Trump bombs in WHCD return and then unleashes on CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and media in jaw-dropping hour-long rant

President Donald Trump used a rambling, roughly hour-long speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Friday to savage members of the media and make a series of crude, often poorly received jokes about critics and Democrats.At one point, the president openly complained about the “frickin’ stupid speech that they wrote” for him to offer the crowd, after a bizarre sex joke about stairs didn’t earn many laughs. Despite ending his routine by claiming he was the “most open and transparent” president in history who had “tremendous respect” for journalists, the Republican mostly railed against the Washington press corps, who had assembled for the dinner after the original 2026 event was disrupted by a gunman in April. The president kicked things off by jokingly complaining about a group of Wall Street Journal reporters who won awards at the dinner for their coverage of the Trump-Epstein saga, reporting that inspired Trump to launch an unsuccessful $10 billion defamation suit last year.“All these awards,” Trump said. “Do I have a say?”President Trump’s speech at the Correspondents’ Dinner appeared to mostly fall flat, as the crowd was silent through long stretches when the Republican attacked his critics and rivals (AP)The president reserved the worst of his ire for CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, though, repeating his frequent demand that she “smile” more when she covers him. The comments were the latest in President Trump’s long history of singling out female journalists, whom he has previously compared to pigs and called stupid in remarks critics accuse of being highly sexist.President Trump attacked other journalists over the course of the speech, too, branding CNN’s Jake Tapper “Fake Tapper,” while claiming the Journal’s Josh Dawsey, one of the night’s award winners, was “unhireable.” The Republican also made a joke comparing his conservative allies’ remaking of CBS News to the U.S. war against Iran.“Under my administration, a once feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled,” Trump said. “Their former leaders have been removed, and they're now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions, but I, for one, wish Bari Weiss all the best at CBS News.”(Weiss, as The Independent previously reported, has faced repeated criticism and departures from inside her newsroom. She identifies as lesbian and is married to reporter Nellie Bowles.)Aside from the attacks on the media, the president used a lengthy section of his speech to tout his controversial $600 million White House ballroom project, complaining that “very unpatriotic” and “not good” people were suing to block it because of “Trump derangement syndrome,” as the audience mostly looked on in silence.This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.