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CNN Live Event/Special
Kaitlan Collins Accepts Award At WH Correspondents' Dinner; Trump Speaks At White House Correspondents' Dinner. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 25, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: 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.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: Reporting by CNN's Kaitlan Collins on historic showdown in the Oval Office between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, launched a memorable day of non-stop insight and analysis, including her exclusive interview with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Judges were awed by the depth of knowledge, access, and context that Kaitlan brought to coverage of a meeting that unraveled before the world's eyes.
The WHCA is pleased to honor the deadline reporting of CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: Let's give Kaitlan another big round of applause.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: And now the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists. The prize recognizes a video or photojournalist for covering the presidency at the White House or in the field.
And this year's award goes to Andrew Harnik of Getty Images.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: He captured the moment an Oval Office visitor collapsed during an event. And from the judges, they say this: through sharp timing, layered composition, and visual irony, this photograph expertly documents a true split-screen moment in real-time. The President's orientation and posture inadvertently echo the statue to his right, while the other half of the frame is defined by movement. A truly striking image of contrast, skillfully captured in a chaotic moment.
Please join me in congratulating Getty Images photographer, Andrew Harnik, who also represents still photographers on the WHCA board.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: There are more.
And now the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability, named for the legendary Washington Post publisher, and it comes with a prize of $10,000.
This year's award goes to The Wall Street Journal.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: The Journal's courageous reporting on President Trump's past relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein triggered the release of the so-called Epstein files, thousands of documents that might otherwise have remained hidden from the public.
And despite the President's threat of a lawsuit, The Journal published a story about a provocative letter to Epstein bearing President Trump's signature. Trump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against The Journal, revealing reporter Khadeeja Safdar's home address.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Her family had to be relocated.
The Journal was kicked off of Air Force One. But the reporters continue to file revelatory stories.
Please welcome the winners of the Katharine Graham Award from The Wall Street Journal.
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BLITZER: Khadeeja Safdar. Sadie Gurman. Annie Linskey. Josh Dawsey, again. Alex Leary. Rebecca Ballhaus. And Ryan Barber. Their colleague, Joe Palazzolo, could not attend tonight.
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[21:05:00]
BLITZER: The Collier Prize for State Government Accountability is presented by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. And this is the award's seventh year at Dinner, and it comes with a check for $25,000.
It's a lot of money.
This year's award goes to KARE 11 in Minneapolis for its investigation, Housing Hustle. The investigation exposed a massive organized fraud scheme within Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program, a Medicaid-funded safety net meant to help people with disabilities and those facing homelessness find and keep housing.
Reporter A.J. Lagoe uncovered ethical and oversight breaches at the highest levels. The investigation drove sweeping state reforms and waves of federal probes and charges.
Said one Collier juror, KARE 11's rigorous and piercing investigation of Medicare fraud had undeniable impact, including the suspension of more than a 130 companies from the ability to bill Medicaid, the state terminating the HSS program, the firing of the state official in charge, federal raids, subpoenas, indictments, and convictions, and enhanced screening, oversight, and suspension powers for regulators.
Here to accept the award from KARE 11, our reporter, A.J. Lagoe, and producer Gary Knox.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: The Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award honors the most fair, impartial, objective news reporting by a member of the WHCA that has the courage to not fear and the discipline to not favor. It's sponsored and administered by the Arkansas-based Center for Integrity in News Reporting and comes with a prize of $25,000.
The award goes to Tyler Pager of The New York Times.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: The judges said that in his coverage of the first year of President Trump's second term, Pager demonstrates a disciplined, even- handed approach across a wide range of subjects, including supporters and donors, foreign policy, the Justice Department, and energy. The stories take readers inside consequential presidential decisions while presenting the facts. The work is deeply sourced and carefully verified, reflecting a clear dedication to getting it right without bias. Taken together, this body of work stands as a strong example of fair, impartial, and objective journalism, precisely the standard this award is intended to honor.
Let's hear it one more time for this year's winners.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: But before we do that, Tyler Pager.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: Let's give him another huge round of applause.
(CHEERING)
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BLITZER: And it's now my pleasure to introduce my good friend, longtime colleague, Jonathan Karl.
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JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: You've been watching Wolf Blitzer, legend, present awards at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Some terrific, terrific journalists for some wonderful coverage.
I will note that we're a little partial to Kaitlan Collins, who won an award and perhaps got a little more applause from us than the other winners.
But they all are deserving people. And notably, some of them received awards for coverage the President did not particularly like, or in some cases, led ultimately to lawsuits. But it gives you a sense of how hard the people in that room work, and it's nice to see them recognized for it.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Some of these are ongoing lawsuits, by the way.
BERMAN: Right.
[21:10:00]
COATES: We were all waiting with bated breath to see how he might react. And shaking hands and beyond of what he was doing. It was a really important moment.
And right now, we're putting a chat that's featuring some of our excellent reports up on the screen.
We're going to keep it up at the speech which will allow--
BERMAN: Well -- look, you have a very excellent report. It's right there at the top.
COATES: Look at that. Wow. Is that John -- look at that hair.
BERMAN: That's me.
COATES: John Berman.
BERMAN: Good looking man right there.
COATES: I mean, you know, we're really humble here at CNN.
We'll have real-time context.
We'll also have fact-checking over there to what he is saying. Just a few more minutes from now.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, HOST, "THE SCOTT JENNINGS RADIO SHOW" ON SALEM RADIO NETWORK: Wait. Who gets to fact check Berman?
(LAUGHTER)
COATES: Oh God.
BERMAN: Got it. Thank you very much.
COATES: The man with the beard will fact-check the man with the hair. OK.
BERMAN: So, we're back, as you can hear. They didn't wait. Our panel's here with us right now.
CNN's Daniel Dale, who will be doing the fact-checking, is also here with us.
And I just want to note, we've seen some interesting things. It was really, I will say, a curious moment to watch how the President emerged a little bit from his--
VAN JONES, FORMER SPECIAL ADVISER TO PRES. OBAMA: Yes.
