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Rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner Begins; Soon: Trump Speaks At White House Correspondents' Dinner; Secret Service Agent Who Stopped Gunman Honored At WHCD. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 25, 2026 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BEN SASSE, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I've always known we're all on the clock. And to get a finite number felt horrible, but not surprising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: He has become an inspiration for so many. And you can see the full interview on "The Whole Story" this Sunday night at 8:00.

Thanks for joining us. Special coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner with Laura Coates and John Berman starts now.

[20:00:42]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Hello from Washington, where tonight the President is rubbing elbows with the men and women who report on him and is minutes away from delivering remarks, the White House says will be somehow unifying yet vicious. I'm John Berman.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: And I'm Laura Coates as confused with that comment as you are. And though the White House Correspondents' Dinner dates back to 1921, tonight will be different from any we've ever seen before.

BERMAN: Different, first and foremost in when and where it is being held. Tonight's a redo of the original dinner, which was back in April, which we covered together, then watched in shock and frankly, confusion as it was cut short by gunfire.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BERMAN: So, we heard it, the people in the room there heard it. The sounds of shots fired outside the Washington Hilton's International Ballroom as a would-be assassin tried and thank goodness, failed to get inside.

COATES: Recall CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He was actually in the hallway, and he was just steps away from that gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN REPORTER: All of a sudden, I hear these loud, very loud, very scary gunshots right near me. And the next thing I knew, a police officer was on top of me, threw me to the ground. I had no idea, as I was hearing the gunshots, who this shooter was aiming at, or if he was just trying to scare everybody. Of course, the first thing that went through my mind is he trying to shoot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: That was a terrifying moment for so many reasons. But tonight's dinner, it's not at the same location. It's at a smaller venue, actually, the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue. And the experts tell us it is easier to secure. It's also the site of the former Trump international hotel from his first term.

BERMAN: Now, he skipped the dinners back in his first term and his most famous appearance at a dinner at all was not as President. It was back in 2011 when then President Obama roasted him and Donald Trump. Then you can see it there. He was not amused. And though many, if not most Presidents take a dim view of the press, none has ever been quite so open about it or as confrontational.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: MSNBC maybe is worse than Tren de Aragua, real scum, fake news.

REPORTER: If there's nothing incriminating in the files sir, why not..."

TRUMP: Quiet, quiet, piggy.

CNN fake news.

Who are you with?

REPORTER: I'm with "The New York Times" Zolan, from "The New York Times."

TRUMP: Are you failing --

REPORTER: Are you concerned --

TRUMP: --the circulation way down at "The New York Times?

It's such a stupid question that you asked. This is one of the worst reporters. She's with ABC fake news, and she's a horror show.

REPORTER: "New York Times."

TRUMP: You shouldn't be reading that on "60-Minutes". You're a disgrace, but go ahead. Let's finish the interview.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So that was CBS, Norah O'Donnell reading from the manifesto of the alleged gunman from last April's dinner and asking the President about it, because he was presumably the target. He is a newsmaker, and that's her job. So, will there be pushback on the President from correspondents tonight? Will there be tension? What about the timing of all this, which is right in the middle of a war?

COATES: Indeed, and John, another question is what kind of tone will the guest of honor actually take? Well, today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the President's speech will be a combination of unifying yet vicious and serious yet hilarious all at the same time. If you can imagine that. I'm trying to.

BERMAN: Yes, we're going to try to figure out how you can exactly do that. We're going to bring in CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, who was there at the First Dinner and April, is outside now. Kristen, look, it's very different this time around.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And one thing to keep in mind, you know, we say this is the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This is actually the Old Trump Hotel. And President Trump, who this term has spent a lot of time kind of driving around Washington, D.C., playing golf at his golf club.

The first term, the only places he really went in Washington, D.C., were the White House and this hotel when it was the Trump International Hotel. So, it's a place of Secret Service, is very comfortable with. it's a much smaller venue.

It's about one third the size in terms of how many attendees are going to be there. Then go to the normal dinner. I mean, when you look at those pictures, particularly when all those people were diving and running, you see how giant that room is. You can just tell, even from the picture there that we have how much smaller this venue is. The tone is obviously also different.

[20:05:08]

Now, we heard from the Press Secretary and to me that is Karoline Leavitt is going to massage her words when she's going to get out there and clarify how President Trump is going to speak, because you never know what the President is going to say.

I do know that on Thursday, they were going through the speech, they were deciding what kind of roasts they were going to do of journalists kind of balance they were going to have between those roasts and between trying to have a more cohesive and "unifying" message. Whether or not he strikes that balance is, of course, all up to Donald Trump and all up to the mood that he's in when he takes the stage.

He's slated to speak for roughly 40 minutes, but everyone knows that he often meanders, he often goes off script, so we'll see if he does that tonight. Now, I will tell you, I was told by multiple White House officials that he was looking forward to this event, to this redo, but it couldn't be more different. And even just look how quiet it is behind me there.

