Updated April 25, 2026 — President Trump was evacuated from the dinner unharmed after shots were fired outside the ballroom.
President Donald Trump made his first appearance as president at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday in Washington, bringing the administration’s fraught relationship with the press into the spotlight. First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance also attended.
The annual gathering, organized by reporters who cover the White House, traditionally emphasizes the First Amendment and includes light roasts of journalists. While presidents have sometimes appeared at the event, Trump had skipped it during his first term and the opening year of his second. He had attended twice previously as a private citizen, in 2011 and 2015.
Organizers this year booked mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainer instead of a stand-up comedian. The invitation to the president reignited long-running debate about whether reporters should socialize with those they cover: some outlets, including The New York Times, stopped participating years ago for that reason. Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, said the choice gives the event a damaging appearance compared with its earlier tone.
Relations between news organizations and the administration have been tense during Trump’s second term. The administration has publicly criticized reporters, taken legal action against outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press, and limited press access to parts of the Pentagon. Ahead of the dinner, nearly 500 retired journalists signed a petition urging the WHCA to take a firm stand against what they described as the president’s attacks on press freedom.
WHCA president and CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang said bringing journalists, newsmakers and the president together serves as a reminder of the First Amendment and why a free press matters for the public.
Reporters who attend often view the dinner as a chance to generate story ideas and cultivate contacts that can help with future reporting. News organizations sometimes bring guests; the AP invited Taylor Budowich, a former White House deputy chief of staff who left the administration last year and had been named in the AP’s lawsuit over reduced access. AP spokesman Patrick Maks said the organization maintains professional relationships across the political spectrum and remains nonpartisan in pursuit of facts.
The WHCA also presented awards recognizing exemplary reporting, including pieces that have angered the president. Among honored work was a Wall Street Journal story about a birthday message Trump once sent to Jeffrey Epstein, reporting that later drew a presidential lawsuit.