Trump mixes jokes with barbs at press freedom dinner
Trump, whose administration has often been at odds with the press, started by mostly going along with the warm and relaxed tenor of the evening
Highlights:
- White House Correspondents' dinner was rescheduled after attack
- Speech brings out familiar Trump themes from his political rallies
- "We will not be intimidated," departing leader of WHCA says
- Event moved to smaller venue with heightened security
President Donald Trump took aim at the press by mixing humour with barbs and familiar tropes at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Friday, returning to the event celebrating press freedom after a shooting disrupted the original event in April.
Trump, whose administration has often been at odds with the press, started by mostly going along with the warm and relaxed tenor of the evening. But much of the speech, which lasted more than an hour, took shots at Trump's political adversaries and recycled oft-repeated themes and attack lines from his political rallies.
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The black-tie gathering of journalists, politicians and administration officials, intended for 25 April at the Washington Hilton hotel, was called off that night after a man tried to force his way through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun outside the ballroom where Trump and members of his cabinet were taking their seats.
The suspect, Cole Allen, pleaded not guilty in May to charges including attempting to assassinate the president.
The correspondents' gala has been an annual fixture on Washington's calendar for more than a century and raises money for journalism scholarships while celebrating press freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Several hundred veteran journalists, along with eight professional journalism organisations, signed a letter urging the correspondents association to use the dinner to condemn what they called Trump's attacks on the First Amendment.
The president was afforded typical honours, with only a few awkward moments when he shook hands with journalists winning awards for stories about the Trump administration.
"I hope all of you know that I believe in the free press more than anyone in this room does — maybe not quite. That's why I'm proud to be the most open and transparent president in history," Trump said. "They call me that."
Trump also spoke about the flip side of his attacks on the press: the unprecedented access he has provided by engaging in frequent question-and-answer sessions with reporters and personally taking phone calls from many of them.
"I always find that when you don't speak to the press, you always get a bad story," said Trump, whose relationship with the press goes back decades to his rise as a well-known New York real estate developer in the 1980s. "When you do speak to the press, you have a shot at getting a good story."
This year's dual events marked Trump's first presidential appearance at the correspondents' dinner. He had boycotted the event in his previous years in office, though he promised to come back next year.