This entire street is shut down for blocks. That is not what happens at the normal dinner. The normal dinner. Theres one side entrance that is shut down because you lead right into the ballroom. Here there is a huge perimeter. You can't see this. But on the other side, I mean, there are giant dump trucks, which of course is what Secret Service Police they use as both physical barricades as well as visual barricades for people walking around.

We saw him go in through a different entrance than he used to go into. I believe he went around the corner where there is a separate entrance into a garage. So, they're doing everything that they possibly can to protect him in this setting. And just the fact itself that the streets are shut down, that there's extra security, there's enhanced security, there's enhanced monitoring of him, and the room is so much smaller. All of that is creating a very different feel.

And just the fact that it is a redo. We heard from the President of the White House Correspondents' Association who said that they were, we were not we journalists were not going to be intimidated. We were going to do this event again and make sure that we did it right, despite the fact that an assassin tried to break into the last event and harm both President Trump as well as members of the Cabinet.

COATES: And we know, of course, who is there from the white house tonight, but is there anyone who's not? And why is that?

HOLMES: We don't have reasoning. Of course, the White House gave us the reasoning that there were schedule conflicts, but I don't think we're getting the exact real breakdown of why they aren't here. But Vice-President J.D. Vance, of course, his wife just had their fourth child is not going to be here. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not going to be here. They said it was a scheduling problem. And First Lady Melania Trump, who was at the last event, is also not going to be here.

I do think that Melania Trump of this all is very fascinating. She doesn't usually like these kind of social events anyway. She is not somebody who wants to go out there to everything that President Trump goes to, which of course, we saw.

We also know that from private conversations, she has been very scared, particularly we saw in the documentary of her saying, can we get out of the car? She knows Barron, their son, is very frightened after there was multiple assassination attempts on his father, and you could see her face, her face of shock during the last dinner when you first heard those shots, and everyone was trying to figure out where the shots was it glass plates breaking?

So she's not going to be here tonight either. And again, they all, they, we were told scheduling conflicts for all of them.

COATES: Remember, the President even mentioned the First Lady when he gave the press conference at the White House after what happened last April, and addressed her fear and concern, even then.

BERMAN: You can see it on her face at the time. All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you very much. Great to have you there for us.

With us now, a panel of experts and enthusiasts, former special adviser to President Obama, Van Jones, former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin and CNN's senior political commentator Scott Jennings. Also, around CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter and former "New York Times media" reporter Bill Carter.

We are all here. We are all waiting for the President to speak, standing by for that to begin. And, Alyssa --

COATES: Wait, do we tell them that I'd be enthusiasts soon? Did you guys know that was part of tonight? Okay, I just want to be clear. I just want to make clear, you can't just bring that on them all of a sudden, John.

BERMAN: Well, if you could be unifying and vicious, they can be enthusiastic and expert. So, Alyssa, my question is, the White House says the Presidents going to be vicious yet unifying. Can you be a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know what, if anyone can, it's this President. I also am going to try to be unifying and vicious at this table tonight. So, prepare yourselves.

Listen, I thought it's fascinating that he's attending this makeup event. And I say that because he never attended the White House Correspondents Dinners in his first term, he decided to go to that first one, which nearly ended in tragedy. Thank God it didn't. But it's a Friday night, there's a war in Iran. He could be golfing in Bedminster.

Theres so many things that Donald Trump could be doing, but that he decided to go to this. I think it's notable. I think it's because he likes the remarks he has prepared. Honestly, if I'm getting into his head, he had a speech prepared for the original event. They were kind of hyping that it was going to, he wasn't going to pull punches. It was going to be funny, but it was going to hit people in the room.

I think he wants to put on a show tonight and he is somebody. He's a creature of media. Whether it was when he was in New York as a businessman or his first time as President, like he knows how to use the media. He knows how to work with them. He bashes them. But he also knows they're a very useful force for him.

So, I think he kind of likes that he's being feted tonight. And I think he likes that he's going to, he likes the remarks he's going to give.

[20:10:26]

COATES: And this is not a vacuum, of course, right. This is a President who has a very rocky relationship with the press. This week alone, you've got "The New York Times" and subpoenas. They've now withdrawn them when it comes to the Department of Justice,"The New York Times," you saw that montage of clips when he has not been particularly complimentary, shall we say, on this.

Van, what do you think should be the tone he strikes tonight? Given all of that, and given, frankly, the fact that there are other factors in play that weren't even present in April, not the least of which we can mention what's happening in the war and the international concerns as well.

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, um, my opinion about what the tone should be is not going to matter very much. I would love for him to come out and give us all a hug and apologize for attacking the press all the time, apologizing for calling women piggy and all that sort of stuff. And I don't think that's going to happen. I think it's going to be unifying for his base.

I think he's going to say a lot of stuff that his base likes. I think it will be vicious toward the press, but you've got to give him credit for coming back, not letting terrorism win, not letting violence, you know, erase an American institution. This is not his favorite American institution, but he came back to stand it back up and I give him credit for that.

BERMAN: What's the goal here, Scott? Is it red meat for the base?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I don't know. I mean, he has as Alyssa said, there's so much going on in the world. He could have numerous goals. He could stand up there tonight and make news about any number of topics that have nothing to do with media relations, but have everything to do with something important going on in the world. I agree with Van, I think it's noteworthy and laudable that he's come back for this, and I don't know that I agree necessarily that he has a rocky relationship or that they have a rocky relationship.

