President Donald Trump addressed reporters and other guests Friday at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, with the White House ahead of time promising the president’s speech would be “unifying yet vicious.”
In a statement to ABC News on Friday ahead of the event, 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. One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining.”
The annual event was rescheduled for Friday after ending abruptly three months ago when shots rang out.
The dinner in April devolved into chaos after authorities say Cole Allen opened fire inside the Washington Hilton hotel, where thousands of journalists and guests gathered for the annual celebration of the First Amendment. The president and top government officials were also in attendance.
Allen pleaded not guilty in May to charges of attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales was shot in the incident, but the bullet struck “his protective vest and [he] continued responding to the threat,” the Secret Service said.
Sean Curran, the Secret Service director, said in a briefing on Wednesday that the agency measures worked in April and that they were preparing for Friday’s rescheduled dinner with an advance team at the site.
Friday’s dinner is taking place at a different Washington, D.C., hotel, the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Guests will see an increased and “visible” security presence at the hotel, according to the chief spokesman for the Secret Service.
“We are confident that our robust security plan will ensure the safety of our protectees and attendees, just as our plan did in April,” the spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement on Friday. “Our agency grows and adapts from every event we secure, and we have engaged with [White House Correspondents’ Association] to ensure attendees are given timely information in the unlikely event of an emergency during the event.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association presented a special award, the President’s Award for Exceptional Service, to Gonzales and the staff of the Washington Hilton during Friday night’s dinner.
“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely,” Weijia Jiang, who presided over the April dinner as WHCA president, said in a statement. “His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”
Jiang said the Hilton staff was recognized for their “professionalism and commitment to service” by continuing to “take care of guests” after experiencing the “harrowing situation” themselves.
The shooting took place before the scheduled program that features the presentation of journalism awards, remarks from the president, and entertainment from an invited headliner. This year’s entertainer was mentalist Oz Pearlman, who came back for the redo dinner, the association said.
The association added that it was determined “to finish the program that was interrupted.”
Vice President JD Vance, who was at the spring dinner, is not expected to attend Friday night’s event, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. His absence follows news of him and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, welcoming their fourth child on Sunday.
ABC’s Nicholas Kerr and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
