WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will head back Friday to the Washington hotel where a man allegedly tried to kill him in late April, The Daily Wire can first report. Trump&#8217;s return to the Washington Hilton comes as he rallies religious voters ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Trump will speak at the 17th Faith and Freedom Coalition&#8217;s Road to Majority Conference on Friday morning, a White House official shared with The Daily Wire. A slew of other Trump officials will also speak, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, and border czar Tom Homan.
The event will be held at the Washington Hilton, where, on April 25, a shooter named Cole Tomas Allen attempted to charge into the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner and open fire on multiple top Trump administration officials, including the president, according to federal prosecutors.
Trump has not been at the hotel since the incident. A Secret Service official assured The Daily Wire that the agency is well prepared for his return.
“At every protective site, the U.S. Secret Service deploys a sophisticated, layered security framework that is custom-designed and continuously evolves to meet today’s heightened security environment,&#8221; the official said.
&#8220;While the existing security plan at the April 2026 White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner was effective in interdicting an identified threat, the agency continually reviews our security posture and will make adjustments, as necessary.”
<div id="attachment_1122001" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-heads-back-to-scene-of-assassination-attempt/donald-trump-addresses-the-faith-and-freedom-road-to-the-majority-conference-2" rel="attachment wp-att-1122001"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1122001" class="wp-image-1122001 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2158271657-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2158271657-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2158271657-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2158271657-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2158271657.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Donald Trump addresses the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority Conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2024 (Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images).</div>
The conference is expected to host more than 2,000 attendees and focus on inspiring and empowering conservatives to fight for America&#8217;s founding principles, with a strong emphasis on pro-family policy. Friday&#8217;s conference is specifically focused on mobilizing conservatives ahead of the midterm elections.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition has a massive outreach program that targets people of faith all over the United States, cognizant of the pivotal role that religious voters played in electing Trump in the 2024 election. Exit polling showed in 2024 that conservative Christian voters <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/elections/2024/general-results/voter-analysis/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">made up 33% of the electorate</a>, with multiple polls showing that a majority of that group voted for Trump over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump&#8217;s return to the Washington Hilton comes as his accused attempted assassin&#8217;s legal team argues that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should be removed from the case, since they were present at the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner on the night of the attempted shooting.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rejects-defense-move-to-disqualify-top-prosecutors-in-whcd-shooting-case">rejected that request</a> in an 18-page opinion earlier this week, saying that Blanche and Pirro “are unlikely to be trial witnesses, nor do they meet the legal definition of victims.&#8221;
&#8220;Their statements about the investigation and friendships with the President likewise present no basis for screening them from the case,&#8221; McFadden noted.
Authorities indicted Allen on four charges: attempting to assassinate the president, assault on an officer of the United States with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-heads-back-to-scene-of-assassination-attempt/suspect-in-custody-after-shooting-incident-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-2" rel="attachment wp-att-1121449"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1121449 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2272620977-768x576.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2272620977-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2272620977-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2272620977.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></a>
His manifesto describes how he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,&#8221; calling himself &#8220;Cole &#8216;coldForce'&#8221; and &#8220;Friendly Federal Assassin Allen.&#8221;
He is the fourth known person to attempt to assassinate Donald Trump: Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump during his Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to shoot Trump on September 15, 2024, and Austin Tucker Martin was shot and killed by authorities as he attempted to breach Mar-a-Lago in February 2026. Crooks was also killed by authorities, and Routh is serving a life sentence in prison.
The White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner has been rescheduled for July 24, at the Waldorf Astoria in downtown Washington, D.C. Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House Correspondents&#8217; Association, said the rescheduled event will take place with &#8220;significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Heads Back To Scene Of Assassination Attempt

Donald Trump

Washington D.C.

Washington Hilton

White House Correspondents Association

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was accepting an invitation to appear at this year’s White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner, adding that his appearance would certainly make the annual event the “GREATEST, HOTTEST” one to date.
Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social platform, saying that it was nice to finally see members of the usually-combative press acknowledge him as “truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T.”
“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump began, saying that he’d accepted in part because he wanted to be there because 2026 will be the year the United States celebrates its 250th birthday as a nation.
“It will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!” he continued.
Trump went on to explain that he only skipped the event in years past because he had been so unfairly treated by most in the press.
“Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree,” he said, adding, “However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump boycotted the event for the entirety of his first term as president — and the first year of his second term — largely because of his often contentious relationship with most of the legacy press.
CBS News senior White House correspondent and president of the White House Correspondents Association Weijia Jiang said that she’s glad Trump has agreed to attend the dinner.
<p class="paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cmm9vaivn00113b6rt8z59tgl@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true">“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president,” she said. “We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.”

