President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will attend a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, months after the original event was abruptly cut short by an alleged assassination attempt that sent shockwaves through Washington.
The White House Correspondents’ Association confirmed earlier in the day that it plans to hold a second dinner on July 24 at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The decision comes after the original gathering on April 25 ended in chaos when gunfire erupted during the event, forcing Secret Service agents to rush Trump and other senior administration officials to safety.
WHCA President Weijia Jiang, who also serves as CBS News’ senior White House correspondent, said the organization chose to move forward with a new event after extensive discussions with members.
“Rescheduling was not automatic,” Jiang said in a statement. “It was a choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members.”
According to the association, the replacement event will be smaller in scale than the original dinner and will feature significantly enhanced security measures along with stricter access procedures.
Trump quickly embraced the decision and confirmed that he accepted an invitation to attend and speak at the gathering.
“In a sign of strength and fortitude, it was just announced that The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which violently ended rather abruptly on April 25th, will be rescheduled to July 24th,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling.”
Trump added that Jiang personally invited him to attend and address the audience and that he had accepted the invitation.
The April incident remains one of the most dramatic security breaches of Trump’s second term. More than 2,000 journalists, government officials, and guests were attending the annual dinner when the event was interrupted by reports of gunfire.
Federal prosecutors later charged Cole Thomas Allen with attempting to assassinate the president. According to the Department of Justice, Allen allegedly breached a security perimeter while armed with a shotgun and other weapons in an effort to reach the ballroom where Trump and other attendees were gathered.
One Secret Service officer was injured during the confrontation, and prosecutors filed multiple charges against Allen, including attempted assassination of the president and assault on a federal officer.
The incident sparked intense scrutiny of security procedures surrounding the event. Some attendees later claimed that safeguards appeared unusually lax, while reports indicated that the suspect’s own writings alleged he had visited the hotel before the dinner and encountered little security presence despite allegedly carrying weapons.
Despite those concerns, the WHCA emphasized its confidence in law enforcement and security officials. The organization specifically thanked the Secret Service, local law enforcement, and hotel staff for their response during the incident.
In announcing the rescheduled dinner, the association framed the event as more than simply a makeup gathering. Officials described it as a statement that political violence cannot be allowed to dictate public life or silence the press.
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has served as a celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century,” the organization said. “We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word.”
