The White House Correspondents' Association dinner originally set for April 25, 2026, at the Washington Hilton was canceled after a gunman fired shots at a security checkpoint, wounding a Secret Service agent before being stopped by officers [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The event was postponed and rescheduled for July 24 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., the former Trump International Hotel [8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 6, 7, 11].

President Donald Trump attended the rescheduled dinner, marking his first time attending as president [8, 5, 9, 6, 11]. He delivered a speech that included jokes, criticism of the media and political opponents, and reflections on the April shooting attempt. Trump condemned political violence, saying, “In America, we do not succumb to political violence. We solve our differences with open, heated debate. No crazy failing person with a gun can change that. We must never let this happen again.” [6] He also joked about his 2028 presidential run, donning a "Trump 2028" red hat but denying any immediate plans to run again [8, 6].

Security for the July event was significantly ramped up. Guests underwent airport-level metal detector screening, and the area around the hotel was tightly secured with heavy police presence and traffic controls [5, 9, 7]. Trump wore a 21-pound bulletproof vest during screening but refused to wear it fully, joking about its weight in his speech [5, 6].

U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran noted a sharp rise in nationwide security threats this year, with over 10,000 protective intelligence cases opened since January 2026, a 40% increase over 2025. Curran described the volume as unprecedented in his 24-year career, saying, “This number is something I have never seen in my 24-year career.” [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]

The event had under 800 guests, including Defense Secretary Haines, acting Attorney General Branch, Homeland Security Secretary Mullen, Treasury Secretary Bassett, Commerce Secretary Lutnick, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., and FBI Director Bartall [9, 10, 12, 7]. First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary of State Rubio, who attended the April event, did not attend the rescheduled dinner due to scheduling conflicts [9, 10, 12, 7].

The White House Correspondents' Association honored Secret Service Officer Victor Gonzales, who was wounded but helped stop the shooter in April. Gonzales said, “I did my duty to protect the guests despite being wounded.” [5] The association also recognized the Washington Hilton hotel staff for donating 2,000 uneaten meals from the April event to homeless shelters [9, 10, 7].

Association President Weijia Jiang emphasized the importance of press freedom, saying, “There is a fundamental difference between criticizing the media and trying to weaken the media. The First Amendment protects press freedom which is non-negotiable.” [8, 9, 10, 7, 11]

Trump’s speech continued his pattern of confronting mainstream media, stating, “Sometimes I really think some of you don’t like me. This place probably has the most Trump derangement syndrome patients ever assembled.” [11]

The event concluded with reminders of ongoing security vigilance and no announced date for the next Correspondents' dinner as of now.