BERMAN: --more subdued shell--
JONES: Yes.
BERMAN: --as those awards were given, particularly awards for coverage he didn't like.
COATES: Right.
JONES: The Wall Street Journal for coverage that was what? It was about the purported letter and the pictures--
COATES: The Epstein birthday card.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, FORMER TRUMP WH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The Epstein--
COATES: A $10 billion defamation lawsuit, brought up twice.
BERMAN: Which is still ongoing.
Tyler Pager won an award there, and he, of course -- they're subpoenaing The New York Times--
COATES: Right.
BERMAN: --for records about the Secret Service reporting. That's not what he won the award for, but he's a terrific reporter.
So, to see him, Alyssa--
JONES: Right.
BERMAN: --get more and more animated throughout the night with smiles as this was happening, it was interesting.
FARAH GRIFFIN: It's some great TV.
JONES: Yes.
FARAH GRIFFIN: I mean, what a split-screen there to watch our Wolf Blitzer and then to watch the President's reaction. It does show a side to him that people don't always see of the President, which is a little lighter-hearted, a little more self-deprecating.
But it goes back to this point that Trump does realize, like he needs to coexist with the media. He relies on them. As much as he bashes them, as much as he calls names, he does actually respect this institution of the press. He may not show it in his actions, but he knows that it's--
JONES: But he sues them.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, it is his way to get his message out. The New York Times, who he loves to bash, it's his hometown paper. He cares what The New York Times says. So you kind of see that there's this playfulness.
The moment that stood out to me was the photo award. Donald Trump loves photography. He used to tell Doug Mills at The New York Times, Leave The Times, come work for me. But I think he saw that that is an iconic shot, and it's going to probably live in his Presidential library. So, he's able to appreciate moments like that--
JONES: Yes.
FARAH GRIFFIN: --despite his many criticisms of the press.
COATES: In fact, we saw him come alive at that moment--
JENNINGS: Yes.
BERMAN: Yes.
COATES: --the juxtaposition of him standing up and somebody passing out in the Oval Office, and he seemed to almost smirk through that moment, not at the person passing out, but just the idea of the comparison to the statue, among other things.
JONES: Well, I, first of all, I thought it was hilarious. A couple of times, you could just see on his face, it's like, This schmuck is getting an award? And then you see Karoline Leavitt is kind of like hit him on the back, and they so -- but, you know, in some ways, also playing through the cameras.
I think if he could get a probably a Good Sport Award because he did stand up, he shook everybody's hand. One person didn't want to shake his head, and he got to -- he got to ham that up as well.
But even I think any person would understand, it's got to be a little bit awkward to sit there and say, Here's someone getting an award for figuring out what a scoundrel you are, so.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: I thought, look--
BERMAN: Listen. I will -- I will say, Bill Clinton sat through White House Correspondents' Dinners award with reporters winning awards for coverage of Monica Lewinsky.
JONES: OK.
BERMAN: I mean, there is a -- there is a tradition here of this, and this isn't even scratch the surface.
JENNINGS: But he's sitting there, and they're all getting awards, and they're taking pictures for things about him. You know?
JONES: Yes.
JENNINGS: I mean, he is the most unique figure in that room, and he is at the center. I mean, he's probably sitting there thinking, None of these people would be getting any awards if I weren't around, you know? Because I'm the most exciting thing going on here. Look at all the things I give them to cover. And there's a lot of truth in that.
I agree, by the way, about the photography, and that was a, you know, one of several iconic shots from this term so far. But I loved his facial expressions. I loved him bobbing his head. I loved the fact that he stood up and shook every hand.
JONES: Yes.
JENNINGS: Even the people that had written critical things, he was congratulating them. He was there participating with them. He could have sat there with his arms crossed or anything else. But I love the interplay, and the President of the United States giving those journalists their due. You got an award, I'm going to congratulate you.
COATES: Yes.
JENNINGS: That's pretty cool to be congratulated by the President.
FARAH GRIFFIN: By the way, it's a little bit of a Rorschach test. I'm kind of following on Twitter right now.
My lefty friends are like, They're owning him. He has to sit through this. This is awesome.
And then friends on the right are like, Oh my gosh, this is awesome. He's smiling. He looks so jovial. He's showing them this doesn't faze him.
So, there's a little something for everyone in tonight's performance.
BERMAN: What's notable to me -- and you use the word, self- deprecating, when the journalists were getting awards there for coverage he didn't like, and he was smiling and laughing.
It's not necessarily a phrase I think often associated with Donald Trump, and I think it pertains to what we might hear from him shortly. Because humor, a lot of great humor, is self-deprecating. It is not the way that Donald Trump handles humor typically.
JONES: Yes.
BERMAN: And I am wondering if you think that we'll get any dose of that when he approaches that microphone shortly.
[21:15:00]
FARAH GRIFFIN: He is a genuinely funny person, but he doesn't always -- he's not usually willing to drop that veil and show the more self- deprecating side that he might be in smaller company.
He can also be hilarious in an intentional way. I was saying to Van, when he calls Ozempic, the fat shot, repeatedly, like, that's hilarious. People love it.
I'm curious what his performance is going to be like.
Again, I would reiterate, he wanted to be there tonight. He could be a lot of other places. That makes me think that he thinks his remarks are going to be lit and that they're going to be well-received by his fans at home.
COATES: We're watching this live analysis on the left part of our screen. You can all watch about the duration of our coverage of -- and Brian Stelter had a good point that I think all the lawyers are leaning in on as well, which was the idea that many of his cases that he's brought, he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell in many of them. He maybe has a shot, according to the Dumb and Dumber.
(LAUGHTER) COATES: But the idea of not being able to really pass the legal test here, but he wants to be able to say that he sued them, that he is trying to hold people accountable. And sometimes, somebody being very litigious can lead to behavior that conforms what you want them to do. And I think, in many respects, him having to be around the people that he is suing and being eye to eye, and saying, Look, I can laugh right now--
JONES: Right.
