WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is set to attend the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington on July 24, returning after the event was abruptly canceled earlier this year due to an assassination attempt against him.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a July 23 press briefing that the president’s attendance will honor free speech and the importance of the First Amendment.
“The president looks forward to finishing what he started before a despicable assassination attempt derailed the original event back in April,” she said.
“I encourage everyone watching tomorrow night to tune in for what promises to be a very entertaining and memorable evening.”
The rescheduled gala will be held at the Waldorf Astoria.
The Secret Service immediately evacuated Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several Cabinet members from the venue.
This was Trump’s first time attending the dinner as president, and he was scheduled to give a speech around 9 p.m. ET. He was seated on stage at the front of the ballroom.
Allen’s case is now in federal court in the District of Columbia after a federal grand jury indicted him. He is charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at the event. He also faces one count of transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces life in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. He has pleaded not guilty.
While most of Trump’s Cabinet will attend the rescheduled event, the first lady, Vance, and Rubio will not be there due to prior commitments, a White House official told The Epoch Times.
According to the White House, the following Trump administration officials will attend the dinner: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of War 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 Jamieson Greer, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a black-tie gala attended by media personalities, business leaders, celebrities, lawmakers, and Cabinet officials to celebrate the Fourth Estate and White House reporters.
The association said the logistical challenges in organizing a second dinner led it to scale back the event, resulting in a smaller gathering with a reduced guest list.
“It’s a much more intimate gathering,” the association’s president, Weijia Jiang, told C-SPAN on July 23.
“The Washington Hilton is a massive ballroom that holds 3,000 people. The Waldorf Astoria holds 700 people, and so that is the first main difference people will see.”
The association has hired a private security firm that has been working closely with the Secret Service, she added.
As part of the enhanced security measures, each guest will be required to present a unique QR code and a government-issued photo ID to get through the ticketing.
The guests will then go through layers of security to access the ballroom, Jiang said.
The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914 to protect press freedom and preserve journalists’ access to the White House. It held its first dinner in 1921, and the first president to attend was Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
