President Donald Trump appeared to repeatedly doze off as he headlined Washington’s most high-profile celebration of press freedom.
Three months after the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was postponed after an attempted assassination against the president, a scaled-back redo was held on Friday night.
But despite insisting “the show must go on,” the 80-year-old president was seen repeatedly closing his eyes for extended periods as speeches unfolded inside the Waldorf Astoria ballroom.
The evening kicked off with Trump forced to sit through a video roasting him about press freedom and America being a country of “no kings.”
Things got even more awkward when The Wall Street Journal was celebrated for reporting on a lewd letter Trump allegedly sent to notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The president eventually got up to give his own speech, where he cracked jokes about the press not liking him and suggested future dinners should be held in his White House ballroom—and named after him.
“I’ve been informed by CBS News’s David Ellison, he’s the owner… next year they’re going to call it the Trump White House Correspondents’ Dinner. He told me that, and I like that very much. Change the name of it, OK?” he said.
In a moment that was met with near silence, Trump also once again attacked CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, describing her as “a young attractive woman” who “never smiles” before suggesting she looked like transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I said, Kaitlan, do you ever smile?” he said, to virtually no laughs.
“You have a nice position. You’re at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan.”
But the president also took aim at members of his own Cabinet, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who once admitted to dumping a dead bear in Central Park.
Describing Kennedy as “a piece of work” and a “different kind of person,” he told the audience: “I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloin.
“I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy is right here and he personally ran over the cow.”
The octogenarian also mocked the body of White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, whom he once outed as a user of “fat drugs,” telling the crowd, “Don’t ever wrestle Steven.”
Friday’s event was noticeably different from the originally planned April dinner, which was derailed when 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen stormed a security checkpoint and opened fire outside the ballroom where Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and the administration’s Cabinet members were seated alongside thousands of journalists and other guests.
The first lady, who was filmed looking terrified as she hid under the table after the shots rang out, opted not to attend Friday’s event.
Vice President JD Vance, who has just welcomed his fourth child, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been touring Southeast Asia for the past few days, were also absent.
But Trump insisted a redo take place, noting that there was no place for political violence in America.
“This has not been an easy evening, all these awards,” Trump began, later adding: “But just like my presidency, the second time is always better, and the third time will be better.”
After decades at the Washington Hilton, Friday’s dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria—formerly Trump International Hotel.
The scaled-down event had just 700 people, compared with the 2,500 people in attendance in April.
There was also less glitz and glamour, with no red carpet and no full week of pre-dinner parties and events that have become a staple of the annual gathering.
But the inevitable tension between the media and a president who has spent years portraying journalists as enemies of the state, suing news organizations, and using the machinery of government to pressure the media was evident.
Some journalists opted not to attend the event, while others, including the Daily Beast, did so in order to report on it.
Security was also heavily beefed up, with fencing and barricades across downtown D.C., a high police presence, and tighter protocols.
But Trump made light of the situation, telling the crowd, “Everyone’s looking really good tonight, and I know it’s 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.”
The joke was met with a muffled response—and plenty of journalists looking at their phones.