After Five-Year Boycott, Trump Says He’ll Go To This Year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Media

Politics

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The White House blocked The Wall Street Journal from joining the press pool for President Donald Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Wall Street Journal reporter Tarini Parti has been removed from the pool over her outlet’s “fake and defamatory” story regarding the extent of the president’s past relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces,” Leavitt told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/21/journal-removed-white-house-pool-epstein-00465548">Politico</a> in a statement. “Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board. Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible.”
Trump filed a libel suit against The Wall Street Journal last week after the outlet published a story on a risque birthday message Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003. The president has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-files-massive-libel-lawsuit-against-wall-street-journal-over-fake-epstein-letter">dismissed</a> the birthday letter at the center of the story as “FAKE.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association said the White House’s action against The Wall Street Journal “defies the First Amendment.”
“Government retaliation against news outlets based on the content of their reporting should concern all who value free speech and an independent media,” CBS News correspondent and association president Weijia Jiang said in a <a href="https://x.com/peterbakernyt/status/1947419716370542711">statement</a>. “We strongly urge the White House to restore the Wall Street Journal to its previous position in the pool and aboard Air Force One for the President’s upcoming trip to Scotland. The WHCA stands ready to work with the administration to find a quick resolution.”
The association previously oversaw entry into the press pool and granted access to the pool for special events, such as the president’s trip to Scotland. The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-white-house-strips-whca-of-press-pool-control-opens-access-to-new-voices">stripped</a> the association of the authority earlier this year, ending the power of a cabal of “D.C.-based journalists” to dictate “which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces,” Leavitt said at the time.
Earlier this year, the president banned all Associated Press reporters and photographers from all pools over the outlet’s refusal to recognize the renamed “Gulf of America.” The legality of the outlet’s removal is currently being litigated in court.

White House Boots WSJ From Press Pool Over Report On ‘FAKE’ Epstein Letter

Wall Street Journal

White House

Trust in the news media has dropped so far that after people watch Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” they check their wrist to make sure she hasn’t stolen their watch. A new Gallup poll shows that 53% of Americans believe journalists are two-faced, lying dirtbags who have sunk so low they could walk under a snake’s belly with a top hat on. 36% say they couldn’t do it with a top hat but probably could with a derby or maybe a fedora. The remaining 11% say they watched the news just last night and think journalists are great, or maybe that was “Matlock” and they mean lawyers.
The White House Correspondents Association — or White House Correspondents Ass, for short — became concerned over the media’s falling popularity after White House Smokeshow Karoline Leavitt announced that, from now on, new media reporters would get front row seats at press briefings, while legacy reporters would be required to stand in the corner and repeat, “I will not lie about the president,” 400 times before they can ask a question, and even then can only ask it silently in their minds. 
The President of the White House Correspondents ASS Mr. Schmuckface McLowlife protested Miss Leavitt’s decision and said he would do anything to be allowed to sit close to her again or just to have a garment that still smelled of her perfume. Miss Leavitt responded, “Get the hell away from me, you creep,” which Mr. McLowlife took as a good sign, since at least she acknowledged his existence.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
In an attempt to win back the good will of the public, journalists have hired a new spokesman, the accomplished hypnotist Swami Origami Umami, who is so excited to make the journalists’ case that he’s taken a pay cut from his former job of running the three card monte game off the top of a cardboard box outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
The Daily Wire interviewed Swami Umami, and we’re pleased to publish the transcript of that Q and A.
Q: Swami Umami, after the news media actively covered up Joe Biden’s dementia, why should anyone trust them ever again?
A: Concentrate on the tip of my finger. Listen to the sound of my voice. Sleep now. And when I snap my finger, you will awake knowing that the news media was dogged in bringing the truth to the American public. Here’s a new book by Jake Tapper that explains how he and other intrepid journalists uncovered Biden’s dementia. Would Jake Tapper write such a book if it weren’t true? Of course not.
Q: Yes, I guess Jake really did try to find out… No, wait, wait, that’s ridiculous. He lied like a dog, so did the rest of the press corps. And what about the Russian Collusion hoax? The news media held up the country for two years with that garbage even though they knew it was a psy-op by the Clinton campaign in league with a corrupt FBI and CIA.
A: Think of a rippling lagoon beneath a gently whispering waterfall. Imagine the steady plashing of the water as you drift into a peaceful trance. Now look: The New York Times and the Washington Post won Pulitzer Prizes for their work on Russian Collusion. Repeat after me: The Pulitzer Prize is very prestigious. They wouldn’t give it to newspapers who were perpetrating a hoax out of political malice. 
Q: Yes, of course, they don’t just give Pulitzer Prizes for… no, no, no, no. This is nonsense. The Pulitzer is just as corrupt as the Times and the Post. And what about how the media covered COVID. They made a hero out of Anthony Fauci while he was covering up his own role in the deaths of millions, then demonized far better doctors who were trying to get out the truth.
A: Look at my watch, swinging back and forth on its chain. The media battled Right-wing misinformation to bring Americans the truth about COVID.
Q: Yes, yes, I see now. Our news media is totally honest and has been doing a great job. Thank you, Swami Umami.
A: You’re welcome. Now, just relax. Let go of all your freedoms. And quack like a duck.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

