US President Donald Trump addressed a packed room of journalists on Friday night at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner, saying “the show must go on” after a shooting forced the original event to be cancelled in April.“Let’s try this again,” WHCA President Weijia Jiang of CBS News told guests as she opened the event. Referring to the earlier incident, she said the press community had returned with a message: “We are back. We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”The dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in a smaller ballroom, with attendance limited to about 700 guests. Security was tightened, with attendees passing through ID checks, detection dogs, armed officers and additional screening.Trump drops ‘nasty’ remarks against mediaTrump had earlier hinted that he might deliver a strongly worded speech targeting the media, saying he was unsure whether he would repeat the “rather nasty statements” he had planned before the April event was disrupted.However, during Friday’s speech, he suggested he had changed his approach.“This is really the largest group of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ people put together at one time,” Trump said, referring to his critics in the room.The president entered to polite applause and later sat through more than an hour of award presentations, including honours for journalists whose work had been critical of his administration.Awards honour security officer and hotel staffThe rescheduled dinner included two additional awards linked to the April shooting.One honour went to Secret Service agent Victor Gonzales, who was working at a security checkpoint when the gunman attacked and was struck in his protective vest.“Officer Gonzales ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely,” Jiang said, praising his courage and dedication.Another award recognised the staff of the Washington Hilton, where the original dinner was held.Event returns amid debate over media access The WHCA worked to revive the dinner, saying it did not want the violent disruption — including images of journalists taking cover under tables — to define the event.Jiang described the dinner as a celebration of “a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy”.However, critics argued that the gathering risks blurring the line between journalists and the politicians they cover.Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, said such events could weaken public trust by making journalists appear too close to their sources.Dinner takes place amid Trump-media tensionsThe event comes during a period of growing tension between Trump and news organisations.Critics have accused the administration of pressuring media outlets through lawsuits, regulatory actions and measures targeting members of the White House press corps.The latest dispute involved efforts to obtain testimony from three New York Times reporters over stories about a Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. The government later withdrew subpoenas after a federal judge criticised its legal work.Press freedom groups and former journalists had urged the WHCA to use the dinner as a platform to challenge what they described as attacks on the First Amendment.Despite the controversy, organisers said the return of the dinner was meant to reaffirm the importance of journalism and the role of a free press in American democracy.