U.S. President Donald Trump spoke for the first time during his current presidential term at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where a significant portion of his speech was devoted to criticizing journalists and political opponents. CNN reports this, writes UNN.
Details
According to the television channel, the speech lasted more than an hour. Instead of focusing on the upcoming midterm elections or supporting Republican Party candidates, Trump repeated familiar jokes, offensive remarks, and criticism of the media.
The president mocked journalists and Democrats
After the introductory part, in which Trump mentioned law enforcement officers, he moved on to attacks on journalists and leaders of the Democratic Party. Among those he mentioned by name were CNN journalists Kaitlan Collins, Anderson Cooper, and Jake Tapper, as well as Wall Street Journal journalist Josh Dawsey.
According to CNN, the audience's reaction to part of the speech was restrained. After one of them, Trump himself noted that he considered it the best in his speech.
CNN came to the defense of its journalists
After the speech, a CNN spokesperson defended Kaitlan Collins, whom the president once again criticized, stating that she is an "exceptional journalist who is trusted" and who was honored with a professional award that evening.
As CNN notes, some guests chatted among themselves, used phones, or left the hall during the speech, and after the speech ended, numerous critical reviews of the president appeared in the media and social networks.