Overview
- President Donald Trump used the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on July 24, 2026 to spend roughly an hour attacking journalists, naming figures such as CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and closing by putting on a red “Trump 2028” cap.
- The scaled-down event at the Waldorf Astoria honored Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales for confronting the April shooter and operated under heavy security with about 700 guests after the original Washington Hilton dinner was cut short by gunfire.
- The WHCA presented awards that recognized investigative work critical of the president, including reporting by the Wall Street Journal that Trump has sued over, a tension Trump openly questioned during his remarks.
- Coverage after the dinner included an exclusive lipreader claim about a private exchange that portrayed Trump as hostile to the press, but that decoding was published by a single tabloid source and has limited independent verification.
- The speech unfolded as broader legal and access disputes between the administration and news outlets remain active, with recent Justice Department moves involving reporter subpoenas drawing attention and some actions reportedly shelved shortly before the rescheduled dinner.