Hot Takes: Media’s Reaction to Redo of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Was As Expected
Friday night, and the feeling is right for the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner with keynote speaker President Donald Trump. Titled “Celebrating the First Amendment,” the WHCA members were dressed to the nines and ready to glad-hand and back-slap each other for their journalistic excellence, at least in their eyes. After cowering in fear during the previous disrupted dinner, and escaping with the table liquor, the legacy media class has returned as entitled as ever.
Here we are again at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. No matter the challenges, one thing remains true: we journalists have the final word. pic.twitter.com/dbkeSfE2Pq
— Diyar Kurda (@diyarkurda) July 25, 2026
President Trump deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom for having to endure that ballroom full of arrogant, self-loathing journalists who have absolutely no sense of humor. #WHCD
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) July 25, 2026
President Donald Trump arrived with pomp and circumstance, and saluted during this beautiful rendition of the national anthem and presentation by the honor guard.
WATCH:
President Trump is seen standing and saluting during the national anthem at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The event is proceeding as planned following the assassination attempt at the previous gathering.#WHCD #WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner #NationalAnthem #Trump… pic.twitter.com/Mw6REywrl5
— De Emiratez (@officialkpalaps) July 24, 2026
Dive Deeper: Updated: Shots Fired at White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump Evacuated
Hell Freezes Over As Media Reveals Remarkable Actions Trump Took After WHCD Shooting
Then the awards were handed out, which is a snooze at any event. After the attempted assassination of President Trump and the entire White House cabinet at the first rendition in April of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a normal night would come off as boring in comparison.
Is it me or is this the most boring White House Correspondence Dinner ever?
The highlight is seeing Jacqui Heinrich. Everything else so far is 💤
— Wino Winnie 𝕏 (@Wino_Winnie) July 25, 2026
As my colleague Ben Smith reported, Trump gave a speech that pissed off all the right people, including some of the journalists.
He’s being so petty, and I’m here for it.
— Nikki M. Johnson, MD (@notaproviderMD) July 25, 2026
Read More: Trump Roasts the Media at WHCA Dinner, Then Trolls Them With a ‘Trump 2028’ Hat
But depending upon who was watching, they either felt the journos took the old guard’s words to heart – or that Trump owned them.
What…is happening right now? #WHCD
— Dritin (@DrDritin) July 25, 2026
The bloated corpse delivering another psychotic speech that has nothing to do with honoring journalists. He’s also boring as hell.#WHCD
— DebraHNYC (@DebraHendler) July 25, 2026
Our bets are on the latter, especially since the Leftist Lawfare King Marc Elias is having a meltdown.
Donald Trump is nearly incoherent as he addresses an adoring White House press corp. This is an embarrassment for the White House and a humiliating display by the legacy media in the room.
Support independent media. Subscribe to Democracy Docket. https://t.co/7W0yoPHmq2
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) July 25, 2026
And CNN is doing live fact-check analysis of the speech. How dumb is that?
@JohnBerman no one knows! It’s the vicious part of the speech! #whcd pic.twitter.com/7o3tHCswbn
— T. Lee™ [BNN] (@tleetv_) July 25, 2026
Of course, it was rinse and repeat earlier in the week, with the fossil journalist class putting out another strongly worded letter, encouraging the pup journalists to hold Trump accountable.
Hundreds of former or retired journalists and eight press freedom groups are asking the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on the media at its rescheduled dinner this week — a dinner President Donald Trump says he’ll attend.
The first dinner was cut short in April when a gunman, who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate Trump, opened fire at the Washington Hilton. The much smaller rescheduled dinner will take place Friday, with enhanced security precautions, at the capital’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel.
The letter expands on a similar one issued in April, before the first dinner. It notes that since then, “the administration’s attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious.”
The letter, organized by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and producer Ian Cameron, cites in particular the recent subpoenas by the Justice Department to New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns over the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Additional subpoenas of the journalists’ phone records have included even the mother of one reporter, and two spouses.
#WHCD Trump keeps going on on tangents in this speech that nobody can follow. More “weave” than Nikki Minaj. #WHCA
See, I could be a White House speechwriter too.
— CG (@cg4684) July 25, 2026
Actually, Trump’s Nicki Manaj joke was chef’s kiss.
WATCH:
President Trump: “But after hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘get down, get down’, which caused @NICKIMINAJ to start twerking. Do you believe it? ‘Get down’. She’s the only one that really understood what that meant. It’s quite an evening.” pic.twitter.com/XxbBM7iCYi
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) July 25, 2026
This Becky “Save Us From Trump” X commenter about had an aneurysm because Trump is going after everyone. Apparently, she hasn’t ever watched a White House Correspondents’ Dinner before because… that’s kind of the point.
Trump’s speech is so offensive, exactly what we expected of him. Actually it is FAR worse than I could have imagined.
Oh my god, he is going after everyone. How repugnant.#WHCD— Becky 🐝Save US from Trump🕊️ (@BeckySpooner1) July 25, 2026
Trump ended with his ultimate troll: claiming he was running for a fourth term in 2028.
OMG, Trump pulled out the “Trump 2028” hat at the White House CorrespondentsD Dinner. 🤣🤣 #WHCD pic.twitter.com/B1mKJnXh6F
— Real Defender (@real_defender) July 25, 2026
Everyone, including the legacy media, was expecting Trump to blast the room. As is his signature, Trump managed to do a bit of the expected, while throwing enough curveballs to keep everyone guessing and providing the copy for their analysis over the weekend.
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