White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) President and CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang previewed on Thursday what to expect from the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner after an armed suspect stormed the April event.
“I don’t want images of my colleagues hiding under a table to be the last images from this year, of all years,” Jiang told People magazine.
She added, “I want us to stand together and to show that we are not gonna be intimidated — that we are going to come back stronger, and we are going to recognize all the people who have done such hard work.”
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Since then, Jiang described several security measures taken ahead of Friday’s dinner in partnership with the Secret Service and a private security firm hired by the WHCA. These measures include moving the location from the Washington Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, shrinking the guest list from 2600 attendees to approximately 680 and allowing only one access point through a private entrance.
“I do feel very good about the measures that we’ve taken and really thought through,” Jiang said.
Despite the tight schedule to put together a new dinner, Jiang emphasized the importance of celebrating the press during America’s 250th anniversary.
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“Maybe if it wasn’t this year, 2026, it would’ve been easier just to say, ‘Let’s just wait until next year’s dinner,’” Jiang said. “But especially at that time leading up to July 4th, all the country was talking about, all Washington was talking about, was America 250. And the First Amendment is such an important part of that fabric that this year of all years, we have to show the importance of recognizing those freedoms in the First Amendment.”
The dinner is largely expected to feature the same speakers and performers scheduled for the original event, such as mentalist Oz Pearlman and President Donald Trump, marking his first time attending the dinner as president.
In addition to honoring journalists and scholarship recipients, the WHCA will award the Secret Service member who survived the April shooting the service award for his efforts. Jiang revealed that the original Washington Hilton staff will also be honored at the dinner.
Though Trump is expected to appear, not all the members of his administration will make a reappearance. First lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be there due to prior commitments.
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Trump’s appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has drawn backlash from journalists who demanded that WHCA members use their position to “speak truth to power” against the president.
Jiang emphasized that the dinner would be an effort to “normalize relations” between the Trump administration and journalists rather than exacerbate tensions.
“The Correspondents’ Dinner is our most visible event, but we do so much all year round,” Jiang said. “We’ve really been able to course correct, because there was so much friction last year between our association and the administration. And my goal coming back was just to normalize relations so that we could find compromises so that we could work together.”
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner will take place on Friday.
