Three months ago, the White House Correspondents Association staged their annual dinner in DC. For the first time ever, Donald Trump agreed to show up. Halfway through the dinner, some armed man tried to enter the ballroom and shots were fired. The whole thing was probably not what it seemed, and even the cover story made zero sense. Same with all of the other incidents around Trump. Whatever it was, Trump and his people were removed from the dinner and everything was abruptly canceled. Well, on Friday, the WHCA staged a second dinner and Trump came to this one as well. With the absence of outside drama, Trump took center stage and promptly bombed. His speech was horrible, people are absolutely sick of him and his idiotic “Trump 2028” hat went over like a lead balloon.
It was ten minutes into President Donald Trump’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Friday night when the event began to feel like a black-tie hostage situation. Trump was speaking at the dinner for the Washington press for the first time, and despite early signs he would stay on script, the speech soon devolved into a rambling and crass address that left the room uncomfortably silent, guests scrolling on their phones or pushing dessert around their plates.
Presidential speeches at these dinners typically run around 20 minutes and follow a formula: the president offers a lighthearted roast of the assembled journalists and ends on a lofty note about the importance of a free press.
Donald Trump is not a typical president, of course. He spoke for more than an hour, careening between his preferred topics, including the provenance of ballroom chandeliers and Chris Christie’s circumference. “It’s hard to escape the feeling that this dinner is more for Trump than the remaining journalists,” grumbled one member of the Washington press corps.
The room was silent for much of the speech. Even the White House efforts to stuff the venue with cabinet members and West Wing aides didn’t save Donald Trump from bombing. After he stumbled through the Christie cake riff, the camera cut to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who sat stone-faced. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had promised the speech would be “unifying” and “vicious.”
At moments, it was one of those things. Trump attacked Chuck Schumer, using “Palestinian” as a slur to mock the New York senator. He fixated on CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins’ looks, instructing her to smile more before delivering a clumsy joke comparing her to trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. He said Ilhan Omar should “get out of our country.” The ballroom remained mostly totally silent. When the camera cut to the room, attendees sat stone-faced or looked at their phones.
Trump seemed aware he was bombing. He repeatedly asked the silent crowd who had written his speech. After delivering an incomprehensible joke about a senator having sex with his wife, Trump tried to explain the punchline before asking the audience: “Does anybody get that? I thought that was actually pretty good. That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole freaking stupid speech.”
It may be unfair to blame the speechwriters, a team led by Ross Worthington that back in April had input from roast comic Tony Hinchcliffe. On Friday night, Trump’s delivery often appeared to be the problem. He sometimes stopped in the middle of pre-written jokes to riff about his perceived enemies, so much so that by the time he delivered the punchline it was unclear what the setup was. That kind of extemporaneous grievance-association may thrill the MAGA hat-wearing denizens of a Trump rally, but in a room full of journalists it fell uncomfortably flat.
“That kind of extemporaneous grievance-association may thrill the MAGA hat-wearing denizens of a Trump rally…” It doesn’t, actually. Those pitiful crowds at his emotional-support rallies aren’t even listening to him. They have barely listened to him for years now. They don’t care what he says or how he says it or what he actually meant. They only care that he’s a pathetic wannabe bully, like them. Anyway, glad to hear that Trump bombed yet again, and in front of his base – the DC press corps which enabled him for years and helped reelect him in 2024. Congrats to everyone.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.