Donald Trump asks CNN's Kaitlan Collins "do you ever smile?" at White House correspondents' dinner

President Donald Trump attended the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington on July 25, 2026, three months after a gunman’s attack halted the original event. Speaking to an audience of about 700 at the Waldorf Astoria, he delivered an hour-long speech that included critical remarks about journalists and political opponents. During the evening, CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins received an award for her coverage of Trump’s 2025 Oval Office meeting with Ukraine’s leader. Trump questioned why she won, called her reporting inaccurate, and told her she should smile more often. CNN’s chairman later defended the network’s journalists. The dinner marked the first time Trump attended the event as president.