Journalists strike back at Trump's attacks with 'we are not the enemy' message at somber WHCA dinner
The annual
White House Correspondents Dinner
was held Saturday night despite the current occupant of 1600
Pennsylvania
Avenue being notably absent from the event that is commonly referred to as the "nerd prom."
Reporters, editors and celebrities mingled at the Washington Hilton in what was a more somber gathering of America's top journalists than in previous years. The White House Correspondents Association chose to focus on highlighting excellence in journalism, without directly addressing the
attacks on the free press being carried out by the current administration.
President
Donald Trump
, much like during his first term, chose to skip the annual gathering, amid his
growing attacks on the free press.
Read More
Related Articles
Melania's blunt two-word response to Trump as they arrive for Pope's funeral
Read More
Related Articles
Donald Trump branded 'disgusting' as he honors Pope Francis in 'baffling' way
Kaitlan Collins attends the 2025 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Image: Getty Images)
Trump has always had a contentious relationship with members of the media but that contempt has grown into targeted attacks during his first 100 days back in the Oval Office. These include barring the Associated Press from covering the White House over its refusal to change its style book from the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" and a lawsuit against CBS News over a
60 Minutes
interview with then-Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris.
Several outlets took home prestigious awards Saturday night, including Axios reporter Alex Thompson, for his reporting on President Joe Biden's mental decline and its subsequent cover-up by members of his staff and family. Thompson's forthcoming book with CNN's Jake Tapper details Biden's cognitive decline leading up to his disastrous debate performance against Trump — which led to him dropping his bid for re-election.
While accepting the WHCA's Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage Thompson said "President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception.
While not mentioning Trump by name directly, WHCA President and MSNBC Reporter Eugene Daniels pointed out the Commander-in-Chief's notable absence, while saying the WHCA doesn't invite presidents to the event to curry favor with them but rather to remind them they should be in support of a robust free press.
"We invite them to demonstrate that those of us who have chosen the public service of journalism aren't doing it because we love flights on Air Force One or walking into the Oval Office. It's to remind them why a strong fourth estate is essential for democracy," Daniels said.
Daniels then showed a compilation video of all the former presidents who have attended the dinner in the past, including Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and
Joe Biden
.
Trump is the only president in the last several decades to have never attended the WHCD while in office.
Kevin O'Leary (L)attends the 2025 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 26, 2025 in Washington, DC
(Image: Getty Images)
Saturday's event lacked the traditional comedian headliner, with the WHCA abruptly canceling comedian Amber Ruffin's scheduled performance last month. Daniels said of the cancellation that the night would be primarily focused on uplifting and celebrating journalists.
'At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,' Daniels said in March about the decision to axe Ruffin's set.
While Trump had never attended the dinner while in office he has attended several times before being elected president — most notably in 2011, when then-President Barack Obama delivered a scathing roast of Trump related to the so-called "birther" conspiracy Trump famously pushed, claiming Obama had not been born in the United States.
"
Donald Trump
is here tonight. I know he's taken some flack lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder, to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald," Obama said at the time. "And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter. Like did we fake the moon landing, what really happened in Roswell and where are Biggie and Tupac."
Obama then mocked Trump's "breath of experience" as he called it, eliciting laughs from the audience as he described an episode of
The Apprentice.
Many political pundits and experts have theorized that this was the moment Trump resolved to run for president.
Without the traditional comedic headliner and with the president not in attendance the event wrapped up much earlier than in previous years. But Daniels closed the night with an impassioned speech about the importance of journalism in a democracy and again without mentioning him by name, appeared to take another swipe at Trump before wrapping things up.
President of the White House Correspondents' Association Eugene Daniels poses for photographers as he arrives at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 26, 2025.
(Image: AP)
"We journalists are a lot of things, we're competitive and pushy, we're impatient and sometimes we think we know everything," Daniels said. "But we're also human, we miss our families and significant life moments in service to this job. We care deeply about accuracy and take seriously the heavy responsibility of being stewards of the public's trust. What we are not is the opposition, what we are not is the enemy of the people and what we are not is the enemy of the state."
