Trump Returns to Correspondents' Dinner After Assassination Attempt

President Donald Trump returned to the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday, nearly three months after an assassination attempt forced the event's cancellation in April. The dinner was relocated from the Washington Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria, a former Trump hotel, with enhanced security measures, including QR-code entry and more limited access points. Attendance dropped from about 2,600 to roughly 700 guests Source: excélsior.

Trump delivered a rambling, hour-long speech that mixed attacks on the media, jokes about security, and boasts about his presidency. He joked about attendees suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome" Source: euronews and brought up the idea of a third term, though he insisted he was joking Source: El Mundo. Some outlets described the speech as a "fiasco" and "aburrido" (boring) Source: CNN, while others highlighted a rare moment of sincerity when Trump admitted, "A veces sí me gusta hablar con la prensa" Source: ABC.

The event also featured a tribute to Secret Service agent Victor Gonzales, who was wounded in the April attack Source: infobae. The dinner included award presentations to journalists from The Wall Street Journal, AP, CNN, and The New York Times. Despite the heightened security, the atmosphere was notably more intimate, and Trump received a mix of criticism and praise for his performance.