Beltway reporters, pundits, and government officials at the Waldorf Astoria hotel noticed heightened security and a smaller crowd in the room at Friday night’s WHCA Dinner. While about 2,600 people attended the dinner in April, just about 700 were in attendance at Friday evening’s do-over.
As a result of the gunman breaching the security checkpoint outside the April 25 WHCA dinner, the July event was moved from the Washington Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria hotel, with surrounding streets shut down, screenings made by airport-style security, and entrances to the dinner limited.Attendees noticed the tighter security, including the restrictions prohibiting bringing drinks from the outside bar into the ballroom, and the more serious tone of the evening from the start.Given the Trump administration’s oftentimes volatile relationship with the legacy media, this WHCA dinner was much anticipated, especially given that it was President Donald Trump‘s first time attending the event as a sitting president. As the person famed with coining the term “fake news,” Trump has filed several lawsuits against reporters and media organizations. The Friday event also came the same week as Trump’s Department of Justice withdrew subpoenas for information from several New York Times reporters related to their reports on security concerns about the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.One of the starkest moments of the event was when the WHCA gave reporters from the Wall Street Journal the “Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability” for their reporting on Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, just feet in front of Trump. Trump stood up and shook the hands of each of the reporters who worked on the coverage, including those whom he filed a lawsuit against over their report on a birthday letter he allegedly sent Epstein, a letter which he denies writing.In the dramatic moment, Trump threw up his hands and smiled as he greeted and shook each of the reporters’ hands.President Donald Trump throws up his hands as he greets Wall Street Journal reporters awarded the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability at the WHCA dinner for their reporting on Trump’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Photo by James Downs.