He's been very good for the American media, and in many ways they've been very good for him. They spar and they joust. But the reason he has so much opportunity to spar and joust with him is because he's been the most accessible President in American history to the media. And the media industry has benefited quite a lot from the last ten years of Donald Trump being on the political scene. So, we'll see what tone he sets. But I'm anticipating when he decides to make a major speech like this, we could see news and it could be on a number of topics.

COATES: Well, Brian, of course, Scott is like the rocky, I think it's apropos. But since April, we continue to see the President and the administration attacked the news media. Can you give us a little bit of the lay of the land as we await his remarks?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: I take Scott's point that from a business standpoint, yes, outlets like "The New York Times" have gained subscribers thanks to the public's interest in all things Trump. That's absolutely true. But the damage that Trump has done, both in his first term and now in his second term, in terms of trust in media, that has been enormous. Hard to calculate, but it is definitely there.

And most importantly, during Trump's second term, he's turned his words against the press into actions he has in recent months likened some real journalism to treason. Those are very worrisome words, but more importantly, his government is using all the tools at the disposal to try to crack down on the press, to try to weaken the American news media.

At the FCC their investigations int Comcast and Disney, they're trying to strip away ABC's licenses at the Justice Department there have been those subpoenas to "The New York Times" and "The Wall Street Journal", "The Washington Post", some of those reporters who were subpoenaed are actually going to be accepting awards tonight.

We've seen at the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth pushing the press out of the military headquarters, federal funding cut from PBS and NPR. And yet PBS and NPR are on the air. ABC is on the air. Despite the government's attempts to crack down. So, I think what we're going to see tonight is, yes, a very aggressive tone from the President, most likely, but it's also a reaffirmation of the enduring power of the press corps that, despite all the President's attacks, despite all the pressure, the work is still being done.

Weijia Jiang just referred to that on stage, in her introductory remarks, she said, we will not be intimidated. And she was talking directly about the political violence of last April and why it's important to redo this event. But that phrase is perfect for this broader phenomenon. We will not be intimidated despite all the attacks and all the pressure, the press, by and large, has not been intimidated.

BERMAN: Bill Carter, I want to bring you into this conversation. First of all, thank you for being with us and turning off the Yankees, at least for a few minutes. That phrase, we will not be intimidated is interesting here, because we just saw the President taking a photo with Oz the Mentalist/musician. And one of the reasons it may be that President Trump agreed to come to the White House Correspondents' Dinner is because they didn't invite a comedian. No Trevor Noah, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan Obrien. They brought a guy who's going to do tricks and probably not make fun of him.

So, to an extent, was the press intimidated -- The White House Correspondents' Association intimidated before the hand, before the fact by inviting this person instead of a comedian?

BILL CARTER, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES MEDIA REPORTER: Well, you can obviously, I think, say outright he would not be there if it was a comedian. I think the whole idea of vicious it's funny to me because it's vicious one way. I mean, it's only one way. He doesn't want to have a comedian come out and also roast him. He wants to roast the press and not have anybody come back at him. So that's what he likes. He likes it being one way.

And, you know, comedians would be more directly relating to what's going on in the political world and also might be very entertaining. I think he will be very entertaining and that's great. But this guy would not show up. He would not be there to be roasted. That would be very unpleasant for him. He doesn't like that. He doesn't like the press. I think it's funny to characterize it as jousting when the press, when Brian talks about like he's trying to shut down networks, he's trying to subpoena reporters. [20:15:51]

These are really strong, strong attacks. And I think it's going to be interesting to see if there's a little bit of blowback and a little bit of proof that they're not intimidated by the way the other people speak about this. There's there's a lot to say about his attempts to intimidate the press.

COATES: Alyssa, you were in the White House in the Presidents first term. And as you said, he never attended these things before, ever since the infamous moment when Obama sort of called him out at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, ruffled feathers, his in particular. But why do you think he's choosing to do it this term, now? He could have very well done it during his first term. He chose not to. Why do you think so now?

GRIFFIN: I think that in the second term, he really wants to institutionalize himself as. Let me say, that better become part of the institution of Washington, D.C. and American President. He does not want to institutionalize. But think of the fact that he's talking about like the arch to Trump. He wants his name on buildings. He wants to be on the Kennedy Center. He wants to make sure that his legacy as President is as solidified as Barack Obama and George Washington. So, a lot of these things that he maybe just was like, I'm not going to do in the first term. He didn't want staff attending these dinners.

Now he's like, I have a right to be there. He's going to he went to the Alfalfa Club Dinner. Some of these really, frankly, swampy events that most Presidents attend. But I think it's about institutionalizing himself as a President of the United States who nobody can wipe out of the history books.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting this time around, you know, mark two of The White House Correspondents' Dinner, Van, the awards are being handed out actually sort of right now-ish. We're going to see some of that in a second before the President speaks. Back in April, we were all here together. The President was going to speak first, then the award, so he could have left in theory if he wanted to. This time, he's going to have to sit through and watch awards being given to reporters who report on him, maybe in ways he doesn't like. One wonders how he might feel about that.

