Key Facts

• The original White House correspondents’ dinner was canceled in April after a man fired a shotgun outside the ballroom.
• The event was rescheduled and held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington.
• President Trump attended and delivered a speech described by the White House press secretary as “unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious.”
• The dinner honored Victor Gonzales, a Secret Service officer wounded during the April shooting, and hotel staff who assisted guests.
• The shooter, Cole Allen, has pleaded not guilty to trying to assassinate the president.
• The Secret Service prepared a strong security plan for the event, expecting possible trouble.
• This was President Trump’s first speech at the correspondents’ dinner in either of his two terms, after boycotting it in his first term.
• Some notable guests from the original planned event in April, like Melania Trump, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio, did not attend this time.