The Academy Awards “used to be the gold standard for ratings outside of the Super Bowl…now they’re at rock bottom. No one wants to watch them anymore because they played against Trump. It hit me all night long.”
He told reporters: “If I’m gone, you’ll all be bankrupt. Your business model will be over. No, it’s true. If I’m gone, you’ll all be bankrupt. There’ll be no one to cover. Nobody cares about anyone else.”
President Trump said, “I’ve pretty much given up on you and the media, and now I’m giving up on you. And I’m number one on TikTok. Did you see? … I gave up on you, guys. I gave up on traditional news outlets, and obviously it worked because we won with landline” (he meant “landslide,” but that’s not true). “I was able to get[TikTok]sold to very wealthy people, mostly Americans,” Trump boasted.
President Trump said of why he did not attend past WHCA banquets, saying, “I thought the press treated me very unfairly, but I don’t know. I’m right because I have to go places where I might not be wanted.” I think I made a decision, and they needed me. They wanted me for ratings, and they wanted me for other reasons, but not for love. And I said, ‘You know what, I’m not going.’ I’ve never experienced anything like this…I didn’t go for four years because I was treated so badly by the media. ”
President Trump pointed out that the WHCA has decided not to use comedians this year. “They considered using Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon,” Trump said. “These guys are – they’re terrible. They’re terrible. Stephen Colbert. They’re not talented… They’re not talented, but they’re not comedians. They’re not funny. They’re angry. They’re sick.”
Trump took the stage at 9:33 p.m. and persisted for about 64 minutes.
Trump joked that Ellison told him that David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, which owns CBS News (“he’s going to buy it, spend a lot of money on it, make great changes and continue to do some of the great things”), would change the name of the WHCA dinner next year to the “Trump White House Correspondents Dinner.” “That’s what he said. I love it. I’m going to change the name, okay?” Trump said, alluding to his failed effort to add his name to the Kennedy Center.
“For me, I wish Bari Weiss the best of luck at CBS News. She’s a wonderful woman,” he said at another point in his speech, which drew a murmur from the audience.
He said White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt “may have one of the toughest jobs in the White House” because “I have to deal with all of you all the time, and I can be a very difficult person. But I’m probably a little oversensitive. Sometimes I really think some of you don’t like me.”
“I think this is the largest group of people with Trump Derangement Syndrome ever assembled at one time,” he said jokingly, eliciting a few laughs. (The president appears to believe Trump Derangement Syndrome is an actual medical condition.)
Mr. Trump blamed some of the people he identified as his favorite enemies. He said the winner for lowest ratings and “lowest IQ on TV” was “actually Don Lemon,” whom Trump called “the stupidest man on TV.” What I said is that once you say something, it never comes back. It’s not like, ‘Hey, Don, let’s go out to dinner tonight.’ ”
Trump also took aim at CNN anchor Caitlan Collins, who won the 2026 WHCA Broadcast Award for her coverage of Trump’s confrontation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office in February 2025. “I would like to personally congratulate CNN’s Caitlan Collins on her award,” Trump said, but added, “It’s all about me and it’s fake. She shouldn’t be receiving the award.” It was fake, but I didn’t care. ” (In a statement issued while Trump was still speaking, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said: “We support our journalists and the integrity and fairness with which the CNN team reports the news. Honest and accurate journalism may sometimes frustrate politicians, but our right to report without government interference and to present that reporting to the public is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution. CNN will continue to exercise this right.”)
Trump then made some strange comments about Collins, calling her a “young, active woman,” but added, “She never laughs. I said, ‘Caitlan, have you ever laughed? Smile. You’re in a good place. You’re on CNN’s fake news. You should be a happy person. Just laugh, Caitlan. Just laugh. Please.” And Trump said Collins “signed a big new sponsorship deal. But I told her that’s not her on the Bud Light can. It was Dylan Mulvaney,” Trump said, referring to the transgender influencer hired by the beer company in 2023, a campaign that received significant backlash from conservatives. “Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud about $35 million in market capitalization, which, by the way, was the worst commercial of all time. For the few people who want to hear it, most people don’t care, but I do. I don’t want to hire Dylan right away,” Trump said.
Regarding Anderson Cooper, another CNN anchor, President Trump said, “I like Anderson because he covered me a lot over the years, but as soon as I went into politics, he fell out of favor.” But over the years, he’s been a big fan of interviews. I’ve done a lot of interviews with him, and he’s been great. But you know, he’s actually a little bit different in many ways than I am.”
President Trump also slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom, Representative Ilhan Omar, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, Rosie O’Donnell (a “sick older woman”), CNN’s Jake Tapper, and Bruce Springsteen. Trump said of Springsteen, “What the hell happened to that guy? He looks terrible…I’m sure he doesn’t like the way I look, but I don’t look that bad.” He complained that Springsteen gave “four political speeches in a three-hour show,” and joked that Trump “changed the name of the tour to ‘Boring America,’ but his new songs were so bad.”
Of course, Trump has an adversarial relationship with the press. Not only has he regularly complained that news organizations are “fake news” and insulted individual journalists, he has also sued multiple news organizations over coverage he didn’t like, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC News, and CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
At the WHCA dinner, Wall Street Journal reporters who supported the paper’s story about the birthday letter President Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein were awarded the $10,000 Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Responsibility. President Trump has denied authoring the Epstein letter, but has filed a lawsuit over the matter, seeking $20 billion in damages. Lawyers for the paper called Trump’s lawsuit “an affront to the First Amendment.” A judge dismissed the original suit, but Trump refiled the complaint in May 2026, and the case remains pending.
Introducing WSJ reporters, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer pointed out that Trump’s lawsuit includes the home address of Journal reporter Khadija Safdar, which would require her family to relocate. Blitzer also noted that Journal staff were barred from entering and exiting Air Force One. Trump then awkwardly shook hands with Journal reporters who had come to collect his prize, then returned to his seat with both hands raised in mock resignation.
“This was not an easy night. I won all these awards… Do I have a say in those awards?” Trump said.
Near the end of his long speech, President Trump tried to joke that he intended to run for a “fourth term,” donned a “Trump 2028” hat, and repeated his baseless claim that he had actually won the 2020 U.S. presidential election. (He didn’t.) Trump said he intended to return to the Correspondents’ Dinner in 2027.
Meanwhile, President Trump also joked at the expense of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Bobby Kennedy is here. He personally killed a cow with his car, cut it up, and brought it here to eat tonight,” Trump said. “It’s so fresh. And Bobby also suggested an appetizer with roadkill parts from his favorite male raccoon. But, Cheryl, we drew the line there. We said, no, we’re not going to do that. We’re not going to do that. We love Bobby.”
Friday’s WHCA dinner, held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington, D.C., featured a performance by The Mentalist Oz Perlman, but the association has traditionally invited comedians to take on sitting presidents.
The WHCA dinner was rescheduled after its first meeting on April 25 was interrupted by an apparent assassination attempt on President Trump. The gunman who broke through security at the Washington Hilton has been arrested and charged. President Trump spent time in his speech talking about the April attack, thanking law enforcement officials who subdued the suspect.
Outgoing WHCA President and CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Jiang Weijia gave opening remarks at the beginning of the event. She then alternated hosting duties with Fox News’ Jackie Heinrich, who will serve as the organization’s president for the 2026-2027 term.