COATES: --but I'm still going to go after you.
BERMAN: I do think one of the things about being Donald Trump for the last several decades is you're frequently around the people that you're suing because he sues--
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: --he sues a lot of people. So, he's got experience at that.
Brian Stelter, Chief Media Analyst, is with us right now.
Brian, if anyone knows the coverage that won awards tonight, it's you. And sort of the interesting dynamic of having the focus of that coverage on the stage and deciding by the end of it, I think, to be a little more gregarious, it was certainly something to see.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, and it reminds me the first time that I saw the President back when he was still running for office the first time around, and I had been on television being highly critical of him.
JONES: Yes.
STELTER: And what's the first thing he says? He points to me and says, Good show.
He's always watching, he's consuming everything, and he wants to be liked. He wants the attention from these members of the media. He just doesn't ever want to be held accountable, and that's of course impossible.
But the point I've been thinking about the lawsuit is really spot on. He is still suing The Wall Street Journal. He'll most likely fail on that one.
You know what happened in Florida this week? Because Trump is suing the BBC right now. The BBC is being told they're going to be allowed to dig into Trump's finances, get all the records for all of his businesses. All of a sudden, Trump's lawyers are saying, No, never mind. We're not going to claim that he's being hurt by his businesses. We're going to back away from that. Of course, the lawyers don't really want the BBC to be allowed to dig in that way.
But these lawsuits do sometimes come back to bite the President. And as they pile up against The New York Times, and the BBC, and all these others, it'll be interesting to see how his approach to the legal warfare continues.
BERMAN: And the magic of discovery gets -- right?
COATES: Yes. Absolutely.
STELTER: Right.
COATES: In fact, it's something that he has been well-versed in, and sometimes will draw out these legal processes in a way up until that very last moment.
And I'm really curious as we're watching, getting ready to watch him actually give his speech, I'm curious what he begins with. What -- you know, I think about, as a prosecutor and doing trials all the time, of what you lead with and what you end with are what people are going to remember. And you kind of bury in the middle of things that might be so-called bad facts. I want to know how he comes out of the gate and how he closes the pen.
JENNINGS: I hope he comes out -- you know, and I'm sure he'll have some opening valedictory remarks about the winners and so on. But I want him to come out and just make a strong statement about political violence.
You know, they tried to kill him at the last dinner. He survived assassination attempts. We are living through a lot of political violence. I heard Jonathan Wackrow say earlier, 10,000 investigations of threats to protect these -- by the Secret Service, already this year.
And so, I would love him to come out and absolutely decry and call out the political violence that we're seeing in America, and echo what we heard from the journalists here that it has no place, no quarter in American political affairs.
JONES: Traditionally, at the end of these things, no matter how much fun they've made and gone back and forth, they usually -- the presidents at the end, they say something very unifying to try to get people to remember that yes, we do have the First Amendment and we can criticize each other, but at the end of the day we should all come together. So, it would be great to hear him say that. People on the left may not give him the credit if he does it -- does it. But that is keeping with the tradition.
We've never seen him do -- we got to remember, whatever he does is news. We've never seen this before. We've never seen Donald Trump at a White House Correspondents' Dinner, literally doing anything. And so, if he -- if he -- but if he sticks with the tradition, he should -- you ask how he's going to end? He should end with a unifying message.
COATES: Unifying or vicious. Remember, we've heard--
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Or both.
COATES: --we've heard both. I mean.
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: I think we're going to hear both.
BERMAN: Or just see -- all of the above.
JONES: I think we're going to hear -- vicious the whole time.
COATES: I don't know what we're going to hear.
JONES: I think he'll start vicious.
BERMAN: We've spoken to some of the comedians over the years who have done the roast there. And one of the most difficult things they say is having to sit there, for several hours, waiting for your turn--
COATES: Yes.
BERMAN: --to start speaking, which is--
JONES: Getting more and more nervous.
BERMAN: Right? And it's a function of a lot of dinners like this, but it's truly unique because this is such an unusual room to begin with.
And I know the President has given a 1,000 speeches and loves big crowds. But I do wonder if he is planning on doing something different and special in a speech that he hasn't given before. What it's like to sit there for these two hours and have to wait to deliver those remarks and land those jokes.
[21:20:00]
FARAH GRIFFIN: And I'm also curious if he does it more in the form of a roast. Like, my understanding, leading up to the original dinner was he was working with some of his writers and kind of bouncing ideas, rather than it doing more -- doing more of a Trump greatest hits kind of thing. So, I'm curious if he takes more of that tone.
But keep in mind, like I've been in this room. I remember when Sarah Huckabee Sanders had to sit there and hear some very, very vicious attacks on her--
BERMAN: Michelle Wolf, right?
FARAH GRIFFIN: --by Michelle Wolf. I mean, there -- sometimes that you can feel the drop of a pin in that room because comedians don't hold back; they don't pull punches.
This is a little bit different because he may sort of take up the role of comedian for tonight and be the one doing the roasting.
JENNINGS: And he is funny, and he is a towel snapper, and -- and so.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes. JENNINGS: But he -- I mean, we've seen him at some dinners, and particularly back during the political campaign, the re-election campaign, he has the capacity to have everybody in stitches. I mean, we've both been in the room with him when--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
JENNINGS: --when he is just -- I mean, I think he's one of the funniest working comedians in entertainment today.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: And as you said, Van, he's a TV guy. He understands television. He understands how things play on television. So, wouldn't shock me if we don't hear some zingers tonight that are objectively hilarious.
COATES: And yet, there's the optics. Keep in mind, right?
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes. There are.
COATES: There's always tone, and in many ways, the President is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Because the backdrop is a President of the United States giving a speech, potentially being jovial.
BERMAN: Yes.