JONES: Well, you know, I really do have to give President Trump credit tonight. I mean, he's we were saying he was going to basically do his thing and run away. He's not running away. He's going to be there. And maybe someone will have the courage to speak up. Maybe they won't, but he's not, he's putting himself in harm's way in that regard.

COATES: We have much more ahead as we are waiting for the President to speak. And next, what went into tonight's security measures as our CNN live coverage of The White House Correspondents' Dinner continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:22:31] BERMAN: All right, welcome back to our special coverage of The White House Correspondent's Dinner, take two. We're here in April and we are back here tonight. Right now, they're showing videos. There'll be awards shortly. And then we are standing by for the President's speech. He seems to be in deep meditation now about what he will say in just a few minutes.

As we have been noting, this whole event is taking place in a much different atmosphere than it did back in April. There are far fewer people in the room. it's in a different venue completely. No red- carpet security, way, way amped up.

With us now is CNN senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz, and we certainly hope Shimon, there is neither crime nor the need for justice tonight, but it's a much different situation. Just talk to us about the layers of security.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Please, you know, it's, really interesting to see how much planning the Secret Service, how much they did for this event. Look, they know this hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, of course, was previously owned by the President and was the Trump hotel. He is familiar with this hotel in his first term, you would go to this hotel and often you'd see him dining. And the Secret Service here, but they would actually bring him through the hotel. He can go through the lobby.

Well, that has changed that no longer, they no longer did that. In this case, the security is so high here. John, I want to show you something. Actually, they actually used the building here that were trying to zoom in on here. You could see there are Secret Service Agents there and officers with binoculars that are keeping an eye on what's going on around there. There are snipers on the buildings, but also this is actually the IRS building. This is where his motorcade parked and this is where he went in to the Waldorf Astoria. The IRS building is -- there's an entrance from this building into the ballroom of the hotel. It's really to minimize how much Donald Trump is in the streets, right?

You have to make sure that there's no line of sight for any potential snipers or anything else like that. That's how unprecedented this is. They didn't take him through the hotel, the ballroom has an entrance. You can walk in through the front door. They are not using that door. I was in the lobby of the hotel. You could see some of the security out here. This is the Washington, D.C. Police.

But all across here, were also. I want to show you here, John, these sanitation trucks, these dump trucks they're using to block cars, we have National Guard, troops are out here as well on many of the corners. And the hotel, let me just show you where the hotel is. It's just over this way.

They are not using any of the entrances into the ballroom. The ballroom is interesting because it's kind of attached to the hotel, but it has its own entrance. Theres one way to get in through the lobby. I was in the lobby, interestingly enough, I was kind of surprised, John, you can easily walk into the lobby of the hotel, much like during the last White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Hilton.

[20:25:27]

So, security for hotel guests, security for people that are going into the hotel to go to the restaurant, to go to the bar, no one's stopping you. No one's asking any questions. They are, I was kind of shocked by this. I thought that at least they would be some magnetometers before you walked into the lobby. That's not happening. And so, if you're a guest of the hotel, if you're visiting the hotel, they're not stopping you. You can easily walk in. And so, the security out here, many of the officers are standing around, were seeing secret service officers on bikes but were waiting obviously for the President to start speaking.

But yes, this is really intense. Certainly, unprecedented security for this kind of an event and this was the perfect venue for them because they know this venue. And also, they could keep things much tighter, which were seeing out here.

BERMAN: Really interesting to hear some of those new details, which I think give us fodder for discussion. Shimon Prokupecz outside the hotel, thank you so much.

COATES: And John, joining us right now are some law enforcement analysts for CNN, Jonathan Wackrow, a former secret service agent and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. I got to tell you, that gives me a little pause, Jonathan, in hearing about the security protocols, one of the concerns people raised last time was the idea of the accessibility of a hotel, not a closed off location. And hotel guests could conceivably get into certain parts of the overall venue. This is much smaller, but given what happened, how does the security protocols, how do they change? Knowing that an event did occur? How do they heighten it at the actual location given the access points for guests?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, to get to the security protocols, we actually have to look at what the threat environment is right now. And the Secret Service, by their own admission, earlier this week, they characterized this moment as literally one of the most volatile threat environments in the last few decades. And to put some numbers on it, the Secret Service has said this year alone, through the first six months, they have been working over 10,000 protective intelligence cases. I mean, that number alone, that's a 20,000 a year case load on protective intelligence. That is unbelievable amount of threats that are being made towards protectees, and it's a 40 percent year over year increase. So, when we talk about this threat environment that were in, it is a real threat environment that the Secret Service is facing.

And something that's interesting in the data that they had shared is that of those 10,000, there is a tenfold increase on mental health interdiction cases. And what that signals is that the Secret Service is not just focused on the broader threat groups that may be focusing on this event tonight, but they're actually looking at those individuals, those lone actors, the people that may be motivated by something online that may be mentally challenged. They are now looking at the micro threats that are out there, not these broader organized groups.