Old fashioned psychiatrist swinging pocket watch for hypnosis

Journalists Hire Hypnotist To Convince Public They’re Not Lying Dirtbags

Humor

journalists

Karoline Leavitt

Leftists

Legacy Media

Media Bias

Opinion

Satire

The White House Correspondents Association has dropped comedian Amber Ruffin from the annual dinner amid backlash over her recent comments about President Donald Trump and his administration.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich drew attention to the fact that Ruffin was scheduled to host — and that, during a Friday appearance on The Daily Beast podcast, she had referred to the Trump administration as &#8220;murderers&#8221; and had suggested that they should not be allowed to &#8220;feel human.&#8221;
&#8220;This year&#8217;s @whca dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration &#8216;murderers&#8217; who want to &#8216;feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not,'&#8221; Budowich posted, sharing video of the podcast. &#8220;What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This year’s <a href="https://twitter.com/whca?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@whca</a> dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration “murderers” who want to “feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way, because you’re not”
What kind of responsible, sensible journalist… <a href="https://t.co/tZCJS9fNOT">pic.twitter.com/tZCJS9fNOT</a>
&mdash; Taylor Budowich (@Taylor47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Taylor47/status/1905790231929934001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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WHCA President Eugene Daniels followed that with a letter on Saturday, stating that the organization would not have a comedian at the dinner at all in the interest of not contributing further to the <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/03/white-house-correspondents-dinner-scraps-plans-amber-ruffin-1236354014/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">politics of division</a>. He did not clarify as to whether the White House&#8217;s complaint had played any role in that decision.
&#8220;As a first step, I wanted to share that the WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,&#8221; Daniels wrote in part. &#8220;At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.&#8221;
The WHCA also skipped the traditional comedic portion of the annual dinner in 2019, during Trump&#8217;s first term, after comedian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-smacks-comedian-who-mocked-sarah-sanders-james-barrett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michelle Wolf</a> trashed then White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders during her 2018 performance. &#8220;What’s Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women?&#8221; she said, among other caustic comments.

Netflix’s “Survival Of The Thickest” Season 2 Premiere

White House Correspondents Association Dumps Comedian After She Calls Trump Admin ‘Murderers’