COATES: And we've had a dignified transfer. We've had several -- we've had four this very week. A war is happening. He has had many critics about the state of that war.
And he's going to have to find a way to thread that needle between having a self-deprecating analysis of the First Amendment and being in the room of people who have been his journalistic, he believes, enemies. The people, of course, see them as more information gatherers. And how he's going to do that at a time when the whole world is watching what Trump might say.
BERMAN: I would only say, President Trump doesn't often strike me as a thread-the-needle type of guy.
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: Yes.
BERMAN: He sort of bashes into the needle and tips it over. So, I am curious to see how he chooses to address that.
You know, Scott's former boss, George W. Bush, gave speeches at these dinners during wartime and got into some hot water for--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes.
BERMAN: --jokes about weapons of mass destruction.
I would be shocked if President Trump makes jokes about Iran. Maybe I won't be shocked. I mean, it would be -- it would be unusual.
FARAH GRIFFIN: We'll clip that later.
BERMAN: Yes. We'll clip it later.
COATES: It's not just the joke, though, right? It's the idea of the tone and how he addresses it. We're going to have some fact-checking, of course, as well. But I think it's more than just the jokes, right? He might be -- the way he's referencing it, the way that he might be bombastic, where he might make guarantees or projections that he can't necessarily back up.
FARAH GRIFFIN: I just -- I do not think the same rules apply to Donald Trump that do any other president, candidly. Like I think -- I think any other president would be trying to navigate those things. We're at war. We had these losses. The economy is struggling. I think he knows that he could do what he wants tonight, and he could change the news cycle with whatever he chooses to do tomorrow.
JENNINGS: It's a Donald Trump speech. You'll laugh. You'll cry.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: We sold you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge. And he has the capacity to go between very serious topics, lighthearted topics, jokes, news -- I mean, you know, he's not accustomed to short, focused speeches. He usually gives longer speeches--
FARAH GRIFFIN: And he may--
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: --that cover a water front.
COATES: How about -- I mean, we're talking about the press. How about Republicans? I mean, he has been talking about, just yesterday, the patience is dwindling when it comes to some of his Republican colleagues. You think he's going to talk about them?
FARAH GRIFFIN: I mean, I'm sure John Thune has the volume up and is seeing if he takes--
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: Yes. Yes.
FARAH GRIFFIN: --tonight. But listen, as often is the case when he gives speeches, he has prepared remarks. Stephen and the speech writing team likely had heavy weigh-in on this. But then he often dramatically riffs to the tune of several pages, and at times, you know, an additional 90 minutes. You just never know where he's going to go.
BERMAN: Do we have Daniel Dale with us now, who is standing by to fact-check this after the fact. But if Daniel Dale is with us, who has been weighing in on fact-checking references to Canada, all night long.
Daniel, what subjects, where has the President been focused lately, and where has he strayed from reality? Some of the things we've heard him say, and we cover them on, he frequently says, you know, prices are coming down, they're way down, they're way down. Which of course, you know, they're not. Gas prices are going up. But what are the subjects lately he has been talking about that sort of diverge from reality?
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It's pretty much all of the subjects, John, to be candid, not trying to be funny. He's inaccurate about just about everything.
But it's repeat false claims, I would say, about the war in Iran. He's saying even now, The military is obliterated, they can't fight back, and so on. When we're seeing Iran indeed able to fight back and even kill and injure U.S. soldiers.
If the economy claims we've heard over and over, like you know, I get no credit for securing $19.2 trillion in investment in the United States. Well, he doesn't get credit for it because that figure is made-up. It's fictional. The real number is nowhere close to that.
[21:25:00]
And then immigration. We've heard a series of repeat false claims that he's repeated for months. Some of them even years.
Venezuela and other countries opening up entire prisons to empty the prison population into United States, you know, bringing them across the border as migrants. He and his team have never substantiated that claim.
Claiming that a 11,888 murderers came in under the Biden administration, we're getting them out. The number up here he's referring to is from over 40 years, including his own first administration, and not just the Biden administration.
So basically, I'm looking for what I call the repeats, the usual stuff. We'll see if he does the repeats or gives us something different on this unusual night.
COATES: OK, everyone, we have got -- we're still a little away until the President of the United States begins to speak.
We're hearing Weijia Jiang who is about to introduce the President. I want to go to her.
And again, our chat on the left side of the screen is part of the picture right there on the screen to bring you real-time context and, of course, fact-checking of what the President of the United States is saying.
WEIJIA JIANG, PRESIDENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION: --most folks had never laid eyes on people who looked like my family. But far more often than not, the community was welcoming and generous. Turns out, deer meat is great in a stir fry.
(LAUGHTER)
JIANG: In Mandarin, the word for America is Meiguo. It literally means beautiful country. And I love that.
America the Beautiful was never only about her landscapes or landmarks. It has always been about the promise that no matter where you come from, you get a shot at chasing your dreams.
My dreams began right there in that family restaurant. A small TV in the back was often turned to the news, my dad's go-to for learning more English. In the middle of dinner service, it was the CBS Evening News, anchored by Dan Rather and Connie Chung. I was hooked.
In middle school, I won a contest to be a student reporter for a national news show called Channel One, and when a local news crew came to cover it, they learned just how big my dreams really were.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIANG: I hope to be the next Connie Chung and better. That's kind of hard, but that's my goal. And so, I'm going to work very hard at trying to be a broadcast journalist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
COATES: What a sweet moment just to hear her talk about.
And of course, a big part of the White House Correspondents' Dinner for people to know is the scholarships that are provided to young journalists to really fuel the next generation of people. And mind you, that field looks very diverse right now. It looks very in terms of the mediums and the people who are using it as well. And the President, who's keenly aware of all the mediums that he hopes will sort of bend to him, he's aware of all of that right now.
BERMAN: I just -- I can't get over the fact that Weijia just showed a video of her when she was a kid. All I'm thinking about is, My God, I hope there aren't videos of me. Think that was the phase that people can ever show in front of a large--
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: It's the same hair, be honest.
