What happened just a few short months ago did hang heavily over the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night, and was referenced multiple times during the evening by more than one speaker.

But what was also proved during the evening is that most of today’s journalists have zero sense of humor, and President Trump does. Even when he pokes fun at himself.

While the president’s speech was definitely the part of the night that brought any eyes to the event, the WHCD also gave out the awards that they had intended to months before, and honored the Secret Service agent who was shot trying to stop the would-be attacker.

Secret Service police officer Victor Gonzales was shot during the apprehension of a gunman who allegedly attempted to storm the event this spring.

He was spared serious injury thanks to the ballistic vest he was wearing when federal prosecutors allege Cole Tomas Allen, 31 — allegedly armed with multiple firearms — ran past security outside the Washington Hilton ballroom on April 25 as part of a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump and others.

On Friday night, Gonzales was awarded The President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the WHCA.

White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang honored Gonzales’ “courage” while announcing the award.

“One officer placed himself directly in harm’s way … he stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped,” she recounted. “I know many of us have wondered, what if he hadn’t acted that way?”

Weijia Jiang, the outgoing WHCA president, also gave a lovely speech about her American success story, and the freedoms of the First Amendment.

Truly refreshing comments from CBS’s @Weijia Jiang at the #WHCD…

“Because when this is your home, you inherit something remarkable, the protections in the First Amendment, free religion, free speech, free press, free assembly, free petition. This fundamental right belongs to… pic.twitter.com/LoHk0BqoMy

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 25, 2026

Due to the rescheduling and the added security, the dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria, and had a smaller attendance than before. Neither Vice President Vance or Secretary Rubio were there this time (Vance, of course, has a newborn at home now), and the First Lady (understandably) did not attend take two of the dinner. However, other Cabinet members did attend, and when President Trump got up, he delivered a truly hilarious crack at HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump on RFK: “I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloins, very special beef, and I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy is right here, personally ran over the cow in his car. Boom, and he cut it up, and he brought it here for you… pic.twitter.com/rAjv8B6sGc

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 25, 2026

The full quote reads:

“I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloins, very special beef, and I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy is right here, personally ran over the cow in his car. Boom, and he cut it up, and he brought it here for you to eat tonight, so it’s very fresh. And Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill, but we drew the line at that, Cheryl. We said no, we’re not going to do that. We’re not doing that. We love Bobby. I tell you, this 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. 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. Do 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.”

That is really funny, and RFK was laughing as well. But Trump was just warming up. The entirety of his speech can be seen here, and it is LONG.

You’ve got to hand it to Trump – he had a captive audience of all these journalists, and he knows most of them absolutely loathe him. And he made them sit through more than an hour long speech of hearing him roast them, mock them, mock Democrats (both elected and running for office), and tell some jokes that should have landed much better than they did.

“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” Trump said at the pared-down, more intimate dinner, three months after the initial night of celebration was cut short by the attempted assassination of the president.

“Won’t soon be forgotten,” the president said of the April dinner, “and I think a lot was learned from that evening.”

“But just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better, and the third time will be better yet,” he joked to a chorus of laughter.

Near the end of his speech, the president even donned a “Trump 2028” hat as he jokingly announced he’d be running for a “fourth term”, calling it a “scoop” for the reporters in the room.

… Trump joked about trying to pair nice dress shoes with a bulletproof vest — and how he didn’t want to wear the protective gear because it made him look heavier.

“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,” he jested.

“They put one on me. I said, ‘Are you sure? I’m not wearing this!”

The president, of course, also didn’t pass up the chance to take some jabs at the press and his political foes.

“This place is really the largest group of Trump derangement syndrome people ever put together at one time,” he cracked.

The best joke Trump told should have gotten a whole lot of laughs – but it seems journalists have lost that ability, even when the target it someone they have bitched about relentlessly.

.@POTUS: "A once feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled. Their former leaders have been removed and they’re now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions. But I for one wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News." 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tlE0i7Wwbc

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 25, 2026

Considering the hue and cry that the media had when Bari Weiss took over the CBS news room, you would think that joke would get more than a tepid ripple. But no, the journalists in the room were either too checked out or too cowardly to make it look like they could appreciate a joke told by Trump. And while Trump did get frustrated with how the jokes were landing, he didn’t get mad at the audience. And, he reiterated that once the ballroom is finished, the dinner should be held there.

“It’s White House correspondents, so I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be able to use that,” Trump said of holding future WHCDs in the White House ballroom. “It’s going to be very large and very beautiful and very safe, and that’s what you need.”

Was it President Trump’s best material? No, but that’s because Trump feeds off the audience response, and this audience wasn’t very responsive. He landed some good jokes, and the evening itself went off without any security issues. All in all, I think that was about the most that could be expected from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Featured image: President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on July 24, 2026, official White House photo from X, cropped