White House Correspondents Association Dumps Comedian After She Calls Trump Admin 'Murderers'

comedian

After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) would no longer have control over the daily press pool, the association decried it as a move that “tears at the independence of a free press.”
But when the Biden administration revoked the press credentials of 442 reporters, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/05/09/white-house-press-rules-simon-ateba/">reported</a> that the WHCA took an “officially noncommittal stance.”
Between May and July in 2023, the Biden administration removed the White House press credentials from 442 reporters – cutting the number of reporters who had the credentials by about a third, The Daily Signal <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/08/04/white-house-purges-442-reporters-using-new-press-credential-rules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time. The purge came after the Biden White House changed the rules on who could receive the credentials, requiring them to obtain credentials from Congress or the Supreme Court. The move limited the number of reporters who had hard passes to attend White House press briefings or access the White House. Reporters who lost their hard passes then needed to obtain temporary day passes and undergo a Secret Service review to gain the same access.
On Tuesday, after the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-white-house-strips-whca-of-press-pool-control-opens-access-to-new-voices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> it would decide which reporters would be included in the small pool that covers the president daily, WHCA president and incoming MSNBC weekend host Eugene Daniels released a statement saying the move “tears at the independence of a free press in the United States.”
“It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” Daniels added. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WHCA STATEMENT ON WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCEMENT <a href="https://t.co/QVQnwSuydj">pic.twitter.com/QVQnwSuydj</a>
— Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) <a href="https://twitter.com/EugeneDaniels2/status/1894470877170765917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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It’s an interesting statement from the president of an organization that, in 2021, said nothing publicly when the Biden administration began requesting questions ahead of time during press briefings. Some reporters began complaining about the practice, so the WHCA held a Zoom call about it, The Daily Beast <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-reporters-say-biden-team-asked-them-for-questions-in-advance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time. During the call, leaders “advised print reporters to push back against requests by the White House press team to learn of questions in advance, or simply to not respond to the Biden team’s inquiries,” the Beast reported. At no time did the WHCA release a statement about the practice.
Instead, multiple reporters defended the practice, saying it was the norm before the first Trump administration and that Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did it on occasion. It was the norm during the Biden administration; however, it was not an occasional occurrence for major events. It also showed then-President Joe Biden’s age and lack of mental faculties, as he would <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-spotted-holding-note-card-reporters-photos-names-call-joint-presser">carry</a> pictures of reporters along with their pre-submitted questions to the few press conferences he held.
One reporter angered by the process told the Beast that “the press can&#8217;t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want.”
Yet the WHCA said nothing.
Also in 2021, CNN’s Brian Stelter ran a segment questioning whether Fox News reporters should be removed from the White House Press Pool.
&#8220;Should it be a part of the White House Press Pool &#8230; should it be afforded the privileges that come with news gathering?&#8221; Stelter asked his liberal guests in the segment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
March, 2021. Brian Stelter does a segment on if Fox reporters should be removed from the White House Press Pool.
&#8220;Should it be a part of the White House Press Pool&#8230;should it be afforded the privileges that come with news gathering?&#8221;
This is CNN. <a href="https://t.co/OuGruP3rJt">pic.twitter.com/OuGruP3rJt</a>
— MAZE (@mazemoore) <a href="https://twitter.com/mazemoore/status/1894626406509736155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Joe Biden

FLASHBACK: WHCA Remained Silent When Biden Cut 442 Reporters’ Press Credentials

FLASHBACK: WHCA Remained Silent When Biden Cut 442 Reporters' Press Credentials

Biden Administration

Trump Administration

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday that the White House press team will now determine who is in the &#8220;pool&#8221; of reporters following the president, a duty that has long been left to the association of reporters that cover the White House.
The move strips the White House Correspondents&#8217; Association (WHCA) of its role in picking what it <a href="https://whca.press/covering-the-white-house/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> as the &#8220;small team of writers, photographers and technicians assigned each day to cover the commander-in-chief on behalf of the broader corps of correspondents.&#8221;
It is the latest salvo in a clash between the Trump White House and the organization, which is currently led by a reporter from Politico.
&#8220;For decades, a group of D.C.-based journalists — White House Correspondents Association — has long dictated which journalists get to ask questions of the president of the United States in these most intimate spaces. Not anymore. I am proud to announce that we are going to give power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations,&#8221; Leavitt said.
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BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> announces that the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team, not the WHCA:
&quot;We are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows, and who listen to your radio stations.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/XkSDi7MDCa">pic.twitter.com/XkSDi7MDCa</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1894460228604707061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team. Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join. Fear not. But we will also be offering the privilege to well-deserving outlets who have never been allowed to share in this awesome responsibility,&#8221; Leavitt added. &#8220;Just like we added a new media seat in this briefing room, legacy media outlets who have been here for years will still participate in the pool, but new voices are going to be welcomed in as well.&#8221;
While &#8220;new media&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-welcomes-new-media-into-white-house-press-corps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gained</a> access to press briefings this past month, the WHCA&#8217;s ability to select who participates in the press pool was challenged when the Trump White House barred Associated Press reporters from &#8220;pooled&#8221; events in the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to use the abide by the administration&#8217;s preference for the name Gulf of America over the Gulf of Mexico. The WHCA backed the AP in a lawsuit against the White House.
Politico&#8217;s Eugene Daniels, who is president of the WHCA, responded to the White House press pool decision with a <a href="https://x.com/EugeneDaniels2/status/1894470877170765917" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that said: &#8220;This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.&#8221;
The pool is often able to shape the news by determining what questions are asked of the president during daily events, which are usually only accessible to pool reporters. White House reporters not granted access to the pool are mostly confined to the press briefing room, where there are only a few briefings each week.
The WHCA also determines who is given a permanent seat in the briefing room.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

