Stephen Colbert roasted Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner by flaunting an embarrassing—and now, award-winning—photograph of the president.
Trump will attend Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association event, where he plans to berate the press for working against him, but intends to leave before awards are handed out to journalists for their coverage of the White House.
Among the prizes is the Katherine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability, which the Wall Street Journal will be honored with for its coverage of Trump’s “bawdy” alleged birthday card for the late Jeffrey Epstein.
If that wasn’t enough to tip the president over the edge, the award for excellence in visual coverage will be given to Getty Images’ Andrew Harnik for his photograph of the president appearing to ignore a man who collapsed beside him inside the Oval Office.
Colbert gleefully took advantage of the opportunity to show the award-winning photo to his audience.
“The word is, after he rips the press corps a new one, Trump is going to immediately leave so he will miss the annual presentation of the press awards,” The Late Show host said.
“I’m not going to understand why he’s going to dip because one of these awards, and this is true, is going to the Wall Street Journal for its scoop about a certain birthday pube doodle for Jeffrey Epstein.”
“As well as another award for the photojournalist who took this picture of that time, a man had a medical emergency right there in the Oval Office, and Trump just stood there like he was waiting for a bus,” Colbert said.
“It’s so crazy that he didn’t help,” Colbert quipped about the notorious incident. “Especially now that we know that he is a doctor,” he added, mocking the president’s AI-Jesus blunder.
The late-night host previously tore into the president over his apparent lack of reaction to the man’s collapse.
“Honestly, it was good to see everybody rushed to help him,” Colbert said in November. “Well, almost everybody, because this photo has been going around. Take a look at this viral photo from after the fainting.”
“Look at that. That—they got his legs up and everything. That picture is worth a thousand words, none of which I can say on CBS,” he said, taking a dig at his network.
Trump will be making his first appearance as president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Colbert imitated Trump criticizing journalists at the dinner, “All you reporters are enemies of the people. I hate you all. And if you call me, I will pick up every time. Seriously, anytime, night or day, I’m telling you, I will do that.”
The late-night host delivered remarks at the Correspondents’ Dinner in 2006, brutally roasting former President George W. Bush.