So, with that as the context, what you saw with Shimon is a real show of force and a lot of, you know, sort of environmental manipulation of what this security footprint looks like. Now, to get to the hotel, I will tell you, they are not going to make any errors during this event. And the reason being is because with that characterization of the threat environment, tonight is the test. And they are not going to fail the test. So, while we, the hotel, may seem to be accessible, I will guarantee you that everything that walks within thousands of yards is screened and secure. They are not going to take any chances whatsoever.

BERMAN: Because the thing was, Andy, that the suspect from the shooting in April was a guest at the Washington Hilton. So, that's got to be a concern. I have to believe they went through every person that has stepped foot in that hotel. But the watchman was just talking about the fact that the bar is open and you can walk in the building. Is that how unusual does that seem?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: So that that that struck me as being a little bit odd as well. But we don't know the details of how the traffic is being controlled inside that building. And it may be that from that front entrance that gets you to the bar and the wide open atrium area and the restaurant that's on the other side, there may not be any clear path from that area to over in the ballroom where you have the protectee, the President of the united states, and all the other guests.

I think the fact that they're using that the IRS building as the Presidents entrance is shows you that they've put a lot of time and thought into how to best conceal him from any unprotected space. Let's not forget that the IRS, obviously a government building. So, the Secret Service can do whatever they need to do with that.

They can say, and I don't know that they said this or not, but they can say, we want the building empty by 4:00 this afternoon. We don't want, you know, all that entire space is controllable and completely protectable.

So, I don't think we can draw too many conclusions from Shimon's observation about the lobby. I agree with Jonathan that there is no question they are doing everything physically possible to make this night go off without an edge.

[20:30:38]

COATES: And just for the -- just to orient the audience, I mean, this is only a few blocks from the actual White House. This is an area of Washington, D.C. where Secret Service, and now, frankly, the National Guard, is well aware of trying to protect these particular areas. And again, this small location of huge, huge difference, and I've got to believe they know every guest who's in that hotel, right? I mean --

MCCABE (?): 100 percent.

COATES: -- every single one. BERMAN: Yes, and every friend that every guest knows, you know, in that hotel. Listen, I want to take a pause here for a second. We want to go up to the lectern there where there is a significant award that is about to be given. So let's listen in to what they're talking about.

JACQUI HEINRICH, PRESIDENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION: -- really represented this association --

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: -- with such professionalism. There we go. There we go.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: And she has. She has represented this association with such professionalism, integrity, grit, and I am so deeply grateful, not just for your example, but also, more so, for your friendship. And to our members, I am humbled that you've put your trust in me to lead the White House Correspondents Association for the next year.

And I look forward to working alongside all of you as we continue our shared mission. Pursuing the facts without fear or favor and exercising the freedoms protected by the First Amendment in service of the American people.

The attempt on President Trump's life last April was a sobering reminder that democracy is not immune to violence and the freedoms that we cherish can never be taken for granted. Political violence must have no home in America.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: And journalism can serve us well to broaden understanding, to shed light, and to inform our decisions, especially in this age of fast-moving information that can reinforce our divisions. And we are grateful to have President Trump here tonight taking part in this tradition that recognizes the essential role of a free press in our democracy.

Thank you, President Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: The events of that night also revealed the resilience of this press corps, the all-American sense of resolve that no act of intimidation will silence us, and the endurance of the First Amendment. And we're gathered here tonight because we believe that a free press always finds a way forward.

And it is in that spirit that the WHCA Service Award was established to recognize exceptional service to this association. And it is fitting that one of the two awards that we are giving tonight goes to the staff of the Washington Hilton. They are hospitality professionals who always put service first.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: As harrowing events unfolded that night, their courage was on full display. The kitchen workers, the ballroom waitstaff remained at their posts. When President Trump urged that the evening should continue, they prepared to serve more than 2,600 guests while they were still processing the shock alongside all of us.

And when the Secret Service made the necessary call to postpone the remainder of the program, they immediately pivoted, preserving every unserved meal and donating them to local shelters.

(APPLAUSE)

HEINRICH: And many of these dedicated professionals have worked dozens of White House Correspondents' Dinners since this event first moved to the Washington Hilton in 1968. And 58 years later, we are deeply grateful for their partnership. We are proud of the history that we've built together, and we are excited to return to the Washington Hilton next year, stronger than ever.

[20:35:07]

Please welcome the Washington Hilton's General Manager, Ken Jarka, and Catering Manager, Karen Feketis, to accept the WHCA President's Award for Exceptional Service on behalf of the entire Washington Hilton team.

(APPLAUSE)

COATES: We are hearing now that the hotel staff is being honored. But, John, we're also going to hear from somebody else who had a very important role at the last event, and they're going to be honoring Officer Victor Gonzales, who was one of the officers who prevented the occurrences of being far more tragic. That's quite a moment, Andrew.

MCCABE: It's a great gesture. It's one that I'm sure he appreciates. We don't -- you know, even in the aftermath of how closely we all watched those events unfold, the personalities, the individual acts of heroism rarely, you know, come to the forefront, so it's a great thing that they're doing.

