President Donald Trump addressed the second go-around of the White House Correspondents Dinner on Friday night, stressing that “in America, we do not yield to political violence.”
The last dinner was cancelled before the president could address the media due to an attempted assassin firing shots at the Washington Hilton. Friday’s event was at a smaller venue at the Waldorf Astoria, a former Trump Organization property.
“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump said.
“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better — and a third time will be better yet,” he said, adding that he was “only kidding about running for a third term.
Trump said that the attempted shooting was an “assault on our democracy itself,” saying people like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller exhibited “extreme bravery.”
.@POTUS: "After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, 'GET DOWN! GET DOWN!' Which caused @NICKIMINAJ to start twerking, do you believe it?" 😂 pic.twitter.com/egFP9a6nRS
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 25, 2026
The president also specifically honored Secret Service agents, including Officer Vincent Victor Gonzales, who was hit in the chest with a bullet during the shooting.
“Oh, that was gonna be a doozy. I was so liked,” he said of his original speech, noting that he changed the tone of his remarks given the April incident. The president notably used the address to make the case for supporting the White House ballroom project.
Despite the occasional seriousness of the night, Trump did not hold back with his jokes.
He said that when Secret Service shouted “get down,” the rapper Nikki Minaj, who was a guest at the first dinner, started twerking.
"How the hell did you not see that coming?" Trump said of Oz the Mentalist, the entertainment at the dinner for one of the initial events, and the do-over.
Additionally, he said that “this place is the really the largest group of Trump derangement syndrome people ever put together at one time, I suspect.”
NOW - Trump speaking at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner: "This place is the really the largest group of Trump derangement syndrome people ever put together at one time, I suspect." pic.twitter.com/Tvx1mJ7tYr
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 25, 2026
"Some of you are lucky that our last dinner was cut short because I had brought with me what would possibly have been. I'm telling you, I had something I was going to go after you,” Trump continued.
He also poked fun at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him a “piece of work.”
Noting the beef tenderloin served at the dinner, the president said that Kennedy “personally ran over the cow with his car.”
"He also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill,” Trump quipped.
.@POTUS: I hope everyone got to enjoy their delicious beef tenderloin, and I want you all to know that @SecKennedy personally ran over the cow in his car and cut it up, and brought it here for you to eat tonight, so it's very fresh. And Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring… pic.twitter.com/vwTlszofaZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 25, 2026
.@POTUS: "They thought about going with a professional clown for entertainment, but Adam Shifty Schiff was not available." pic.twitter.com/xP2ZxH3bXi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 25, 2026
The president also clarified that the time when then-President Barack Obama roasted him at the 2011 dinner was not when he decided to run for president, as the moment has frequently gone viral for implying it was a turning point in Trump's decision to run.
Trump noted that he may return to the event next year, as he has always skipped the dinner while president, with this year being the exception.
Toward the end of his remarks, he put on a Trump 2028 hat and quipped that the night was "far worse than he actually thought" while also thanking the press and saying that it is the "golden age of America."
President Trump wearing a Trump 2028 hat. pic.twitter.com/2ZA73dOVPE
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) July 25, 2026
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