JONES: Yes.
BERMAN: No, but it is. Look, I mean--
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I think some early technology video cameras.
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: Yes, OK.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: Just -- I'm just saying.
JONES: But you know, there are those -- the young people who come. For them, it's a really big deal.
JENNINGS: It's a huge deal.
JONES: And especially the normal one, where you have like four acres of powerful people, celebrities, and you watch these young people, and they're all thin as rails, and they're and they -- they want to be these -- what they see on the stage. And so, I think it's really cool experience for those young people. I think it's really cool to see her when she was one of those young people.
But everybody comes through this process. You've got Wolf Blitzer up there, who's the kind of the senior statesman of American news, all the way down to an 18-, 19-year-old kid who's there with their knees knocking right now, they might get called up on stage to get a scholarship.
And this is the American press. This is the First Amendment in action. And tonight is a very, very special night. There is not that many countries in the world that can say that they have this kind of commitment to free speech like we do.
BERMAN: We've seen some shots. There's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy, there on the right-hand side of your screen.
And we've seen some wider shots of this room. And it is notable how much smaller this ballroom is and the ballroom at the Washington Hilton. About a third -- there are a fourth--
FARAH GRIFFIN: Smaller.
BERMAN: --of the number of people who are in there sitting and watching this. They are, I think, a little more reactive now over the last several minutes than they were at the beginning.
I think it took some time for everyone there, including the journalists, to figure out what kind of night is this going to be. How do we feel about being here? When the last time we were here, there were shots fired just outside the door. But as the night moves on, hopefully it will turn into a celebration of the press and the journalism that we--
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: Well, we still don't know what kind of night it's going to be-- BERMAN: Yes.
COATES: --and it will be the celebration of the press. When the President of the United States, who obviously is listening intently, after having watched a number of people who have been his perceived adversaries getting awards for their coverage.
And I think Scott, you've made this point multiple times. The idea of, it is a very unique state of affairs in America. Just the number of stories that are coming out of the White House.
JENNINGS: Yes.
COATES: I mean, we have all felt for many years, drinking out of a firehose most days--
JENNINGS: Yes.
COATES: --in the coverage. And you know, I'm not mentioning as a compliment. I'm saying that as a reality, and it's just the fact of life.
[21:30:00]
JENNINGS: It is. And of course, President Trump is at the center of most of those things. Not all of it. But for that room and what they do every day, he is at the center of so much that's going on. And to command their attention tonight, and to have a stage like this, and to be giving a major national address with all these eyeballs, I just don't think he's going to waste the opportunity to do something, you know, that we'll remember beyond just this weekend.
BERMAN: Let's listen in.
JIANG: --in the Constitution, after Jefferson urged James Madison to include a Bill of Rights. Many Founders couldn't stand the press. Some things never change. But they understood, if our access is restricted, it's really the people's access to information that is limited. If the media faces government pressure or censorship, it's the people who end up knowing less. That was true then, and it's true now.
But having press freedom comes with a tremendous responsibility. We can't demand accountability without practicing it. Criticism of the media can be unfair. It can also be legitimate. We get a lot right. But sometimes, we get things wrong. We mistake proximity to power for understanding it, and at times we get trapped in our own bubbles. There is a difference, though, an existential difference between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it. One is healthy and it makes all of us better. The other is exactly what the Founders hoped to prevent.
Around the world, press freedom is not guaranteed. In many countries, reporters who criticize the government are detained without trial; their stories erased. In the worst cases, they never make it home. Tonight, we think about all of them, and we think about the protections that set us apart as a nation. Just 20 days ago, America turned 250-years-old. The First Amendment is a big part of how she made it this far, and it falls on all of us to make sure it carries her through to the next 250 and beyond.
President Trump, I've covered you for a long time, and so have many reporters in this room. When we ask questions, you push back, you give us answers, and we push back. You have always been a deal guy. Well, that's the deal. And the First Amendment is a done deal.
And that's what we toast tonight. The freedoms that brought us back together, even after they were threatened. So let's raise a glass to what makes ours a beautiful country.
(CHEERING)
JIANG: And now, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 45th and 47th President of the United States, President Donald J. Trump.
(MUSIC)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Wow, that was very beautiful. But this has not been an easy evening. All these awards.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Do I have to say, those awards, all those awards.
But it's great to be back at a place that I know very well because I built it.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And I'm very proud of it because I built it for $2.9 billion less than the Federal Reserve Building, which is a lot smaller, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Figure that one out.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But I am delighted to be here at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Amazing people. A lot of people that I like, some I don't like at all. But I respect most of them, I must say that. You do a great job, amazing job, and it's an honor.
As I said three months ago, the show must go on. We were back--
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: We were backstage, and we both wanted to just have it go on, whether it was 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock in the morning, it didn't matter. But in the end, it made more sense to do it the way we're doing it.
And we had a great news conference at the White House in a very important room, and you did very well. I think we all did very well. It was a hell of an evening, I can tell you that. Won't soon be forgotten. And I think a lot was learned from that evening. Tremendous amount was learned about security and about other things, the dangers of what we all do.
[21:35:00]
But just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It's always better.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And the third time will be better yet.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I'm only--
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I'm only kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: From the earliest moments after the attack on our dinner, last April, I knew we had to reschedule this event as soon as possible. We had to do it very quickly, and we met very quickly, and we figured something out.
But the attempted mass murder at the Washington Hilton, that's what it could have been, was an assault on our democracy itself. Very serious situation. Many of you were there with me, and some showed extreme bravery, like Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, Tom Homan. Really.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: They were standing on tables, and most of you were under the tables, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But they did. They showed -- I saw every one of them that was standing up on those tables. I didn't know if they were brave, if they were smart, if they were stupid as hell.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But they were on those tables in some cases, and there were a lot of different feelings going on in the room at that moment.
