{"id":221601,"date":"2026-08-22T16:24:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T16:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-bombed-at-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-and-proved-its-point-cp24\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T16:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T16:24:17","slug":"trump-bombed-at-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-and-proved-its-point-cp24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-bombed-at-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-and-proved-its-point-cp24\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump bombed at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner \u2014 and proved its point &#8211; CP24"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated:<!-- -->\u00a0<time datetime=\"2026-07-25T17:43:25.681Z\">July 25, 2026 at 1:43p.m. EDT<\/time><br \/>Published:<!-- -->\u00a0<time datetime=\"2026-07-25T13:53:42.172Z\">July 25, 2026 at 9:53a.m. EDT<\/time><br \/><i>Brian Stelter is the chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide and the lead author of the Reliable Sources newsletter.<\/i><br \/>U.S. President Donald Trump bombed at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner Friday night. He knew he was bombing, too, and he even tried to meta-joke his way out of it.<br \/>But no. Even the president\u2019s jokes about his bad jokes fell flat, and he was widely ridiculed for the comedy routine afterward.<br \/>Members of the media mocked the leader\u2019s dismal performance on live TV and all across the internet. In some other countries, that\u2019s a criminal offense. But in the US, it\u2019s the norm, so maybe Trump\u2019s speech unwittingly underscored the theme of the dinner: America\u2019s robust First Amendment protections.<br \/>In a rambling hour-long speech, Trump insulted journalists by name, repurposed old nicknames for political opponents, made a strange number of fat jokes that weren\u2019t funny at all, and sounded mad at his unnamed writers for giving him weak material to work with. \u201cDoes anyone understand this stuff?\u201d he said at one point, and the answer was generally no.<br \/>Some of Trump\u2019s remarks were \u201cvicious,\u201d as press secretary Karoline Leavitt promised. But more than anything, the speech was just\u2026 boring.<br \/>And boring is one thing Trump never, ever wants to be. He claimed to be singlehandedly keeping the news business afloat, commenting, \u201cWhen I\u2019m gone, you\u2019re all going to be broke.\u201d<br \/>\u201cNobody gives a damn about anybody else,\u201d he said, and proceeded to count how many stories on The New York Times front page are about him.<br \/>Attendees were mostly silent while Trump delivered lines better suited to a MAGA rally than a black-tie dinner.<br \/>Trump\u2019s low energy led more than one TV executive to muse that the president had stumbled upon a new technique against the media: Tank the ratings with a snoozefest.<br \/>Some attendees said they were surprised that Trump didn\u2019t bring more original material, given how highly anticipated the dinner was, in part because his attendance ended his years-long boycott of the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association\u2019s annual fundraiser.<br \/>Friday\u2019s dinner was a smaller-scale redo of the April 26 affair that was postponed after a gunman tried to rush into the ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel.<br \/>The do-over dinner was held across town at the Waldorf Astoria, a building Trump once operated as his namesake DC hotel \u2014 and an unofficial clubhouse for his first administration.<br \/>\u201cSee those beautiful chandeliers? I can tell you everything about them,\u201d he threatened.<br \/>Trump did strike some notes of unity, praising the Secret Service and denouncing political violence. \u201cIn this country, we believe in freedom of speech,\u201d he said. \u201cWe settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate. And no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that.\u201d<br \/>Then he joked about dinnergoers wearing bulletproof vests under their fancy outfits, \u201cwhich many people didn\u2019t want to wear because they\u2019d rather die than look 20 pounds heavier.\u201d<br \/>Trump\u2019s remarks showed how he understands the power of the press \u2014 and that he gets angry when he can\u2019t control it. He singled out several CNN journalists by name.<br \/>In response, CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement, \u201cWe stand by our journalists and the integrity and fairmindedness with which the CNN team reports the news. Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the US Constitution. CNN will continue to exercise this right.\u201d<br \/>Trump also gave shoutouts to media executives whom he views as allies, namely Larry and David Ellison, who took control of Paramount last year and are now trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN\u2019s parent company. Paramount suffered a major setback earlier on Friday when it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/07\/24\/media\/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-merger-delay\" rel=\"\">agreed to accept a months-long delay<\/a> to the merger while legal challenges are resolved.