Trump in the past has repeatedly called journalists "enemies of the people" and has continued his attacks on the free press during his second stint in the White House.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Appeals court temporarily blocks judge's ruling to return control of National Guard to California
SAN FRANCISCO: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids. The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday. The ruling came only hours after a federal judge's order was to take effect at noon Friday. Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump's statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the earlier ruling. 'Today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test,' Newsom said in a news conference before the appeals court decision. The White House had called Breyer's order 'unprecedented' and said it 'puts our brave federal officials in danger.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Border Patrol will be at the Club World Cup, says it''s routine to provide security for such events
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it regularly provides security at big sporting events in response to questions about the agency's presence at the FIFA Club World Cup amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is committed to working with our local and federal partners to ensure the FIFA Club World Cup 26 is safe for everyone involved, as we do with every major sporting event, including the Super Bowl. Our mission remains unchanged," the agency said Thursday in response to an inquiry by The Associated Press. The agency had previously deleted a social media post that said its officers would be "suited and booted" for the opening round this weekend of Club World Cup games. FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed questions about CBP involvement during an event earlier this week promoting Saturday's opener between Inter Miami and Al Ahly at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. "No, I don't have any concerns about anything in the sense that we are already attentive on any security question," Infantino said. "Of course, the most important for us is to guarantee security for all fans who come to the games. And this is our priority." Border Patrol agents have routinely been called in to help with security for large events, including the Super Bowl. They handle things like screening cargo shipments into stadiums for hazardous materials and contribute to emergency planning. At last year's Copa America final at Hard Rock Stadium, throngs of fans breached security gates and forced the game to be delayed. The Club World Cup opener Saturday comes amid protests in several cities over actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The Club World Cup features 32 teams from across the globe playing in 11 cities nationwide through July 13.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Deploying National Guard in Los Angeles
As California Governor Newsom and President Trump continue to square off over the administration's militarized response to anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles, a federal judge has blocked the activation of National Guard troops in the city. Judge Charles Breyer ordered the Trump administration to return control of the guard to Newsom, saying the president had acted illegally in federalizing 4,000 guard troops against the governor's wishes. More from Variety PBS, NPR Could Lose $1.1 Billion in Funding After Trump's Rescission Bill Narrowly Passes House The Chrisleys Claimed Political Persecution to Get a Trump Pardon, but Records Tell a Different Story Bob Costas Slams Trump's 'Ongoing Assaults' on Free Press and Warns Against 'MAGA Media': 'Democracy As We Know It Is Under Attack' 'The Court concludes that Plaintiffs have demonstrated that the balance of equities tips in their favor and that an injunction restraining the President's use of military force in Los Angeles is in the public interest,' Breyer wrote. Protests have lasted nearly a week in Los Angeles following a series of raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement around Southern California. Trump declared on June 7 that the protesters were engaged in 'rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States,' and called out the guard. The ruling cites several dictionary definitions of 'rebellion' and concludes that the protests — including sporadic acts of violence — does not qualify. 'The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 'rebellion,'' Breyer wrote. The order does not goes into effect until 12 p.m. PT on Friday; the Trump administration is expected to seek an appeal beforehand. The ruling came hours after Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference in Los Angeles, taken to the ground, and put in handcuffs. The moment became an instant media firestorm, leading news sites, playing on cable news all day, and bringing condemnation from Democrats on the Senate floor. In an interview Thursday evening on MSNBC's 'The Beat with Ari Melber,' Padilla said he was listening to a press conference from Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, when 'the political rhetoric got to be too much.' 'At one point, it was just too much to take,' Padilla said in his first interview about the encounter. 'Not the first, but the second attack on the political leadership of California and this notion that Donald Trump and Kristi Noem have to come in and rescue the people of Los Angeles from Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass? It was too much. And so I spoke up.' Noem appeared at the FBI building in Westwood to vow to continue to crack down on the protests. 'We are not going away,' Noem said. 'We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country.' That was the point at which the senator reacted, moving toward the front of the room and raising his voice to ask a question. The agents apparently did not recognize Padilla — the lesser known of California's two senators — and grabbed him. He identified himself as he was pushed backwards and out of the room. 'To suggest that they have to come into Los Angeles to restore order — ' he told interviewer Jacob Soboroff. 'You know Los Angeles. It's a big, spread-out city. The images that we've seen over the course of the last week of some vandalism, some violence, et cetera, that's wrong. And I denounce it. But it's very small and very contained in a big metropolis of the Los Angeles area. So the National Guard was not necessary.' He said he did talk with Noem afterward, but never got a scheduled briefing on the federal response. 'If they're allowed to do this in Los Angeles, they can and they will do this in any corner of the country,' Padilla said. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
