By Jeff Mordock (The Washington Times)
President Trump announced Tuesday that he will attend the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on July 24.
The gala in April gala was canceled when a gunman opened fire at the event in an alleged attempt to assassinate the president.
In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said the rescheduled announcement is “a very good thing.”
“We cannot allow lunatics to change our way of life or even its scheduling,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I was asked to be there and speak by Weijia Jiang, President of the White House Correspondents’ Association, and have accepted.”
“I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out. In any event, it will be a “HOT” ticket!”
Mr. Trump said the rescheduled dinner will take place at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, a hotel and ballroom that he helped build.
Earlier Tuesday, Ms. Jiang announced that the rescheduled dinner will take place next month, saying that it will feature “enhanced safety measures and access procedures.” She also did not confirm that the dinner will take place at the Waldorf Astoria, saying a venue will be announced at a later date.
“When gunfire interrupted this year’s event, it further clarified the WHCA’s mission to advocate for the freedoms that are protected in the First Amendment. We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” Ms. Jiang said in a statement.
“This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence. As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above,” she continued.
Ms. Jiang added that rescheduling the dinner “was not automatic,” but rather “a choice the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from members.”
She said the dinner will be “a more intimate gathering” and WHCA members who bought tickets to the April dinner will not have to pay for the second event.
The April dinner was the first time Mr. Trump attended the event as president, skipping it entirely during his first term and the first year of his second term.
After the shooting, Mr. Trump urged the WHCA to host a second event within 30 days of the April dinner.
Mr. Trump told “60 Minutes” last month that he thought it was necessary to redo the event.
“It’s not that I wanna go. … I’m very busy. I don’t need that. I think it’s very important that they do it again,” he told the outlet.
The April 25 shooting forced organizers to halt the black-tie affair attended by nearly 3,000 journalists, politicians, corporate executives and others.
Shooting suspect Cole Allen faces multiple charges over the incident, including attempting to assassinate the president, two firearms counts and assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
Mr. Allen faces life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.
This article was made available to WMAL via The Washington Times.