Trump White House Strips WHCA of Press Pool Control, Opens Access to ‘New Voices’

U.S.

The Trump White House has barred the Associated Press from entering the Oval Office and boarding Air Force One, pointing to the outlet’s continued use of “Gulf of Mexico” instead of the administration’s newly proclaimed “Gulf of America.”
President Trump issued an executive order last month to institute the name change in government agencies and among federal contractors, but the AP and other non-government institutions have resisted the change.
The AP claims that since the order has not been recognized internationally, it would continue calling the body of water the Gulf of Mexico, and is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/media/white-house-ap-ban-air-force-one-oval-office-gulf-of-mexico/index.html">preparing</a> a lawsuit challenging the White House’s decision, according to CNN.
The White House has only barred AP reporters from “pooled” events at both the Oval Office and Air Force One, with the outlet’s photographers still permitted along with retaining their white house credentials, according to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.
“While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” Budowich said in a statement on X.
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“Going forward, that space will now be opened up to the many thousands of reporters who have been barred from covering these intimate areas of the administration,” Budowich said.
Budowich reiterated the administration’s disapproval of the AP’s editorial stance, characterizing the outlet’s refusal to adopt the new name for the gulf as “not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation.” Another official indicated that the spaces previously occupied by AP correspondents would now be made available to a rotation of other outlets.
The White House Correspondents Association called the move “a textbook violation of not only the First Amendment, but the president’s own executive order on freedom of speech and ending federal censorship.”

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-MEXICO-OCEANS-TRUMP

AP Indefinitely Barred From White House Over Use Of ‘Gulf Of Mexico’

Associated Press

Gulf of America

Gulf of Mexico

The White House Correspondents&#8217; Association released a statement on Thursday blasting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> for refusing to allow any print media reporters into the venue during the debate between former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden.
New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin shared a full statement — written by WHCA president Kelly O&#8217;Donnell — noting that CNN had &#8220;rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
scoop: The White House Correspondents&#8217; Association says it&#8217;s &#8220;deeply concerned&#8221; that CNN &#8220;has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio.&#8221; The full statement: <a href="https://t.co/qe3Y8Austz">pic.twitter.com/qe3Y8Austz</a>
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenMullin/status/1806394422399009089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
According to O&#8217;Donnell&#8217;s statement, the WHCA supports CNN&#8217;s decision to allow a television feed of the debate and to allow still photographers from a number of outlets access to the venue, but criticized the network for refusing to allow even the White House travel pool access to the studio during debate proceedings.
&#8220;WHCA has been informed that one print reporter will be permitted to enter the studio during a commercial break to briefly observe the setting. That is not sufficient in our view and diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage,&#8221; O’Donnell wrote. &#8220;The White House pool has a duty to document, report and witness the president’s events and his movements on behalf of the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;The pool is there for the ‘what ifs?’ in a world where the unexpected does happen. A pool reporter is present to provide context and insight by direct observation and not through the lens of the television production,&#8221; the letter continued. &#8220;A pool reporter is an independent observer whose duties are separate from the production of the debate as a news event. The pool reporter works on behalf of the entire White House press corps.&#8221;
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O&#8217;Donnell went on to note that because the White House travel pool had all been cleared by Secret Service there would be no additional security risk – and also said that both the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign had stated that they had no issue with a pool reporter being present during the debate.
&#8220;WHCA respectfully requests that CNN adjust its plan and welcome the White House travel pool print representative to witness the debate in full for the sake of the news cycle, for history and mostly importantly for the American people,&#8221; O&#8217;Donnell&#8217;s letter concluded.

