White House Correspondents Dinner Live: List of Performers, Guests at Trump Event - EUROPE SAYS
PresidentDonald Trumpis set to attend the rescheduledWhite HouseCorrespondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on Friday evening,months after the event was abruptly cut shortby a shooting and security scare that. . .
PresidentDonald Trumpis set to attend the rescheduledWhite HouseCorrespondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on Friday evening,months after the event was abruptly cut shortby a shooting and security scare that led to the evacuation of the president, senior officials and hundreds of guests. The rescheduled dinner will be held Friday at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, departing from its longtime home at the Washington Hilton. Attendees are usually a mix of politicians, journalists, media executives and celebrity guests. The event will be streamed live by C‑SPAN beginning at 6 p. m. ET. How to Watch LiveC-SPAN isproviding live coverageof arrivals, interviews and speeches beginning at 6. Viewers can watch through C-SPAN’s live stream and television coverage. Read More on U. S. Why Is There Another WHCA Dinner?The July event serves as a rescheduled continuation of the April 25 dinner, which ended in chaos when gunfire erupted at the Washington Hilton during the event. Authorities said an armed suspect breached security checkpoints while Trump was inside the venue. Secret Service agents quickly evacuated the president and other officials, and the event was halted. The suspect,identified as Cole Tomas Allen,was charged with multiple offenses, including attempted assassination-related counts. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. In announcing the rescheduled dinner, WHCA President Weijia Jiang said the organization did not want violence to define the event or overshadow its mission of supporting press freedom and journalism. The association also said the new gathering would include significantly enhanced security measures and new access procedures. “We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word,” Jiang wrote when announcing the rescheduling. Who Is Performing?The featured entertainer isrenowned mentalist Oz Pearlman,whom the WHCA selected earlier this year in place of the traditional comedian often booked for the dinner. Pearlman was in the middle of a performance near the presidential table when the April incident unfolded. The association’s decision to use a mentalist instead of a comedian marked a notable departure from the dinner’s long-standing format, which historically included comedic roasts of politicians and journalists. Who Is Expected to Attend?According to White House officials, Trump will attend and is expected to be joined by a large contingent of senior administration figures, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, U. S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and U. N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, Fox News reported. Several high-profile figures from the administration are expected to miss the event, including first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reportedly have other commitments. Journalists, WHCA scholarship recipients, award winners and media executives are also expected to attend. The organization previously said it raised funds to help scholarship recipients return to Washington for the rescheduled gathering. The event carries particular significance because Trump largely boycotted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner during his first term. Earlier this year, he announced plans to attend the 2026 gathering, making April’s event his first appearance at the gala as president. The shooting cut short a rare appearance by Trump at the annual event, which is traditionally attended by journalists, government officials and media figures. Friday’s dinner is expected to serve as a celebration of the First Amendment and as a symbolic statement that the annual gathering will continue despite the violence that disrupted it. Push for White House BallroomTheshooting at the April dinnerwas viewed by the administration as an attempt on the president’s life that could have been prevented if the event were held in a new White House ballroom. Trump unveiled plans for a 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom in July 2025, arguing that the executive mansion lacked a sufficiently large, secure indoor venue for major events, such as state dinners and press gatherings. Trump and top aides have said building the ballroom is also a national security issue. “This second attack on the President this month underscores the critical need for top level, state of the art security at the White House, including the Ballroom, a knitted, unified, cohesive part of the East Wing Project, which is vital for National Security, and is being constructed to ensure that the President can perform his constitutional duties in a safe and heavily secured facility,” the Justice Department said in a court filing. The project would replace the former East Wing structure, which was demolished as part of a broader “East Wing Modernization Project. ” Trump and his aides have repeatedly said construction would be paid for entirely through private donations. “It’s not going to cost taxpayers a dime,” Leavitt said in October. Contact Newsweek editors on this story:Jason LemonandDave Siminoff.