Melania Trump, Vance and Rubio Skip 680-Guest WHCA Dinner After April Assassination Attempt
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 24
Melania Trump, Vance and Rubio Skip 680-Guest WHCA Dinner After April Assassination Attempt
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 24
Summary
Friday’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner will go ahead without Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though President Trump is still set to speak at 8:55 p.m.
The trio attended the original April dinner, which was disrupted when an armed suspect allegedly tried to reach Trump at the Washington Hilton before being stopped.
Security has been tightened for the do-over at the Waldorf Astoria: attendance was cut to about 680 from 2,600, guests were pre-vetted with unique QR codes, and magnetometer screening and heavier police presence were added.
Trump, 80, is expected to deliver the remarks he missed in April, though WHCA President Weijia Jiang said even his staff may not know whether he will revive his planned media attacks.
The dinner also lands amid pressure on the WHCA from hundreds of former journalists and press-freedom groups to publicly challenge the administration’s actions against the press.