Trump's 2028 Bid
Trump Teases 2028 Run at Rescheduled WHCD, Joking About Fourth Term and Targeting Foes
Anonymous
Key Points
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Trump’s remarks at the rescheduled WHCA dinner targeted additional public figures beyond Nicki Minaj, including Jane Fonda, Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama, Ilhan Omar, Gavin Newsom, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
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The audience at the event included reporters whom Trump had denounced and even barred from attending his events, underscoring the ongoing friction between him and the press.
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During the remarks, Trump invoked 'As I said three months ago, the show must go on' and wore a red 'Trump 2028' cap as he teased a potential fourth term, signaling a visible push to reframe his post-2024 strategy.
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A joke about Nicki Minaj leaned on her status as a celebrity ally and included a gunshot-related punchline describing how she allegedly started twerking after the incident.
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The rescheduled WHCA Dinner took place at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., marking a 2026 edition of the event after the security scare earlier in the year.
President Donald Trump wore a red 'Trump 2028' hat and joked about running for a fourth term at the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on July 24, 2026, telling the crowd, 'I won three times, now I'm going to do it again,' according to AOL News. The event took place at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., three months after a gunman disrupted the original April dinner and wounded a Secret Service officer.
Trump's hour-long speech drew sharp reactions for a joke about rapper Nicki Minaj twerking in response to gunshots at the April incident, as well as personal jabs at journalists, politicians, and celebrities, according to Newsposl. The '2028' messaging immediately raised questions online about the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two elected terms.
Security Scare in April Forced the Dinner's Delay
The original WHCA dinner on April 25 ended abruptly when Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, breached security at the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives. Allen fired multiple rounds, striking a Secret Service officer in his bulletproof vest. Trump, Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance were evacuated immediately.
Allen now faces four federal criminal counts, including assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty in May. Organizers moved the rescheduled dinner to the Waldorf Astoria, cutting the guest list to roughly 700 people. National Guard troops patrolled outside the venue.
Trump's 2028 Hat Reignites Constitutional Term-Limit Debate
Trump put on a red 'Trump 2028' cap mid-speech and declared he would run again, framing a potential future victory as his 'fourth' term. The 22nd Amendment bars any person from being elected president more than twice. Trump has long argued that his 2020 loss was illegitimate, which forms the basis of his 'three wins' claim, according to Seacoast Online.
AOL News reported the joke 'sparked concern online,' with critics calling it an authoritarian trial balloon rather than harmless humor. Trump also told reporters in the room, 'When I'm not around, you're all going to be broke,' tying his political future directly to media ratings and revenue.
Nicki Minaj Joke Draws Racism Accusations From Critics
Trump's sharpest controversy of the night came from a joke targeting rapper Nicki Minaj, a self-described Trump ally. He said that after gunshots rang out in April, 'many people yelled, Get down! Which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking.' Critics immediately labeled the remark racist and misogynistic, according to All Hip Hop.
Minaj was not in attendance at the dinner. She had previously called Trump her 'favorite president' and dubbed herself 'WhiteHouseBarbie.' Still, Newsposl noted the joke drew 'mixed reactions,' with Trump supporters framing it as harmless comedy and opponents calling it a trivialization of political violence that injured a federal officer.
520 Journalists Protested the Dinner Before It Even Began
Before Trump took the podium, 520 journalists and eight press-freedom groups signed an open letter calling the dinner 'hypocritical.' They argued that celebrating the First Amendment alongside a president who routinely attacks the press and threatens to revoke broadcast licenses contradicted the event's core purpose. The letter was backed by groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Reporters whom Trump had previously barred from his events still sat in the audience, underscoring the uneasy dynamic between the president and the press. Trump also used the speech to target specific journalists by name, calling CNN's Kaitlan Collins a 'young, attractive woman' who 'never smiles,' and labeling Senator Adam Schiff 'Watermelon head,' according to Albeu.
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