The rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner is being held on Friday, nearly three months after the original event was cut short by a gunman who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Event Context
The rescheduled dinner begins at 8pm ET on Friday, July 24.
NBC News reported that the venue has a much smaller ballroom, so the dinner will host around 680 guests, compared to the 2,600 people invited to the April event. The Secret Service has said it is stepping up security measures for the night.
Player Focus
As per NBC, special awards will be presented to those who helped during the April shooting. Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot in his protective vest while confronting the gunman, will receive the President’s Award for Exceptional Service, along with staff members of the Washington Hilton. The Secret Service earlier said in a statement, “Gonzales heroically engaged the armed suspect, placing himself directly in harm’s way. During the confrontation, Gonzales was struck in his protective vest and continued responding to the threat. His swift and decisive actions assisted in deterring the gunman from proceeding any further.”
Team Analysis
As per NBC News, Trump was invited back by Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and he called the decision to hold a rescheduled dinner “a sign of strength and fortitude.” Unlike the April dinner, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be attending this time.
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What to expect at the event
A live stream of the event and red carpet will begin at 6pm ET and can be watched on C-SPAN.
Unlike previous years, when the dinner was held at the Washington Hilton, this year’s event is taking place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Yes, Trump is expected to attend and deliver remarks at Friday’s dinner. At the April dinner, he was set to speak but was evacuated before doing so. He wrote on Truth Social in June, “I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out. In any event, it will be a ‘HOT’ ticket!”
As per NBC News, the association also plans to complete the program that was interrupted in April, including a tribute to the First Amendment, awards for reporting, and a salute to scholarship winners. Mentalist Oz Pearlman will be the evening’s featured entertainer.
