US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will attend and speak at a rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner on July 24, nearly three months after a shooting outside the original event prompted his evacuation. Organisers said the gathering will proceed with enhanced security, insisting that violence will not dictate public life.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will speak at a rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner on July 24, after a shooting incident disrupted the gala event in April.
Trump hailed the announcement by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) as a "sign of Strength and Fortitude", in rare praise of the media he often berates.
"I was asked to be there, and speak... and have accepted," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
"This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling."
The Republican president had to be evacuated from the dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel on April 25 after shots erupted at a security checkpoint outside the ballroom venue.
California man Cole Allen, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to kill the president.
"We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for," WHCA president Weijia Jiang said in an email to members announcing the dinner.
The new dinner would involve "significantly enhanced safety measures" and be held at a "more intimate" venue, the WHCA said, without saying where it would take place.
But Trump said that "interestingly" the new dinner would be held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington – which was a Trump hotel from 2016 to 2021.
His attendance at the dinner in April was his first in either of his two terms as president, reflecting his disdain for the media he has branded the "enemy of the people".
'Hot' ticket
But Trump had pushed for the dinner to be rescheduled – while also using the incident to back his construction of a controversial ballroom at the White House for future events.
He has mentioned several times that he wants to be able to give the speech he had originally meant to deliver, in which he had hinted at lashing out at the media.
"I don't know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out," Trump said.
"In any event, it will be a 'HOT' ticket!"
Thousands of journalists and officials normally attend the glitzy dinner, which has for years been held in the cavernous conference room of the Washington Hilton.
Chaos erupted after gunshots were heard at this year's edition, 45 years after president Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt at the same hotel.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