Trump vs. Biden Debate

White House Reporters Excoriate CNN Over Decision To Exclude All Media From Debate

Debates

President Joe Biden used his bully pulpit at the annual White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner to warn journalists about the risks and dangers posed by &#8220;disinformation&#8221; — and spread a little disinformation of his own in the process.
During his brief remarks at Sunday evening&#8217;s dinner, Biden framed the 2024 presidential race as a choice that would determine whether democracy was &#8220;still the sacred cause of America,&#8221; suggesting that the answer to that question was no unless the people reelected him.
Biden went on to say that unless the people had the right information, they couldn&#8217;t make the right decision — and he called on journalists to &#8220;rise up to the seriousness&#8221; of the situation.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden again calls on journalists to defend democracy (i.e. crush Republicans): 
&quot;Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments, and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics and focusing on what&#39;s actually at stake. I… <a href="https://t.co/bdGSSCTgUr">pic.twitter.com/bdGSSCTgUr</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1784415448349454574?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;On the third anniversary of January 6, I went to Valley Forge and I said the most urgent question of our time is whether democracy is still — is still the sacred cause of America. That is the question the American people must answer this year and you, the free press, play a critical role in making sure the American people have the information they need to make an informed decision,&#8221; Biden began.
Biden then turned to attack former President Donald Trump, delivering a series of partial truths and out-of-context quotes.
&#8220;The defeated former President has made no secret of his attack on our democracy he said he wants to be a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-a-stunning-act-of-bravery-the-atlantic-claims-trump-will-be-a-dictator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dictator</a> on day one and so much more. He tells supporters he is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-on-second-term-im-not-going-to-have-time-for-retribution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revenge and retribution</a>. When in God&#8217;s name ever heard of another president say something like that? And he promised a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medias-wall-to-wall-coverage-of-trump-bloodbath-comment-delivers-zero-context" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bloodbath</a> when he loses again,&#8221; Biden said.
He then pivoted back to the press, claiming that he was not asking them to &#8220;take sides&#8221; while pressing them to push back against Trump: &#8220;We have to take this seriously. Eight years ago, it could have been written off as just Trump talk but no longer, not after January 6. I&#8217;m sincerely not asking you to take sides, but asking a rise up to the seriousness of the moment.&#8221;
&#8220;Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments, and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics and focusing on what&#8217;s actually at stake,&#8221; the president continued. &#8220;I think in your hearts, you know what&#8217;s at stake. The stakes couldn&#8217;t be higher every single one of us has roles to play — a serious role, to play in making sure democracy endures, American democracy. I have my role, but with all due respect, so do you. In the age of disinformation, credible information that people can trust is more important than ever and that makes you, and I mean this with the bottom of my heart, makes you more important than ever. So tonight, I&#8217;d like to make a toast — to a free press, to an informed citizenry, to an American where freedom and democracy endure. God bless America.&#8221;

President Biden Attends White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