BERMAN: And, Jonathan, very quickly, Andy and I were talking this morning. The Secret Service may have a different view of the events, a little bit, of what happened in April at the Washington Hilton, in that this would-be shooter was actually stopped. I mean, the systems they had in place kept them from going in.

Hang on one second. Let's listen to outgoing President Weijia Jiang.

WEIJIA JIANG, OUTGOING PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION: -- plus hundreds of others who were working that night got to go home unharmed, and that was made possible by the brave men and women of law enforcement and the United States Secret Service.

(APPLAUSE) JIANG: On behalf of every person who was inside that ballroom, and every family who got to hear their loved ones say, don't worry, I'm OK, we thank you. One officer placed himself directly in harm's way and engaged the armed suspect. Even after gunfire struck his protective vest, he stayed in the fight, and the attacker was stopped.

I know many of us have wondered, what if he hadn't acted in that exact way? What if he had waited a few more seconds? His courage that night reflects the core values of the Secret Service -- duty, justice, courage, honesty, and loyalty, and is a commitment to safeguarding his country and community.

They also shaped his career, first, as an infantryman and section leader in the United States Marine Corps. And since 2022, as an officer of the Secret Service, protecting the White House complex and our nation's leaders. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present the WHCA President's Award for Exceptional Service to Officer Victor Gonzales of the United States Secret Service.

(APPLAUSE)

COATES: Extraordinary to think what point you were raising, John. What could have been and how Secret Service actually viewed this, Jonathan?

WACKROW: Yes, I mean, this was a success for the Secret Service, and here's why. The Secret Service does not have one point of failure. They have a multi-layered, you know, protective structure, and that came to bear this evening -- on that night.

Yes, the threat got to the checkpoint and actually went through the checkpoint, but the training, tactics, and experience of individuals like Officer Gonzales and the other uniformed division officers that were at that checkpoint, they reacted immediately to that threat, and they put that threat down. I mean, there was quite a distance between where that shooter was and where the President and other protectees were at that moment in time.

So the multi-layered, you know, structure of the, you know, protective site structure worked on that evening. A lot of people don't like how close it got, and I'm one of them. It's never a good thing to have a threat just show up at a magnetometer checkpoint, but that's the reality.

Oftentimes, in these temporary sites around the country, wherever the President is, that checkpoint, that, you know, that the airport-style screening, the name list, that is often a point of vulnerability that is -- you know, that threats will try to get through. But Officer Gonzales, his, you know, his co-officers that they work with, they put their life on the line every single day knowing that that threat is trying to get through, but there's backup plans, and there's, you know, there's contingency plans, there's distance. There are a lot of other security measures that are in place that -- so you don't have to be singly reliant on one structure.

BERMAN: I mean, two things can be true, right? It's alarming how close this person got, but on the other hand, the Secret Service did stop them, a full floor separate from where the President actually was, and he was removed safely from the venue. You see the outgoing President of the White House Correspondents' Association, Weijia Jiang, thanking the White House correspondents, literally the chief White House correspondents, and all the White House reporters that exist for all the news services. And they do do fantastic work, and it's nice to see the President applauding there, because we don't normally see him feel that way about the White House reporters.

[20:40:11]

Andy, and I don't know how long we have before, we're going to cut back to the programming here, but just talk a little bit about this threat environment that Jonathan leaned into there, sort of an unprecedented threat environment.

MCCABE: Unprecedented, we're not talking about a slight uptick, we're not talking about a temporary uptick, we're talking about a magnitude, orders of magnitude over years and years. And I have to add that they are now -- the Secret Service is bearing the responsibility of that threat picture with what has been traditionally a neglected budget here in the nation's capital.

They have never received the support from Congress that they've needed year after year after year. It's inhibited their ability to hire and train and deploy the number of agents, the number of protective officers that would be optimal to ensure, you know, that perfect performance that we all look for from the Secret Service, particularly in this elevated threat environment.

So, one of the things that we spoke about this morning is one of the questions we should be asking is what can the nation do for the Secret Service?

BERMAN: Andrew McCabe, Jonathan Wackrow, don't go far. Thank you so much for being here and watching this all unfold. Hopefully very smoothly tonight.

COATES: And John, we're still going to hear from the President of the United States, his first remarks ever at a White House Correspondents' Dinner. We're going to take a quick break first as our live CNN coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:21]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back to our special live coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, take two. We tried this back in April. It was interrupted by a would-be shooter, this time around at a different venue, smaller audience, shorter program.

The President, we are standing by to watch the President speak. I think the President is standing by to watch the President speak. He's had sort of varied interests so far, it looks like, in the program.

Our panel's back with us right now. Scott, you know, word bubble right now going on in the President's head. What do you think he's thinking right now?

JENNINGS: Who approved the order of speaking here? And could you have them in my office Monday morning? Maybe I.

You know, I don't know. Look, we were talking off the side here a few minutes ago. They were giving that very nice honor to the general manager of the Hilton and --

BERMAN: Which was wonderful.

