A defiant Trump to attend WHCA dinner redo after assassination attempt
President Donald Trump is set to attend the white House Correspondents’ Association dinner again,three months after his first appearance was cut short due to an assassination attempt.During the original event in April, gunfire erupted shortly before his speech, leading to heightened security concerns. Trump will now participate in a re-scheduled, more secure event held at the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, where his tone is expected to be more subdued to reflect the somber mood.
Despite the threat, Trump promised to follow through on his commitment to attend and celebrate American greatness and free speech, alongside numerous cabinet members and officials. Security measures, including enhanced screening and changes in event logistics like digital ticketing and the exclusion of pre-dinner parties, have been put in place. The incident garnered support and recognition for security personnel, emphasizing resilience in the face of violence.
Some critics, including biographer Craig Shirley, argue that Trump’s decision to attend after the attack undermines his populist message and criticisms of the press and the event itself. Others note that his presence continues a tradition linked to his past and reflect ongoing political debates about security, elitism, and free speech. Trump’s participation signifies his determination to stand firm, while the event itself highlights the ongoing tension between political symbolism and security concerns.
President Donald Trump will cut a defiant figure when he returns to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner almost three months after his first-ever appearance at the event was cut short because of an assassination attempt.
Before the sound of gunshots ricocheted around the Washington Hilton ahead of Trump’s address on April 25, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed a “funny,” “entertaining” speech that would be “classic Donald J. Trump.”
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“There will be some shots fired tonight in the room,” Leavitt told Fox News before the proceedings began in a clip that became more significant in the aftermath of Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of California, allegedly trying to force his way into the ballroom with the intention of being a self-described “Friendly Federal Assassin.”
But on Friday, during Trump’s appearance at the do-over dinner, this time in the smaller, more secure Waldorf Astoria ballroom, the president will help redevelop himself; his remarks are expected to be slightly more subdued to align with the more somber tone of the evening.
“Stay tuned!” White House communications director Steven Cheung texted the Washington Examiner.
In a separate statement, Leavitt added that Trump “promised to finish the job” and attend another WHCA dinner hours after the attack.
“On Friday, he will deliver on that promise,” she told the Washington Examiner. “We look forward to a great and fun evening celebrating 250 years of American greatness and a free press.”
Trump’s decision to appear at the second dinner is reminiscent of his decision to return to the Butler, Pennsylvania, Farm Show grounds in October 2024, three months after a failed assassination attempt by Thomas Crooks.
During a press conference on Thursday, Leavitt reiterated that Trump “looks forward to finishing what he started before a despicable assassination attempt derailed the original event back in April,” in addition to “celebrating free speech and the First Amendment alongside all of you members of the media.”
“I encourage everyone watching tomorrow night to tune in for what promises to be a very entertaining and memorable evening,” she told reporters.
To demonstrate a united front, 16 members of Trump’s Cabinet and other high-ranking administration officials are anticipated to attend.
Although the likes of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are all in the line of presidential succession, are on that list, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are not, citing scheduling difficulties.
To that end, Secret Service Director Sean Curran defended his federal agency’s security precautions at the first dinner during a press conference on Wednesday, despite Allen being apprehended 120 yards from Trump.
“We do expect things to happen at the magnetometers, unfortunately, but that’s why they are there,” Curran told reporters. “And that’s where it happened, and that’s where it ended. So it did work. The system worked.”
However, there will be some differences between the first and second dinners, not the least of which is the change in dress code to black tie optional, but also the introduction of digital as opposed to paper ticketing and the exclusion of the traditional pre-dinner parties, which have historically increased the number of people at the Washington Hilton.
The WHCA, too, will present Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales, who stopped Allen at the security checkpoint and was hurt by a bullet through his protective vest in the process, and the staff of the Washington Hilton with awards for assisting guests in spite of the danger.
“Our first dinner is part of history, as will be the WHCA’s response,” now former WHCA President Weijia Jiang posted on X. “We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on America 250 and everything we stand for.”
Regardless, Ronald Reagan biographer Craig Shirley contended that Trump’s decision to appear at the second dinner after, like Reagan, he was the target of an assassination attempt at the Washington Hilton, undermines his populist message and repeated criticism of the press and the dinner following former President Barack Obama’s jabs at him in 2011.
In fact, Trump’s Justice Department was in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday over its subpoenas against the New York Times as part of a leak investigation into reports related to security concerns with respect to the president flying on the Qatari-gifted Air Force One, though it had to rescind some of them after the judge’s ruling.
“These elitists who go to such events are not his people,” Shirley told the Washington Examiner. “He should not go, but if so, he should make his disdain for them clear with humor and pointed remarks.”
Nevertheless, Shirley argued Trump “has to go because of what happened [earlier this] year, but he should deal with these elitists on his own terms.”
“These elitists are from a different part of the jungle,” he said.
Likewise, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told the Washington Examiner, “Giving left-wing legacy media that is aggressively opposed to conservatives any legitimacy is a mistake.”
Trump’s appearance at Friday’s dinner will be his second as president after that in April. He boycotted the event during his first administration, particularly after comedian Michelle Wolf’s quip about how then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders “burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye” in 2018.
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