Biden Complains About ‘Disinformation’ — While Spreading Disinformation At WHCD

Misinformation

Anti-Israel protesters swarmed the streets surrounding Saturday evening&#8217;s White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner, shouting at attendees and draping a massive Palestinian flag from one of the windows of the host hotel.
Associated Press reporter Farnoush Amiri commented on the crowds waiting outside the venue, saying that the scene before her was very different than it had been in years past.
&#8220;This is my third year covering the WHCD as the designated AP reporter for the WH pool and I’ve never seen anything like this,&#8221; she said of the gathered protesters. &#8220;President Biden’s motorcade will likely drive by these crowds shortly.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is my third year covering the WHCD as the designated AP reporter for the WH pool and I’ve never seen anything like this. President Biden’s motorcade will likely drive by these crowds shortly. <a href="https://t.co/ZnJjhCrmly">https://t.co/ZnJjhCrmly</a>
&mdash; Farnoush Amiri (@FarnoushAmiri) <a href="https://twitter.com/FarnoushAmiri/status/1784351159819333942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Amiri also noted that President Joe Biden&#8217;s motorcade took a different route to the event than it had in years past — and her assumption was that they were attempting to avoid the protests as much as possible.
https://twitter.com/FarnoushAmiri/status/1784364456237043780
Protesters carried signs referencing journalists who have reportedly been killed in Gaza.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Scenes from outside the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHCD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WHCD</a> where protesters are supporting a boycott called for by the colleagues of journalists killed in Gaza <a href="https://t.co/J3kJZUYU3g">pic.twitter.com/J3kJZUYU3g</a>
&mdash; nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1784352069035393434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Protesters attempted to surround attendees — among them Caitlyn Jenner — and confront them as they arrived, calling on journalists to boycott the event.
The protesters claimed they were there &#8220;to protest media complicity in genocide,&#8221; complaining that Palestinian journalists were being killed &#8220;with full U.S. backing&#8221; for reporting on the situation in Gaza.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Caitlyn Jenner confronted by protestors at White House Correspondents Dinner.
They’re here “to protest media complicity in genocide” &amp; uplift calls from Palestinian journalists to boycott the event “as they are being targeted &amp; killed for doing their jobs, with full US backing.” <a href="https://t.co/OG7QLhl8zM">pic.twitter.com/OG7QLhl8zM</a>
&mdash; Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) <a href="https://twitter.com/prem_thakker/status/1784355189102657990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The pro-Hamas crowd has arrived outside the White House Correspondent’s Dinner and is VERY upset about me filming them,&#8221; Katie Pavlich posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The pro-Hamas crowd has arrived outside the White House Correspondent’s Dinner and is VERY upset about me filming them <a href="https://t.co/xEg3a8EPDR">pic.twitter.com/xEg3a8EPDR</a>
&mdash; Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatiePavlich/status/1784352438209663230?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
The Palestinian flag, according to witnesses, was draped from a window of the Washington Hilton just before President Joe Biden was expected to arrive at the venue.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Demonstrators draped a massive Palestinian flag from the Washington Hilton just moments before POTUS is due for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHCD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WHCD</a> <a href="https://t.co/lbEnXlugcy">pic.twitter.com/lbEnXlugcy</a>
&mdash; Sean Langille (@SeanLangille) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanLangille/status/1784357056247390698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
WUSA9 reporter Alexis Wainwright shared several videos of the protest, confirming that those present were calling for a boycott of the dinner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Protests still happening right now outside of the White House Correspondents dinner at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Ave NW. 
They are calling for a boycott of this dinner. <a href="https://twitter.com/wusa9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wusa9</a> <a href="https://t.co/M7VfYCiloo">pic.twitter.com/M7VfYCiloo</a>
&mdash; Alexis Wainwright (@AWainwrightTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AWainwrightTV/status/1784383201852432551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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She also reported that at least one protester had been escorted away by police, prompting other protesters to yell at officers to let the person go.
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Now other protesters have come over to call for police to let the person who’s been taken into custody go. <a href="https://t.co/3oTHOSUu1K">pic.twitter.com/3oTHOSUu1K</a>
&mdash; Alexis Wainwright (@AWainwrightTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AWainwrightTV/status/1784387235883651422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Ousted MSNBC host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-gig-same-schtick-ousted-msnbc-host-takes-anti-israel-demands-to-the-guardian" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mehdi Hasan</a> publicly stated that despite attending the WHCD in the past, he would join with the anti-Israel protesters and sit this one out.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I have attended the White House Correspondents Dinner for the past two years. I decided not to attend today’s dinner (which, to be clear, is hosted by DC journalists not the White House) in solidarity with under-fire Palestinian journalists in Gaza who have called for a boycott. <a href="https://t.co/HZ6v1m9RTq">https://t.co/HZ6v1m9RTq</a>
&mdash; Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1784248146375131248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Activists Rally Outside White House Correspondents Dinner In Support Of Gaza

Protesters Swarm White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Drape Massive Palestinian Flag From Hotel Window

Protesters Swarm White House Correspondents' Dinner, Drape Massive Palestinian Flag From Hotel Window

