The White House Correspondents’ Association has agreed to host another dinner in Washington, D.C. after its annual event was cut short following a shooting.
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang said in a letter to the Associated Press and other members of the press published on Tuesday, June 2.
According to Jiang, 42, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner will now be held on Friday, July 24, with “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.”
On April 25, a Secret Service officer was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, were some of the many guests who were evacuated for security reasons. While all guests ended up being safe, many were startled by the violence on the premises of the building.
“Our thoughts remain with the officer who was injured and with everyone who experienced that evening,” Jiang said. “We are indebted to the U.S. Secret Service, law enforcement and the hotel staff whose swift response protected our guests and our staff.”
After learning the dinner was going to be rescheduled for next month, Donald, 79, spoke out on his Truth Social and expressed support for the event.
“In a sign of Strength and Fortitude, it was just announced that The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which violently ended rather abruptly on April 25th, will be rescheduled to July 24th. This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling,” he wrote on Tuesday. “I was asked to be there, and speak, by Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association, and have accepted. I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out. In any event, it will be a ‘HOT’ ticket! Interestingly, the location will be The Waldorf Astoria, on Pennsylvania Avenue, a Building and Ballroom that I built.”
The alleged shooter, Cole Tomas Allen, is facing multiple charges, including attempting to assassinate the president and assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court on June 29.
