Trump Mocks Collins, Biden, RFK Jr. at WHCA Dinner
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- Trump delivered a speech at the WHCA dinner on Friday evening that received a lukewarm reception, with the president visibly frustrated when jokes failed to land, at one point asking the crowd, "Does anybody get that?"
- Trump singled out CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins, repeating his earlier criticism that she "never smiles," and also targeted CNN's Jake Tapper and The Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey with personal jabs
- Trump began his remarks by commending law enforcement officers who helped thwart an alleged assassination attempt on him at the WHCA's annual event just months earlier in April
- Trump directed his ire at multiple Democratic leaders — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — and repeatedly mocked former President Biden
- Trump drew one of the night's louder laughs with a joke about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "personally running over the cow" for the dinner's beef tenderloin
- Trump ended his speech donning a "Trump 2028" hat after what appeared to be a sarcastic announcement that he would run for another term in office
Why it matters: The dinner, traditionally a venue where presidents and the press trade self-deprecating barbs, instead underscored the president's combative posture toward the journalists he was addressing — moments after he commended officers who stopped an alleged assassination attempt at the same event months earlier. His choice to mock Collins and shake hands with WSJ reporters while his administration is suing that outlet over Epstein-letter reporting highlights the unresolved tension between the White House and the press corps the dinner is meant to celebrate.
