During a gala Friday celebrating press freedom, President Trump finally got to deliver the biting speech he had long teased. His plan to speak at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner three months earlier was disrupted by an assassination attempt.The rescheduled event was needed because the nation cannot “yield to political violence,” Trump said to a ballroom of journalists at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington.
Event Context
“I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their very delicious beef tenderloin,” Trump said. “I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy…personally ran over the cow in his car.”
Team Analysis
Trump used the start of his speech to bring up a favorite topic: running for president again, even though the Constitution doesn’t allow it.
He mentioned it again at the end of his address, putting on a red “Trump 2028” cap and pushing unfounded claims that the 2020 election had been rigged, so he would actually be pursuing a fourth win.
Trump suggested the war with Iran is going “extremely well,” even as polling shows voters are increasingly concerned about the situation in the Middle East and gas prices are on the rise again.
“Don’t believe the fake news,” he said, ticking off recent U.S. military successes and adding that Iran would “love to make a deal.”
The president picked on several usual targets, including some of his more vocal critics. “This year the association decided not to have a comedian, so they considered using Jimmy Kimmel,” Trump said of the late-night host, whom the president has said should be fired by Disney’s ABC.
Of Bruce Springsteen, Trump said the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer “looks like hell” and suggested a new name for his tour: “Bored in the U.S.A.”
Trump called the gathering “the largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome people ever put together at one time.”
“I gave up on traditional press,” he said, boasting about how popular he is on TikTok.
Trump joked that he regrets sharing his phone number with so many reporters because he is inundated with calls. However, he said, “I always find that when you don’t speak to the press, you always get a bad story. When you do speak to the press, you have a shot at getting a good story.”
Trump poked fun at his Health Secretary, who was in the audience and is known for a habit of picking up roadkill.
Kennedy also offered an appetizer made from raccoon roadkill, Trump joked. “He’s a very different kind of person,” the president said.
Write to Joseph Pisani at [email protected] and John McCormick at [email protected]
Match Outlook
Some key moments from his more than hourlong speech:
