Trump returns to correspondents’ dinner 3 months after shooting : NPR
NPR Topics: Politics — 2026-07-25 00:04:00 — www.npr.org
President Trump Delivers Insults, Jokes About Third Term at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
President Donald Trump returned to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Friday night, delivering a rambling, hour-long speech that mixed praise for some journalists with pointed attacks on others. Trump made jokes about public figures’ weight and intellect, and quipped about the possibility of serving a third presidential term—an idea explicitly barred by the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment. “Just like my presidency, the second time is always better,” the president said. “And the third time will be better yet.” He added, “I’m only kidding,” before donning a red cap that read “Trump 2028” and announcing he was running again.
Throughout the evening, Trump assured the crowd that he had scrapped the most biting parts of his original remarks, which he had planned to deliver in April before a gunman forced the dinner’s postponement. “That was going to be a doozy,” Trump said, referring to his initial speech. He opened his remarks by referencing “the attempted mass murder” that could have occurred at the original event, but quickly shifted to humor and insults.
Trump’s speech was filled with vague potshots at individuals he dislikes, including Jane Fonda, Bruce Springsteen, and “Barack Hussein Obama.” He also targeted late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, Rep. Ilhan Omar, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and even his own speechwriters, whose jokes he sometimes criticized as he delivered them. Some of the comments reportedly flirted with racism.
The president expressed pride in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, formerly the Trump International Hotel, stating, “It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it.” He also referenced journalism awards given earlier in the evening, most for stories challenging him and his administration, asking, “Do I have a say in those awards?” with a grimace.
Trump continued his pattern of attacking the news media, a relationship marked by lawsuits, administrative actions, and barring reporters from events since the start of his second term. He signaled an attempt to tone down his speech but still delivered jabs, telling the audience, “This is really the largest group of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ people put together at one time.” He ended the evening by telling journalists, “I have a lot of respect for your profession,” but also declared, “When I’m not around, you’re all gonna be broke,” and concluded, “I didn’t know what to expect. It’s far worse than I originally thought.”
The dinner took place amid heightened tensions between Trump and the media, with the president seeking to control coverage through subpoenas, regulatory actions, and other pressures. The event highlighted Trump’s ongoing use of public platforms to disparage opponents, exaggerate his achievements, and undermine the press.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/25/nx-s1-5907805/white-house-correspondents-dinner