President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Friday (July 24), nearly three months after an armed attacker disrupted the original event. The dinner, now being held at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria instead of the traditional Hilton Hotel, comes with heightened security and a much smaller guest list following April’s chaos, when a gunman attempted to reach the ballroom and exchanged fire with law enforcement.

President Trump and several top administration officials will attend the rescheduled gala, which organizers say stands as a symbol that “violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence.” The president is expected to address the April shooting briefly and include some of the sharp jokes he had planned for the previous event.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed Trump’s speech, promising it would 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.”

The rescheduled dinner features enhanced safety protocols and a reduced capacity of about 700 guests, compared to over 3,000 at the Hilton. Not all original attendees will return; first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among those absent from the guest list this time.

During the April incident, suspect Cole Tomas Allen was arrested and faces numerous charges, including attempting to assassinate the president. Secret Service Officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot in his bulletproof vest while confronting the attacker, will be honored at the dinner for his bravery.

The event, known for celebrating the First Amendment and raising funds for journalism scholarships, arrives amid tense relations between the White House and the press. Hundreds of journalists have urged the association to speak out against what they describe as the administration’s attacks on press freedom.

The dinner program will largely mirror the original, with entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman and awards to those who acted heroically during the attempted attack. The evening’s events begin at 8 p.m. ET, with a live stream and red carpet at 6 p.m. ET.

South Carolina's Morning News With Kelly Nash

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