What's happening tonight
• President Donald Trump, who has a fraught relationship with the media and is waging an aggressive crackdown on leaks, spoke tonight to hundreds of journalists at the rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC.
• The president took swipes at familiar targets, such as Joe Biden, and promoted his White House ballroom. He made lighthearted cracks about Nicki Minaj, as well as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s history with roadkill. But the speech also meandered, as Trump’s jokes fell flat and his personal attacks on journalists were greeted with silence.
• Ahead of his remarks, several reporters with the Wall Street Journal were honored for their report that uncovered a bawdy letter that Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. “This has not been an easy evening,” Trump remarked at the start of his speech, referring to the awards.
Read our experts' analysis of Trump's speech tonight
Trump wraps WHCD speech
President Donald Trump’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has wrapped after an hour and four minutes.
Trump's humor not landing after several minutes of attacks
President Donald Trump’s jokes have begun to fall flat as his tone has grown much more serious and bitter.
Calling for term limits in Congress, the president attempted a lighthearted joke about a “senator I knew” who got a text from his wife asking for him to “come up the stairs and make love to me, and he said, ‘I can’t do both.’”
“In other words, you can’t go up the stairs and make love,” Trump said. “Does anybody get that one?”
With a hushed reaction from the audience of journalists, Trump said, “I thought that was actually pretty good. That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole, frickin, stupid speech they wrote.”
Trump had spent the last several minutes before the joke attacking journalists and political foes, including Democratic leaders in Congress.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, who is at the dinner, said a lot of people are on their phones or talking amongst themselves. Others are eating macarons from the dessert trays, going to the bathroom or mingling in the lobby
Trump's tone shifts as he attacks journalists by name
After a relatively lighthearted start to his speech at the White House Correspondents’ association dinner, President Donald Trump shifted to attacking several journalists who have reported critically on him by name.
Targets included CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper, as well as the Wall Street Journal’s Josh Dawsey. Earlier in the night, Trump had to look on as Collins and Dawsey were honored with journalism awards, something the president said had made for not an easy evening.
The president reprised an old, sexist attack on Collins, claiming she does not smile. Several of her colleagues rushed to defend Collins in a live chat taking place on CNN’s air.
“Fact check: Kaitlan smiles. Very friendly person. Just appropriately serious when doing her job,” senior reporter and fact checker Daniel Dale wrote in the chat.
A CNN spokesperson had this to say: “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional, trusted journalist being honored tonight for her depth of knowledge and the context she provides to audiences all over the world.”
“She reports every day from the White House and the field with real strength and tenacity and skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day,” the spokesperson added.
Trump jumps from jokes to weighing in on the war in Iran
President Donald Trump made a stark pivot from making jokes to touching on the war in Iran during remarks at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.
“It’s all going extremely well. Don’t believe the fake news,” Trump said about the status of the war.
He went on to say that the US has “hit Iran very hard” and that it no longer has Navy and Air Force capabilities.
“They have very few drones left, despite what you see,” he said.
Trump also added that he thinks Iran would “love to make a deal” but that he doesn’t “think they’re ready to.”
“I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to to listen,” the president said.
President lobs insults at familiar foes, including Bruce Springsteen and Chris Christie
President Donald Trump used his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to take aim at some of his political and cultural foes, including singer Bruce Springsteen and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Trump says he'll attend next year's dinner
President Donald Trump vowed to return to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner next year.
“Now, if you get really, really nasty, maybe not,” he added. “But we’re going to be back.”
Trump previously attended the annual dinner as a civilian, but this year was the first he went to as president.
RFK "personally ran over the cow" to provide tonight's dinner, Trump quips
President Donald Trump joked that the beef tenderloin dish served to guests is “very special” – because it was procured by his health secretary who has a history with roadkill.
“Bobby Kennedy is right here,” Trump joked, to a subsequent wave of laughter. “Personally ran over the cow in his car.”
“And he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight,” Trump said. “So it’s very fresh, and Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill, but we drew the line at that.”
The remark is a jab of Kennedy’s unusual history with roadkill, including an incident in which he said he placed a dead bear cub in Central Park a decade ago.
Trump jokes next correspondents' dinner could be named after him
President Donald Trump joked that David Ellison, the Paramount Skydance chief executive, informed the president that the next correspondents’ dinner would be named in his honor.
