By Helen Coster and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will deliver a “unifying yet vicious” speech to the White House Correspondents’ Association on Friday at a dinner celebrating press freedom that was postponed after a shooting outside the original event, the White House said.
Trump will be addressing journalists from major news organizations with whom he has clashed over coverage and access.
“The president’s speech will be a combination of unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that. One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The Trump administration faces criticism from press freedom advocates over lawsuits against media organizations, restrictions on some journalists’ access and threats of action against broadcasters. He rejects the criticism, saying his administration is promoting accountability and addressing bias.
The black-tie gathering of journalists, politicians and administration officials at the Washington Hilton hotel was called off on April 25 after a man tried to force his way through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun outside the ballroom where Trump and members of his cabinet were taking their seats.
The suspect, Cole Allen, pleaded not guilty in May to charges including attempting to assassinate the president.
The dinner has been moved to a smaller venue at the Waldorf Astoria hotel and will take place under heightened security.
‘WE DO EXPECT BAD PEOPLE TO SHOW UP’
Secret Service Director Sean Curran told reporters on Wednesday that an advance team was implementing a comprehensive security plan at the hotel.
“We do expect bad people to show up,” Curran said. “It’s just a reality of where we are, but we’re treating it no differently than any other site that the president goes to.”
Friday’s dinner will honor Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot at a security checkpoint outside the ballroom in April and is credited with stopping the attack. He was wearing a protective vest and was the only person wounded that night. Washington Hilton staff who assisted guests will also be recognized, the WHCA said.
The gala – an annual fixture on Washington’s calendar for more than a century – raises money for journalism scholarships and celebrates U.S. press freedoms. It normally features a comedian who pokes fun at the president and the press, but this year’s entertainment will come from mentalist Oz Pearlman.
The April incident occurred during Trump’s first presidential appearance at the correspondents’ dinner. He had boycotted the event in his previous years in office.
TRUMP’S BATTLES WITH THE PRESS
Trump has sued multiple outlets, denounced unfavorable coverage as “fake news” and criticized and belittled journalists. His administration has barred the Associated Press from the White House press pool and restricted many journalists’ access to the Pentagon, among other measures.
The White House has defended its measures, saying the administration seeks to protect sensitive information, improve security and increase accountability for what it calls biased media organizations.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump defended federal subpoenas of New York Times journalists, later withdrawn, saying national security was at stake. They reported on the security of the new Qatari-donated Air Force One aircraft.
“We’re not after journalists. We’re after leakers. We’re after people that are cowards, people that are unpatriotic, people that are treasonous in many cases. And the way you find them is through the journalists,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
Even as Trump has escalated his actions against the media, he has provided reporters with more direct access than recent presidents, taking questions during open-ended public appearances and regularly speaking with journalists by phone.
Several hundred veteran journalists, along with eight professional journalism organizations, have signed a letter urging the WHCA to use the dinner to condemn what they called Trump’s attacks on the First Amendment.
(Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage, Cynthia Osterman and Howard Goller)
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