JENNINGS: And I was thinking, I bet no American president knows more hotel general managers --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JENNINGS: -- than Donald Trump. If anybody knows anything about hotel operations and how that works and what it would take to react in a moment like what we saw at the last dinner, President Trump would have the most intricate and probably interest in that kind of thing. So that was a nice thing.

But, you know, he's probably also thinking about if he plans to make some news tonight or if he plans to make some profound statements, I'm sure he's working through that in his mind as well. So I'm glad he's there. I agreed with what Vance said earlier that it's notable that he's there.

He hadn't participated in this before. And even that night, his impulse was, let's keep going. For him to come back and do this now, I think it shows a nice commitment to ultimately something that we all have to have in our politics. That is a commitment to the First Amendment.

GRIFFIN: Well, and that stands out to me. I was reflecting on it after you both mentioned it. This President is remarkably resilient. There have been multiple attempts on his life. I even remember in the first term when I was working in his White House, there was a shooting just down the street on 16th Street. It wasn't on campus, but the White House was locked down.

He was famously pulled off the podium by Secret Service. And he was insistent that he go back out. Many other individuals, myself probably included, if there was a threat in my life, I'd be like, I'm going to sit this one out. And he always does show back up and do that, show that kind of American spirit of resilience.

And I think it really resonates with people. Like keep in mind, he won on a number of things, but there was the assassination attempt in Butler and his numbers went up because I think the American people see that resilience reflected in the spirit of who they want to be. So I give him credit for being there. My other criticisms of him aside.

COATES: I'd like Karoline Leavitt to not have the same outfit as me. I just --

GRIFFIN: You are bashing (ph). COATES: I wore the baby blue lace. Who thought that'd be the thing?

JONES: She met (ph).

COATES: Thank you, Van, for not trying to wear the same outfit. But, no, honestly, I mean, you've got so much -- you know, this President knows full well that not just our audience that's watching, he knows that Globe also wants to hear what the President of the United States has to say, given that he is not one to stick to the script oftentimes.

He's not going to say, OK, I'm here for the White House Correspondents' Dinner. I will only talk about the press for the First Amendment. There's a whole host of things that are going on in the world right now. And he is well aware. We're not even a full week from his last address, a primetime address, when he hoped the world would capture that moment and play it in real time as well. And we all talked about that.

He knows all this. And I think he's kind of dimming the lights around him. I think he's getting ready to speak soon. But, John, what do you want to say?

BERMAN: I just want to say, he -- I just want to acknowledge it. He is striking the pose, which has led to a lot of pictures and a lot of internet memes, which is the President with his eyes shut. And a lot of people have wondered at the White House if the President occasionally dozes off at times.

I don't think that's what's happening here. He seems to be thinking or maybe resting or listening intently. But this, again, I don't think --

GRIFFIN (?): He's running his remarks through his head with his eyes potentially closed.

JONES: Or he's asleep.

[20:50:00]

BERMAN: I don't think it's an image the White -- either way, and I don't have any reason to believe he's sleeping because every once in a while he opens them and looks around. That it's an image the White House would like for the evening. Let's just say that.

COATES: I think he's wondering whether he, too, should have worn baby blue lace. Van, what do you think?

JONES: I think he would look great in baby blue lace. And, look, I mean, he doesn't know he's on camera right now. There's other things that are happening. They're probably - the lights are dim. They're probably showing something else. And all this, you know, sometimes you do run the things through your mind. You're thinking.

JENNINGS: Yes.

BERMAN: Yes. JONES: You know, this is a big -- everybody thinks, you know, Donald Trump doesn't care about certain things. I think he's a performer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JENNINGS: Yes.

JONES: I think he's a TV performer. And this is a big TV performance night. And so he may well be rehearsing some things in his mind right now.

JENNINGS: And because this speech is coming as a replacement to one that was supposed to be given on a night that someone tried to kill him, this particular presidential address is going to get as much notice, or more, from around the world. And he knows that. I mean, and he's a big game performer. And so I have no doubt he's thinking carefully right now.

GRIFFIN: That's where I'm curious. Is there any breaking news tonight? I mean, I remember seeing him prepare speeches before. And, you know, I want to break some news tonight. I want to break some news. Because he knows he's a captive audience. It's prime time.

People are tuning in and want to see after the aftermath of the last event. So is there something new? Does he make news on Iran? Does he make news on the economy? Could go any direction.

BERMAN: I will only note, the last White House Correspondents' Dinner, before the one in April that Donald Trump attended, Barack Obama was speaking at the same time there was a raid that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BERMAN: I don't know that President Trump is going to try to match that in any way tonight. But if you're talking about historically and making a splash, and Scott, you keep saying making news --

COATES: Yes.

BERMAN: -- this President has a keen, keen awareness of everything that President Obama did during his administration, to be sure.

I want to bring back Brian Stelter, who is watching alongside us right now. And Brian, you do so much wonderful media analysis. You put out the notable sources every morning. You hear from viewers all the time. And I know one of the questions you get is about the idea of a dinner like this at all. Should reporters, I know people ask you, be in a room with a president with whom they often, he has an adversarial relationship with them.