“Next year, they’re going to call it the Trump White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Trump said. “(Ellison) told me that, and I like that very much. We’re going to change the name of it, okay?”
Trump’s close relationship with Ellison has been well documented. The two were seen together last month’s UFC fight at the White House, just days after the Trump administration approved a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Trump takes jab at Joe Biden with UFC quip
President Donald Trump took a jab at his predecessor, Joe Biden, as he touted the UFC fight he hosted on the South Lawn of the White House in June.
The president went on to quip that he would continue to host UFC fights at the White House every weekend, before adding: “I’m only kidding.”
Trump praises Secret Service officer: “We salute you and we thank you with all of our hearts”
President Donald Trump continuously praised Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales during his speech tonight at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ dinner.
At April’s original dinner, Gonzales was struck by gunfire and engaged an armed intruder who opened fire at the event.
“What he did was amazing,” Trump said during his remarks. “We salute you and we thank you with all of our hearts. Thank you very much. Great job.”
Trump again uses WHCD shooting to justify ballroom construction
President Donald Trump went on an extended tangent about his under-construction White House ballroom.
The administration has used the shooting at April’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to justify the ballroom and the eye-watering cost to build it. Trump did the same tonight.
“We’re building something that’s going to be amazing, and in light of what we went through, I think people understand it,” he said.
Trump jokes he doesn't want to wear a bulletproof vest because he would look heavier
President Donald Trump joked about the reason he does not want to wear a bulletproof vest, after the first White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted by a gunman.
“Everyone’s looking really good tonight, and I know it was not easy finding shoes to go along with your bulletproof vest, which many people didn’t want to wear because they’d rather die than look 20 pounds heavier,” he joked.
Trump said “they,” appearing to refer to the Secret Service, put a bulletproof vest on him.
Trump makes light of chaotic scene at last correspondents' dinner
During his speech, President Donald Trump made light of the chaotic moment during April’s press gala when guests at the Washington Hilton took cover under tables after shots were heard outside the ballroom.
“After hearing the gun shots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking. Do you believe it? Get down!” Trump said.
“She’s the only one that really understood what that meant,” he added.
Trump jokes about possible third term at rescheduled press dinner
Second time’s the charm, President Donald Trump joked about the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner — and his presidency.
“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better,” he said. “And the third time will be better yet.”
“I’m only kidding,” he added.
“This has not been an easy evening," Trump jokes, referring to journalism awards presented
President Donald Trump opened his remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner tonight by joking that watching the presentation of awards for coverage critical of his administration was not easy.
Trump shakes hands of CNN and AP reporters honored for stories about his administration
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller of The Associated Press were recognized for their coverage of the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump himself shook Collins’ and Miller’s hands after they were given the Award for Excellence Under Deadline Pressure.
Collins, who has often been in Trump’s crosshairs, was recognized for her reporting on the explosive Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Judges were awed by the depth of knowledge, access and context that Kaitlan brought to coverage of a meeting that unraveled before the world’s eyes.”
Collins and Trump appeared to exchange a few words as they shook hands.
Madhani and Miller won the print category for their reporting into the administration’s firing of National Security Council staff that was deemed to not align with the president’s agenda.
WSJ reporters awarded for article on Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
Several reporters with the Wall Street Journal were awarded at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for their report that uncovered a bawdy letter that Donald Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.
The story, which was published last July, prompted a lawsuit by Trump against the Journal’s parent company. The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge earlier this year, and then amended and re-filed by Trump.
The president smirked as the story was described in front of him. He repeatedly shrugged his shoulders while shaking the hands of the reporters involved in the story.
White House Correspondents' Association honors Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal
The White House Correspondents’ Association tonight honored Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey with the Aldo Beckman award at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington DC.
President Donald Trump could be seen applauding Dawsey.
Trump appears to doze off as program is well underway
With the correspondents’ dinner’s program well underway, President Donald Trump has appeared to periodically doze off as he remains seated on the dais.
Sitting between between White House Correspondents’ Association Weijia Jiang and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president has closed his eyes for lengthy periods of time, including when a video featuring former White House Correspondents Association scholars played on screens in the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria.
Trump has been seen dozing off in public settings before, including at Oval Office events and cabinet meetings.