<br \/>Invoking the fact that Paramount owns CBS News, Trump said David Ellison is \u201cgoing to make, I think, fantastic changes and keep some of the great stuff going.\u201d<br \/>Trump also made a convoluted joke about the controversial changes implemented by Ellison\u2019s handpicked editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss: \u201cUnder my administration, a once-feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled. Their former leaders have been removed, and they\u2019re now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions. But I, for one, wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News. She\u2019s a wonderful woman.\u201d<br \/>Toward the end of the speech, the president donned a red \u201cTrump 2028\u201d hat. His choice of attire seemed like a deliberate troll, given the outrage that erupts every time he talks about a constitutionally barred third term.<br \/>He also said that he was only kidding about running again. Earlier in the evening, during a lengthy digression about his White House ballroom addition, he remarked that \u201cI\u2019m only going to be using it for about six months\u201d before leaving office, a rare acknowledgment that his term has an expiration date.<br \/>The more resentful and recycled Trump\u2019s speech got, the more attendees seemed to tune it out.<br \/>CNN\u2019s Betsy Klein, who was in the room, said many people were on their phones or talking amongst themselves. Others were eating macarons from the dessert trays, using the bathroom or mingling in the lobby.<br \/>\u201cThe person at the table next to me has just poured himself a comically large glass of wine,\u201d she observed nearly an hour in.<br \/>CNN\u2019s Kristen Holmes said a Republican source of hers in the room said to her, \u201cWhoever wrote this speech should be fired.\u201d<br \/>But a few of the jabs will surely travel well on right-wing social media platforms, and Daniel Dale predicted that \u201cthe silence in the room will be portrayed by the president\u2019s allies as evidence he roasted the \u2018fake news\u2019 so bad they were stunned into submission.\u201d<br \/>One of the most intriguing parts of the evening involved the correspondents\u2019 association\u2019s annual journalism awards presentation. Trump sat through multiple prizes, including one for \u201ccourage and accountability\u201d in reporting that went to a team of Wall Street Journal reporters for their investigative work on a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump\u2019s name.<br \/>\u201cTrump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the Journal, revealing reporter Khadeeja Safdar\u2019s home address,\u201d CNN\u2019s Wolf Blitzer said while presenting the award.<br \/>Trump laughed and threw up his hands in an <i>aw shucks<\/i>-like gesture.<br \/>\u201cHer family had to be relocated,\u201d Blitzer continued. \u201cThe Journal was kicked off of Air Force One, but the reporters continued to file revelatory stories.\u201d<br \/>Trump then stood up and shook hands with each reporter. He is currently suing the Journal\u2019s parent company over the investigation, and legal experts say he will most likely lose the case.<br \/>The outgoing president of the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association, Weijia Jiang, introduced Trump after discussing the importance of press freedom. Jiang drafted her remarks knowing the president would be sitting next to her and listening.<br \/>Jiang said there is \u201can existential difference between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it. One is healthy, and it makes all of us better. The other is exactly what the founders hoped to prevent.\u201d<br \/>The CBS correspondent also addressed Trump directly: \u201cWhen we ask questions, you push back. You give us answers, and we push back. You have always been a deal guy. Well, that\u2019s the deal. And the First Amendment is a done deal. And that\u2019s what we toast tonight.\u201d<br \/><i>By Brian Stelter<\/i><br \/>\u00a92026 BellMedia All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiugFBVV95cUxPa3pxNHJKM3RLN1ZQRkpnWHdiMjA2b2Y4R0xxUkNzY0hpczMwU3c1U3ZtQkZhcmVpYXVYSXgzcHhIbW5Wa0Yxc0ZqRGtzZTQ0MGlRNGF4ak1FUlVGdkQ3bXB2Z0owTm5ncVFIemRRY2lDVE4zRWVQSWdadURiNVV2cW5WOXl2cUFTaFpGWVcxSTVBV3ZfRUk1N0g0Vlo5dVFnWWRQbGpKMk5yUFVDZnZBNGNScWg0NEltY1E?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated:\u00a0July 25, 2026 at 1:43p.m. EDTPublished:\u00a0July 25, 2026 at 9:53a.m. EDTBrian Stelter is the chief media analyst for CNN Worldwide and the lead author of the Reliable Sources newsletter.U.S. President Donald Trump bombed at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner Friday night. He knew he was bombing, too, and he even tried to meta-joke his way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}