STELTER: I have so many emails raising that very point, John. I can't reply to them all. So I'll reply right here instead. I appreciate all the viewers and readers who feel that it's inappropriate to see this kind of coziness, to see the mingling between the President and the press, and especially this President. There are many outside critics, including veteran journalists who have signed a petition saying that an event like this lends legitimacy to Trump's anti-democratic crusades. The Correspondents Association, though, has a different point of view, and it's worth unpacking.

Weijia Jiang and her colleagues, they think they -- it's worth trying to bring the temperature down a little bit. And Weijia has said to me, maybe it won't work, but it's worth trying. And, you know, so from a journalist standpoint, some of these events are worth attending and worth having.

I remember being there in April and talking to some executives from ABC. Remember what happened two days after this dinner in April? Trump tried to get Jimmy Kimmel fired. He tried to get ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. So in that moment, it was really useful that I had just been spending time with those sources because they were more likely to pick up the phone.

So on that very basic level, these events are useful. But do I think this will actually lower the temperature between the President and the press? No, I do not. And frankly, the heat is OK. It's OK that it's a little hot. It's not ideal. And Trump's attacks do cause harm, but I'd rather be a journalist in the U.S. than almost any other country.

The American free press model is not perfect, but there are lots of other countries where these dinners don't happen at all. So that's the best defense I can muster for having an event like this.

COATES: And not to mention that's one of the things that people liked about these events, that a president would be there in a room and see themselves almost as the, you know, object of jokes and ridicule and still be able to have a professional rapport with reporters.

Bill, I want to go to you. We have seen President Trump's feud with networks, like Brian just mentioned, like ABC, for instance, and filing lawsuits against others. Do you expect any conciliatory tone from the President considering what happened at the dinner back in April and given what he said at the last press conference that night, that he was going to give a very different speech now, given what had happened?

CARTER: Well, he mentioned the word unifying, or she did, Karoline Leavitt mentioned it. And you'd think that would be part of it if he could say something like that, that, you know, we were all in it together that night and we have certain things in common. I think that's the case. But I don't expect him to be --

BERMAN: You know what, Bill, I don't mean to jump in here, but we do have a very unifying moment here, which is CNN's Wolf Blitzer about to present an award to someone we care about very much.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much for that really nice introduction. I'm so grateful. I'm so honored to be with all of you this evening.

Each year, a panel of independent judges reviewed dozens of entries for the five major WHCA Journalism Awards. And it's my honor tonight to announce this year's winners. And I'd like to point out that this is really a special night for me.

[20:55:02]

I don't know if many of you were at the first White House Correspondents' Association dinner in April, but it was, for me, it was very memorable indeed. And I can report this time, after the first course, I did not go to the men's room.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: I've been to this dinner over these many, many years. I spent seven years as a White House Correspondent. And I just want to remember, with real excitement and passion, who often came to -- with me to these dinners over these many years. And that was the man who hired me at CNN, the man who created CNN, the late Ted Turner, who recently passed away.

And he was --

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: -- not only a mentor and a good friend, but he loved, loved journalism. When he hired me, he said, "Remember, Wolf, we're the Cable News, News, capital N, capital E, capital W, capital S network. This is where the news comes first, and don't forget that. Forget about your own personal opinions. Just report the news fairly and accurately, and if you can, do it first." And that's what I've been trying to do over all of these years.

So let's remember Ted Turner, what he did for, not just for CNN, but for CNN and all of the news organizations over these many, many years. The Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage, named for the late Chicago Tribune Correspondent and former Association President Aldo Beckman, goes to, and let's give him a big round of applause, Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: The judges said Josh Dawsey shows us how power works inside the presidency. And over the past year, his reporting has revealed how decisions are made, who influences them, and how power is exercised at the highest levels. Josh Dawsey went far beyond the deluge of breaking news to offer invaluable insights that can only result from deeply sourced enterprise reporting.

In the tradition of Aldo Beckman, he exemplifies integrity, persistence, and a steadfast commitment to holding power to account. Ladies and gentlemen, the WHCA is pleased to give the Aldo Beckman Award to Josh Dawsey.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: Let's continue with the awards. Thank you. The WHCA gives out two awards for reporting under deadline pressure, one for print and one for broadcast. This year's print winner is Aamer Mahani -- Madhani and Zeke Miller of The Associated Press.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: When sources leaked that Trump administration officials were attempting to purge the National Security Council of staff deemed not sufficiently aligned with the President's agenda, Madhani and Miller quickly moved to verify the claim. They uncovered an unprecedented vetting process.

NSC staffers were asked about their past political contributions, voting records, and social media posts as a gauge of loyalty to the President. Ultimately, more than 150 NSC aides were removed, resulting in the loss of considerable foreign policy expertise. The story that Madhani and Miller produced is as consequential as it is revelatory.

Please welcome Zeke Miller, accepting the award on behalf of the team.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: Now the broadcast award for excellence under deadline pressure. And this year's winner is my colleague and very good friend, Kaitlan Collins of CNN.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: Reporting by CNN's Kaitlan Collins.