What To Expect As Trump Attends White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Donald Trump is expected to speak around 9 p.m. ET on Friday at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, rescheduled after the association’s traditional April event was stopped due to a shooting as a gunman breached a security checkpoint.

Trump had called for a new dinner, and in remarks at an event on Thursday, WHCA President Weijia Jiang said that there was determination from the association board, members and “from people across the political spectrum who reached out and said ‘That can’t be how your story ends this year.’”

The rescheduled dinner will be different: Instead of the Washington Hilton, it will be in a much smaller ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria, formerly a Trump hotel. There will be no pre-dinner receptions or red carpet, and a number of new security measures will be in place.

The WHCA also will be honoring Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, who was struck in his protective vest as he responded to the gunman, who was apprehended at the top of a flight of stairs leading into the Washington Hilton ballroom. Also being honored will be the staff of the Hilton who, among other things, preserved the thousands of uneaten meals to donate to local shelters.

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted assassination of the president.

As was planned for April, the dinner will include the presentation of journalism awards and scholarships and, in addition to remarks from Jiang and Trump, entertainment from mentalist Oz Pearlman.

The focus also will be on the First Amendment and, as was the case in the spring, there is considerable attention on what will be said about the administration’s attacks on the media, and how Trump will respond, if at all. One of the awards is to be presented to The Wall Street Journal for its reporting on bawdy letters sent to Jeffrey Epstein, including one with Trump’s signature. The president has denied that he wrote it, and sued the Journal.

At an event at the residence of British Ambassador Christian Turner on Thursday evening, Jiang noted that the Justice Department had withdrawn its subpoenas for journalists from The New York Times, who reported on the lack of security features on the new Air Force One. “Reporters should not have to look over our shoulders, just for doing their jobs, just for doing the very hard work to inform the public,” she said.

Per incoming WHCA President Jacqui Heinrich, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed Trump’s remarks. Leavitt said in a statement, “The President’s speech will be a combination of unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that. One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining.”

C-SPAN coverage of the arrivals and dinner will begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.