But after hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, Get down. Get down. Which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking. Do you believe it?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Get down. She's the only one that really understood what that meant.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: It's quite an evening.
But tonight, we come back together to answer that heinous attack with unwavering resolve, and every one of us here this evening, to show that, in America, we do not yield to political violence. We don't. We can't do that.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Can't do it.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: So in this country, we believe 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. We can't let that ever happen. A lot of very dangerous people out there. We can't let it happen.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I want to begin by expressing our gratitude to the incredible men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect my family and myself, all presidents, and lots of others. That's the United States Secret Service. So, I appreciate them very much, and Sean and the whole group, amazing job.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Amazing job.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: In recent months, they've repeatedly responded to threats with speed and professionalism and extraordinary courage. And there is no better example of that than Officer Victor Gonzales, who we just met. It was amazing he -- what he did was amazing.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: When the would-be assassin charged the checkpoint at speed -- he was fast, you know. When you looked at that, you had to look at it about 10 times before you really saw what was going on. He was quick, nasty. The gun made him nasty, actually.
But Officer Gonzales engaged the attacker without hesitation and took a bullet to the chest after his ballistic vest, fortunately was on, saved his life, and Victor did not even want to go to the hospital for a checkup. We insisted -- really, we wanted him to do it. We insisted, but he didn't want to go.
So, to Officer Gonzales, Secret Service, Metropolitan Police, law enforcement generally, and even all of the militaries around us in the room tonight, we salute you and we thank you with all of our hearts. Thank you very much. Great job. Great job.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Great job.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: These are great people.
So, this evening, we're picking up right where we left off. So, let's have a little bit of fun. You know, I said, What are we doing here? Is this supposed to be fun? Am I supposed to be serious? Am I supposed to be a comedian? So, I guess, they said, Maybe a little bit of everything.
I know one thing. I could never have done the speech that I had ready just a short while -- oh, that was going to be a doozy.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I was so psyched. I was going to rip people.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And I don't know, just something changed, it's really for the better, but. I just wouldn't want to do that.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But we'll do a little ripping if you don't mind.
(LAUGHTER)
[21:40:00]
TRUMP: But it is true. I said, How do we handle? This is going to be a different kind of an evening. And it is. And in many ways, it's a more beautiful evening, actually.
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. You know that, right?
(CHEERING)
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We have that a lot. They put a -- they put one on me. I said, Are you sure? I'm not wearing this.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: No, you gain -- you look exactly 20. They say, Sir, it's about 21 pounds. I said, Not good.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But I want to thank the outgoing President of the White House Correspondents' Dinner -- Association. Now, she won't admit it, and she should not admit it, but we sort of became friendly.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: You know, in times of stress, on occasion you become friendly. I have a lot of respect for Weijia, and I'd tell you, we -- we went through a little bit of a war together. It turned out pretty good. It turned out pretty good because of a lot of good people. They -- they stopped the tragedy.
So, I want to thank you very much. Fantastic job.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: And Weijia worked extremely hard to ensure this dinner was rescheduled.
And we want to just thank her family. I just met her parents, her children, her husband. What a perfect family. So, it's really great.
Thank you very much all for -- for putting up with this.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: For putting up with this, right?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But let me also thank the incoming President of the Correspondents' Association, Jacqui Heinrich. She can be very tough as a reporter, I will tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: She can be nasty. She looks so beautiful, but she could be so nasty. How could that happen?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But she just got married to a very successful congressman, a very good congressman. I'd like to have a couple of more votes from him but that's OK. On occasion, he chose a little independence. We don't like that.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But now he's a very professional guy, and he's a very -- he loves our country. But that's a big thing.
I just see what takes place. We're talking about what takes place to be in the position that you're leaving and that Jacqui's coming into, and it's a lot of work, a lot of friendships, a lot of talent.
And so, Jacqui, congratulations.
JACQUI HEINRICH, INCOMING PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION: Thank you, sir.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And congratulations are also in order for our favorite White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who just had her second child.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: You and your husband. She's great. She's done a fantastic job. We all love her. She's done a fantastic job.
She gets -- another one -- she can be nasty.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But sometimes she has no choice, right?
But Karoline may have one of the hardest jobs in the White House. She has to deal with all of you, all of the time, and you can be very difficult. You can be very, very difficult people. But I'm probably being a little bit oversensitive. Sometimes I really do think that some of you don't like me.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: In fact, I read a report. I get 93 percent negative publicity. 93. So how the hell did I win the election by so much? Think of it, I don't think that's true. I can't believe it's 93. In the 80s maybe, but not 93.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But this place is the -- really the largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome people ever put together at one time, I suspect.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Some of you are lucky that our last dinner was cut short because I had brought with me what would possibly have been -- I'm telling you, I had -- I had something, I was going to go after you. I was going to -- I feel so badly doing this, it's got to be such a letdown. Oh, yai, yai. But your lives were really in danger the last time for an opposite reason. But on the plus side, your careers were saved, and we have a--
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We really do. We have a complete and total -- you know, I love the words, complete and total, they say, but it means almost the same thing. I said, it doesn't matter when you say it. It's called emphasis. It's called emphasis.
But everyone is now really warming up the new White House military center drone port highly-protected ballroom. It's -- we have our ballroom. The windows are this thick.
I said to the people, Well, if a bullet hits, what happens?
Nothing, nothing. It bounces right off, sir. This is the greatest bulletproof glass.
I said, AK-47. That's supposed to be a big one. I don't know so much about the guns. My sons know a lot. But I said AK -- I know it's big. What would happen?
They go, up, meaning it can take more.
I said, So, if I'm making a speech and I hear that pinging sound at a window, what would I do?
[21:45:00]
Sir, leave the room right away, but you're going to be safe.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We're building something that's going to be amazing. And in light of what we went through, I think people understand it. It's going to be amazing, a phenomenal -- one of the biggest drone ports anywhere in the world, right on the roof, right, protecting the White House, not only the ballroom.
