NPR News: 07-24-2026 7PM EDT

The White House Correspondents Dinner is happening again tonight, months after a gunman attacked the original event in late April. President Trump is expected to attend. The dinner’s return comes alongside a series of other major developments: the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has been removed from office, a massive media merger is on hold, and LeBron James is heading to Philadelphia.

A Strained Return for the Correspondents Dinner

The annual White House Correspondents Dinner is back after a gunman attacked the original event in late April, and President Trump is expected to attend. The dinner is a traditional Washington gathering where the president and journalists trade barbs, but the relationship between Trump and the press has changed markedly since his first term. NPR’s Tamar Keith noted that in the first term, Trump complained about coverage he did not like but took little action. In the second term, he has sued news organizations including ABC, CBS, the New York Times, the BBC, and the Wall Street Journal. He removed the Associated Press from the pool of reporters who get close access to him over an editorial decision. He has called female reporters “dumb” and “piggy” and suggested that CNN’s Kaitlan Collins — the transcript cuts off here, but the pattern is clear. He also oversaw the defunding of NPR and PBS.