President Donald Trump returned to the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Friday night, delivering a rambling, hour-long address that mixed praise for some journalists with potshots at others, jokes about public figures' weight and intellect, and a quip about seeking a third presidential term.

He assured the audience of journalists that he had discarded the sharpest portions of his prepared remarks. "That was going to be a doozy," Trump said of the speech he had been set to deliver in April, before a gunman disrupted the original event and forced its postponement.

"As I said three months ago, the show must go on," the president declared at the outset, praising the decision to reschedule. He referenced "the attempted mass murder" that could have occurred that night in April before shifting largely into humor — and, as the evening progressed, increasingly personal insults.

Trump's return to the correspondents' dinner — coupled with his pledge to attend again next year — marked a significant moment in his fraught relationship with the news media, which he has publicly attacked, sued, and targeted with administrative action since beginning his second term early last year. Reporters he had previously denounced and barred from events were among the attendees. The dinner, a Washington tradition dating to 1921, has long featured a sitting president delivering a lighthearted roast of the press and political establishment. Trump had skipped the event throughout much of his first term, making his return all the more notable.

The speech, which ran just over an hour, featured off-color jabs at an array of figures — from Bruce Springsteen to "Barack Hussein Obama" to familiar targets such as CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, one of the evening's key award recipients, whom he again accused of not smiling enough. The audience initially responded with friendly laughter but gradually fell quiet as the insults accumulated.

Other targets of Trump's humor included late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel; Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.); California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and even his own speechwriters. When one joke fell flat, he remarked: "That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole fricking stupid speech they wrote."

At one point, Trump questioned his own role at the event. "Is this supposed to be fun?" he asked. "Am I supposed to be a comedian?" He appeared more at ease expressing pride in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom — formerly the Trump International Hotel, which the Trump Organization sold in 2022 — and its chandeliers. "It's great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it," he said.

He made a pointed reference to the evening's journalism awards, many of which recognized stories challenging him and his administration — including one for the Wall Street Journal's coverage of his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "Do I have a say in those awards?" he asked.

The president made brief mention of the Iran war and referenced a ballroom under construction at the White House. He also used the occasion to joke about a potential third term — something prohibited by the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951, which limits presidents to two elected terms.

"Just like my presidency, the second time is always better," Trump quipped. "And the third time will be better yet." He added: "I'm only kidding." Then, near the close of his remarks, he put on a red cap reading "Trump 2028" and announced the "scoop" that he was running again.

Trump entered the ballroom to polite applause and was thanked for his attendance by outgoing White House Correspondents' Association president Weijia Jiang of CBS News. After dinner, he remained seated through more than an hour of awards presentations, shaking hands with each winner.

One of those winners, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, was among the reporters whose work had been subpoenaed by Trump's Justice Department over his reporting on a Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Those subpoenas were withdrawn Thursday in a New York courtroom — one of multiple arenas in which the president has sought to influence media coverage he finds unfavorable.

The rescheduled dinner was held at a smaller venue accommodating approximately 700 guests, a downgrade from the Washington Hilton, which typically hosts more than 2,500 attendees. Security was noticeably heightened: attendees entered through a single checkpoint with two rounds of ID verification. There was no red carpet and no separate cocktail receptions preceding the event.

"Let's try this again," Jiang quipped in her welcome. The White House press corps, she noted, "always have a follow-up." Becoming serious, she reflected on the trauma and confusion of the original April dinner.

"Tonight our message is this: We are back," she said. "We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word."

Also recognized Friday evening was Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who had been staffing a security checkpoint in April and was struck in his protective vest. Gonzales "placed himself directly in harm's way and engaged the armed suspect," Jiang said. "He stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped."

A second award was presented to the staff of the Washington Hilton — site of the original dinner — for their professionalism under pressure.

The dress code for the rescheduled event was relaxed to "black tie optional," and the dinner menu included grilled peach and burrata salad followed by lobster and roasted beet Wellington. As in April, the featured entertainer was mentalist Oz Pearlman, who finally had the opportunity to perform his act.

Jiang and fellow board members had stressed their determination not to let a violent act — or the image of colleagues sheltering under tables — be the lasting memory. In announcing the rescheduling, she underscored the dinner's long-standing purpose: "A celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century."

Some observers, however, felt the dinner should not have been held at all. Critics have long questioned the optics of journalists in formal wear mingling with the subjects of their reporting.

"It undermines the public faith in how the press does its work, and it makes it look like we are pals with the people we cover," said Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, during the deliberations over whether to reschedule.

The event took place amid rapidly escalating tensions between the media and a president who has exerted pressure on outlets in a variety of ways — ranging from sanctions against members of the White House press corps to regulatory actions through the Federal Communications Commission to outright lawsuits. The friction stands in sharp contrast to the dinner's stated mission of celebrating the role of a free press in American democracy, and it underscored the unusual dynamic of an event honoring journalism being attended by a president who has actively sought to constrain it.

Trump concluded his remarks with a measured attempt to mend fences. "I have a lot of respect for your profession," he told the assembled journalists. He also promoted his own role in their success, declaring: "When I'm not around, you're all gonna be broke."

And he offered a final assessment of the evening: "It's far worse than I originally thought."