And what's underneath, you know, is supposed to be a top military secret, what's underneath. But then you get sued as usual, and you have to reveal that you're building this unbelievable situation downstairs with room after room of very complex stuff. It was the military's dream to have it built.
I wanted to have a ballroom because for a 150 years they wanted it, and then the generals came to see me and they said, Sir, you're building something. This gives us an opportunity to do something that will be so unbelievable. Never happen again because there's very little built under the White House, very hard to build under a very fragile building like that. It's very fragile. It's old and a little different construction standards, frankly, and this is an opportunity for us to build something very powerful.
I said, Let's keep it secret.
They said, No, no, we're telling you, sir. Let's keep it secret.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And then we get sued, and we revealed every room, every -- aye yai, yai.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We told the people that did the suit, and they're not good people, we told them, we said, You know, you're being very unpatriotic when you bring a suit like this. But it is what it is. But it's going to be -- it's really going, it's moving fast. We're ahead of schedule. We're right on budget, and it's going to be something like I think no -- no country has.
I just visited China. They have this magnificent room, the great room. They call it the great room. It's a great room. But what we have is going to blow -- there won't be anything like it. It's going to be fantastic, and with all of the things that are going along with it for safety and security of future presidents.
You know, I'm only going to be using it for about six months, assuming we finish it right on time. I get to use it.
Somebody said, He's building it for himself.
I'm building it for the future. I'm not building -- I use it. Now had I not gone down six or seven stories, then in that case I would have been able to get a couple of years out of it. But that was far more complex what we did downstairs than what we do upstairs. So, we're very proud of it. That's going to be amazing.
And I think -- I was just telling the whole group sitting at the table we were talking about, and I said, I think you know it's White House Correspondents', so I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to use that. It's going to be very large and very beautiful and very safe, and that's what you need.
So, I was thrilled to see that after witnessing the attack, even Democrat Senator John Fetterman told his fellow Democrats to drop the Trump Derangement Syndrome and build the White House ballroom. But it's much more than that. It's something that you're going to use. I predict that you're going to end up using it, and a lot of people are going to end up using it. They're going to be as safe as you can possibly be.
But despite everything that happened at the previous dinner and all of the dangers involved, I'm told that this is still the hottest ticket in town, this ticket to get in tonight. Because it's a smaller room, it's a beautiful room, it's a luxury room. See those beautiful chandeliers? I can tell you everything about them if you'd like to know.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: See that beautiful capital above. See the beautiful capital. See the everything -- the brass. Those chandeliers are great. I'm looking at, I'm saying, I wonder if I could -- you know, I sold this building. And they're doing a nice job but -- nice people. But I tell you, I'm looking at, I'm saying, I wonder if I could walk out with those chandeliers because you can't buy them.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: They're very special. I won't tell you the fact -- I won't mention that they're Czech crystal because I'd like to say everything's made here, but they are Czech crystal.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And they are beautiful.
And the Waldorf people are doing a really nice job. We're proud of them actually. Because, you know, when I left town, I was a little angry, I was a little bit angry. I was offered a nice price. I said, I'm getting out of that place. And then I said, Let's make a comeback and -- but I was very proud of this building.
This building was hot. Remember the lobby floor, 82,000 feet. For those in the real estate business, 82,000 feet, that's a major -- that's a major floor. That thing was packed every single night. It was packed, mostly Republicans, I would say, but it was packed every single night.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: It almost brings back memories.
But I left town, and I have just had nothing but good experience. And this might be the best experience of all, having all of these incredible people in this room. It's a great, it's a great feeling, frankly, it's a great feeling.
But tonight's event -- thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
[21:50:00]
TRUMP: But tonight's event is even crazier than the last time. In fact, it's so successful that I've been informed by CBS News' David Ellison, who's going to do a -- he's the owner. He's the owner. He bought it, spent a lot of money, and he's going to make, I think, fantastic changes and keep some of the great stuff going. But that next year they're going to call it the Trump White House Correspondents' Dinner. He told me that, and I like that very much.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We're going to change the name of it. OK? Oh, it's going to be so hot, just like our country is hot. We are hot, by the way.
But to be honest, it's just about the only way that they're going to ever get me back here. You're going to have to change the name of the dinner, but -- how's that one going? Not too good.
I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloin, it's very special beef. And I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who's right here, personally ran over the cow in his car.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: True.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight. So, it's very fresh.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But we drew the line at that, Cheryl. We said, No, we're not going to do that.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We're not doing that. We love Bobby. I'll tell you, he is a piece of work. You think it's -- it is fun, but he is a very different kind of a person, I will tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But he has what it takes, and he's smart, and he loves the country, and he wants people to be made to feel good.
You agree with that, Bobby?
He wants people to feel good, and he's doing a fantastic job. Thank you, Bobby. Thank you. We can joke all we want, but thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: A lot's happened since the last time we were all together. Last month, we hosted one of the most incredible sporting events in world history at the White House, the UFC Freedom 250 Fight, the UFC fight. When I announced that we're going to build a boxing ring right outside of the front door of the White House, that took a lot of heat. But it turned out that was, they say, about the most viewed fight in history. It was -- it was beautiful.
So many things happened. It was supposed to rain. We were going to do it the week before, and the weather was beautiful, and the weather came and it went. And now we came up. The Wednesday, they said, Sir, this was on a Sunday night, replacing "60 Minutes," which is nice and unusual--
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: --because usually it's Saturday night. And they said, Sir, it's -- this was from Wednesday on. Tell me about weather, right? Sir, it's going to rain. I think you're going to have to -- it's going to be one of the worst storms that we've seen in a long time. It's coming up the coast. It's going to hit you on Sunday night. It's going to be a disaster. I'm saying, Can you believe?
And you saw the ring we built, Dana White, the great Dana White. And everything -- we had the best fighters in the world. Turned out we had the best fights that we -- that most people have ever seen, including me. It was just a miracle.
