More than 500 journalists are demanding that their colleagues take off the kid gloves and “speak truth to power” when President Donald J. Trump appears at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Friday.
The event, which was originally scheduled in April, was called off after an armed would-be assassin attempted to gain access to the ballroom at the Washington Hilton where Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and a large portion of the chain of succession were set to enjoy the black-tie event.
Trump was to bask in the glory of what was expected to be a veritable lovefest from the cowed news industry figures who were to attend, ending his boycott of the swanky gala. But, if the journos who signed the letter get their way, it will be a much more adversarial experience for the president this time.
NEW: 500+ journalists formally ask White House Correspondents Assoc. “to publicly pledge that it will fight back against the Trump Admin’s assault on press freedom” at its dinner with Trump on Friday
“Attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious” pic.twitter.com/cAwtoC4r8T
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 21, 2026
The letter, which renews a previous call to be tough on Trump over the administration’s “attacks on journalists and on freedom of the press,” references the postponed April soiree and alleges that since then, the treatment of the media has worsened.
“Since that evening, the administration’s attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious,” the letter to the WHCA read. “The President’s Department of Justice has subpoenaed journalists and their phone records. President Trump has threatened to revoke licenses of broadcasters who refuse to acquiesce to his demands.”
“Our message to the White House Correspondents’ Association is now more urgent: forcefully stand up for freedom of the press in front of the President, publicly defend the journalists he attacks, and vow to resist his administration’s concerted effort to undermine the First Amendment,” the letter stated.
It went on with a laundry list of what it claims are administration attacks on the press, including the subpoenas to New York Times journos over reporting on alleged security issues with the Qatari-donated Air Force One and Trump’s call for ABC and NBC to have their broadcast licenses yanked because they refused to televise his big speech on election security last week.
“We believe it is hypocritical to celebrate the First Amendment in front of the man who relentlessly attacks it. We urge the WHCA to condemn the administration’s actions from the podium and pledge to fight all attempts by his administration to undermine this core pillar of a functioning democracy,” according to the letter, which was organized by ex-ABC News reporter Lisa Stark and Ian Cameron, a former executive producer.
The WHCA dinner has come to embody the decline of the journalistic profession with the so-called watchdogs of democracy swilling free booze and sucking up to those whom they are supposed to be holding accountable. The 500+ journos whose names are on the letter are looking to shatter the tradition with a hypocritical and selective demand to speak truth to power.
“The White House Correspondents’ Dinner exists because the First Amendment matters most when it’s under pressure. As we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather as journalists, newsmakers and the president in the same room is a reminder of what a free press means to this country — and why it must endure. Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on it,” the WHCA said in a statement.
The rescheduled dinner is set to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria in Washington, D.C. on July 24.
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