Trump's White House Correspondents Dinner remarks draw criticism for weak jokes and attacks on journalists

President Donald Trump addressed the White House Correspondents' Dinner for the first time since taking office, delivering a speech that featured few original jokes and a series of personal attacks on media figures. After briefly praising law-enforcement officers who responded to a 2022 shooting at the event, Trump moved to a joke about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which drew limited laughter. He then targeted several journalists, naming CNN reporters Kaitlan Collins, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper, as well as Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey, and criticized them for their coverage of the administration.

"Fact check: Kaitlan smiles. Very friendly person. Just appropriately serious when doing her job," wrote fact-checker Daniel Dale in a live chat responding to the president’s comment. A CNN spokesperson described Collins as "an exceptional, trusted journalist" being honored for her reporting. Trump also shifted to foreign-policy remarks, claiming the United States had “hit Iran very hard” and that Iran’s drone capabilities were limited, while dismissing negative coverage as “fake news.” He said Iran might eventually seek a deal but that the United States was not yet ready to negotiate. The audience’s reaction was muted, with many attendees using phones, eating, or leaving the room during the address.