Hamas

Israel

Palestinians

Protests

Daily Wire editor emeritus <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Shapiro</a> mocked the annual <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house-correspondents-dinner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner</a> (WHCD) on Monday for revealing why Americans can&#8217;t &#8212; and shouldn&#8217;t &#8212; trust the cozy relationship between big media and politicians.
“The WHCD is perhaps the best example of why Americans feel alienated by the Washington DC elite class – all of whom are supposed to be checks and balances on one another, but who are actually all part of the same blob,” Shapiro wrote in a Twitter thread.
The annual White House Correspondents Dinner was held Saturday evening in Washington, D.C., with journalists from major networks such as CBS and Fox News partying alongside numerous Republicans and Democratic leaders, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The event also featured stars from sports, Hollywood, fashion, and elsewhere, such as actress Chrissy Teigen and WNBA star and former Russian prisoner Brittany Griner.
Biden attended for the second year in a row after the dinner was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19. Former President Donald Trump shunned the event for three years amid his adversarial relations with major media outlets in New York and Washington.
Shapiro took aim at some of the more blatant examples of what he dubbed the “blob” culture on display at the event.
“Hey look, it’s Joe Biden openly joking about the fact that he takes no questions – and the press are laughing uproariously as they give an award to a ‘journalist’ who writes sop pieces about him! Hey look, there’s [Republican National Committee chairwoman] Ronna McDaniel hanging with [Democratic National Committee chairman] Jaime Harrison!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hey look, it&#39;s Joe Biden openly joking about the fact that he takes no questions &#8212; and the press are laughing uproariously as they give an award to a &quot;journalist&quot; who writes sop pieces about him! Hey look, there&#39;s Ronna McDaniel hanging with Jaime Harrison!
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1653025452410150918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The journalist Shapiro referenced was Matt Viser of The Washington Post. The White House Correspondents Association, which hosts the WHCD, awarded Viser the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage for his coverage of Biden, specifically Viser’s coverage of Biden’s faith.
“The judges said Matt Viser stood out among his competitors for work that went beyond the humdrum of covering the managed events of the presidency and the White House. Viser captured the spirit of Joe Biden, particularly with stories about the president’s brother and how his Catholic faith influenced his strategic vision of the office,” said Karen Travers, the White House correspondent for ABC News who announced the award.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
At <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHCD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WHCD</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WashingtonPost</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/mviser?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mviser</a> gets award for how he “captured the spirit of Joe Biden, particularly with stories about the President’s brother and how his Catholic faith influenced his strategic vision of the office.” <a href="https://t.co/8FIzfAgflp">pic.twitter.com/8FIzfAgflp</a>
&mdash; Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentHBaker/status/1652489164305182720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Biden’s devotion to his Catholic faith often comes into question when he touts his support for policies such as abortion, gay marriage, and sex-change surgeries for minors. The contradictions between Biden’s politics and the tenets of his professed religion have been minimized in Viser’s stories.
“Biden is arguably the most observant president in decades, and his faith is a core part of his identity. He rarely misses Mass. He crosses himself in public. He quotes scripture, he cites hymns and he clutches rosary beads ahead of key decisions,” Viser wrote of Biden in a June 2021 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-catholic-bishops/2021/06/18/acf576c0-d04a-11eb-a7f1-52b8870bef7c_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, which characterized Biden’s views as part of a “church battle between traditionalists and reformers.”
The WHCA award was the target of some mockery and criticism online.
“His faith you say? Just reflect on how the press treated VP Pence when it was revealed his wife was a teacher at a Christian school,” Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs <a href="https://twitter.com/RLHeinrichs/status/1652764380226781188" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “It was like every newsroom discovered orthodox Christian views and lost their minds. But the faith of the president ‘overseeing’ the most anti-orthodox Christian secular admin in the nation’s history? charming.”
New York Post columnist Miranda Devine <a href="https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1652668420649779204" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>: “Washington Post, speaking truth to power,” with a laughing emoji.
Viser also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/31/jimmy-biden-president-brother/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on the president’s relationship with his brother, James, and some of James’ business deals and work with the president’s son, Hunter.

Ben Shapiro Rips White House Correspondents Dinner: DC Elites ‘All Part Of The Same Blob’

Ben Shapiro

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