But what happened is we're waiting for this rain to come all day long, and it's coming, and it's horrible. And it's 8 o'clock, and we say, I think we're going to -- but it hasn't rained yet. I said, Maybe we should postpone it an hour, maybe we should make it the next day. We didn't know what to do. And finally, we just said, Let's just have it.
And it never rained. It was perfect. In fact, the week before it was 92 degrees. It was nice, but it was -- this was like 72 degrees. And the rain was coming, and it came right over the White House, and it was like, Thank you very much. It went like this. And other areas were drenched a few miles away. We didn't have a drop of rain. And it was absolutely one of the most incredible things anybody's ever seen. People said it's one of the most incredible nights of their lives.
So, just remember before I came along, if you wanted to see someone lose consciousness on the South Lawn of the White House, all you had to do is ask Joe Biden a question. Remember that.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Oh, you think I'm kidding?
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But the big fight was such an amazing success that tonight I'm pleased to announce that we're going to host an even bigger one, right in front of the White House. Every Friday night, every Saturday night, we're going to have fights in front of the White House. But we do have something coming that's -- and I'm only kidding. You know the one thing about the press that I learned: Don't be sarcastic.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: When -- because I'm a very sarcastic person, and I get sarcastic, and most people know that. But you have some bad people that will write it exactly like I say it. And I said, I was only kidding.
But we are going to have a Indy 500, Roger Penske is coming, in mid- August, and they're going to have it all throughout Washington, the greatest cars, the greatest drivers in the world, and that's going to be something. Already, they have over 350,000 people signed up. Going down Pennsylvania Avenue, round the Capitol.
[21:55:00]
And Roger, who's incredible, he won the Indianapolis 500, 20 times. Think of it, Germany, Japan, all these countries, they spend billions and billions of dollars trying to win the Indy 500, and Roger wins it. He literally won it 20 times. On the 18th time, I said, You know, that's amazing. I'm going to give him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and I had him up. And then he won it two times after that. The guy's amazing. And he lost the last one by about six inches, if anybody watched it.
So, they're coming here, and it's going to be something really exciting. We have unbelievable events. Look, it's an unbelievable country.
And on July 4th, we were over at the Mall, and it was raining. Supposed to be really bad again. And we had 450,000 people show up, and that's a light number. And I was told, Sir, we're going to have to cancel the event. This was not good. And it was drizzling a little bit, not raining very hard.
And people are calling me, friends of mine were calling me, and I got a call from Bret Baier.
Bret Baier said, It's not raining.
I said, Where are you?
I'm standing at the Mall, and I'm waiting to go in the White House.
Then others called up. They said the same thing. And I said, You know, this is terrible.
But there was lightning, not big lightning, but you don't have to have big lightning. Just have to -- takes just a little bit to do some big damage.
So, they said, Everybody must leave. Everybody -- 450,000 people were forced to leave, and they left. And then I said to myself, I said, Let me call up and find out what the hell's going on. And I called up and I spoke to a brilliant young man. He said, Don't worry about it, sir. We can do it in a couple of weeks.
I said, You can't do it in a couple of weeks. This is the 250th birthday. In two weeks. What are we going to do? Say, let's go, we're going to have a redo? No. I said, I'll speak if I have to speak at 3 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock, 1 o'clock, I don't care. Call them all back.
They're all gone. 450,000, and most of them in cars are heading back to Texas, and it was sad. And we said, The show must go on, very much like here we said the same term, right? The show -- it's great term, it's true in life. The show has to go on. The show must go on. And I said, The show must go on. I put it out on Truth, The show must go on.
And we had probably, Peter, a 150,000 people come back, come back, up higher maybe. Thank you.
Let's just -- stand up, Peter. Tell them.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: More, right? It might have been more, but it was amazing. It was -- it was just an amazing crowd, and actually worked out better, a little like this, it worked out better than if we had done it at the normal 7 o'clock, 8 o'clock time. It was incredible.
We started speaking at 11 o'clock in the evening. But tremendous numbers of people. Tens -- I mean, thousands and thousands came roaring back, and it was a great evening. And it was a celebration. And we didn't do it the following day, and we didn't do it two weeks later. We did it when we were supposed to do it. It was a fantastic celebration.
But I can exclusively reveal to you this evening that for the heaviest of the heavy weights, we will have sloppy Chris Christie, one of the sloppiest human beings you'll ever meet--
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: --fighting, I would say -- I could mention the Governor of Chicago, but I'm going to mention instead Jerry Nadler, and they're fighting for a big piece of cheesecake, big fat piece of cheesecake.
Who the hell wrote that line?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But it is true.
And then you have a congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC plus three, that's her three friends, right? AOC plus three. And I watched her give that answer when she was over in Europe. It was not a good answer. If I ever gave that answer, I would be out of politics. Remember, you cannot have a 19-second wait time to answer a security -- really a very, quite simple question. But we'll then have a rematch against an extreme -- simple question on a foreign policy from Munich Security Conference. There was a big security conference, and this was her first time up in terms of that. And we had a sort of little preview.
And then Anderson Cooper was going to fight Lawrence O'Donnell. Not a -- I'm not a fan of Lawrence O'Donnell. I like Anderson actually because he's covered me well for many years, then he went bad as soon as I went for politics. But for years, he loved interview -- I did so many interviews with him, and he was great. But you know, he's got a little different persuasion than me, in many ways actually.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And Lawrence O'Donnell, never liked him, never thought he had any talent, but he's still making a living, so I can't knock it.
[22:00:00]
But we had a contest for who had the lowest ratings and the lowest IQ on television, and that was actually Don Lemon, I think. You know, when I said that he's the dumbest man on television, I said, You know, when you say some things, you never make a comeback. It's not like, Oh, gee, hey, Don, let's have dinner some night. But I know what I'm saying.
And then you have Bette Midler, and Jane Fonda actually held a concert to protest the first UFC fight.
