President Donald Trump used his first appearance at the annual dinner while in office to praise the Secret Service, joke about the attack that disrupted the original event and declare that political disputes must be settled through debate rather than violence.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump denounced political violence Friday while addressing the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner, returning to an event that had been postponed after a gunman opened fire near the original venue three months earlier.
Speaking at the Waldorf Astoria, Trump praised law enforcement officers and Secret Service personnel who prevented the attacker from reaching the ballroom and restrained him at a security checkpoint.
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“In America we do not yield to political violence,” Trump said.
The original dinner was disrupted when Thomas Cole allegedly stormed a checkpoint and opened fire, injuring a Secret Service agent. Cole has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president and is awaiting trial.
“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump told attendees.
Trump began with lighter remarks about the shooting and the heightened security surrounding the rescheduled event.
“After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking,” he joked.
He also referenced the protective equipment worn by some attendees.
“Everyone’s looking really good tonight, and I know it was not easy finding shoes to go along with your bulletproof vest, which many people didn’t want to wear because they’d rather die than look 20 pounds heavier,” Trump said.
“They put one on me. I said, ‘Are you sure? I’m not wearing this!’”
The president then shifted to a more serious tone, saying the attack should be answered with determination rather than fear.
“Tonight we come back together to answer that heinous attack with unwavering resolve … to show that in America we do not yield to political violence. We don’t. We can’t do that. Can’t do it,” Trump said. “So in this country we live in freedom of speech. We settle our differences not with bullets, but with open and vigorous debate. And no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that.”
Trump also used the traditional dinner format to criticize journalists and political opponents. His targets included CNN figures Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper, whom he called “Fake Tapper.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also drew a series of remarks from the president.
“I heard Gavin Newscum recently said we will lose our country if we don’t fight fire with fire,” Trump said.
“To be fair, there’s only one thing we know about Gavin, and that’s that he definitely doesn’t want to fight fire with water.”
Friday marked Trump’s first appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as president. He did not attend any of the four dinners held during his first term.
The gathering was moved from the Washington Hilton, which had hosted the event for more than five decades, to the Waldorf Astoria following the attack at the original April dinner.
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