Trump speaks at delayed White House Correspondents' Dinner

US President Donald Trump addressed hundreds of journalists at a scaled-down and rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday night. The gala was held amid heightened security measures, three months after the original event was cut short by an alleged attempt to assassinate Trump. Trump delivered the speech at Washington's Waldorf Astoria, a smaller venue that held only about 700 people, instead of its usual venue, the Washington Hilton. 'Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It's always better,' Trump said. 'And the third time will be better yet.' 'I'm only kidding,' he added. Trump also joked about the incident during April's gala. 'After hearing the gunshots, many people yelled, Get down! Get down!, which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking. Do you believe it? Get down!' Trump said. The president also praised Victor Gonzalez, the Secret Service officer who was shot during the April confrontation with the suspect. 'What he did was amazing,' Trump said. 'We salute you and we thank you with all of our hearts.' This year's events were the first Trump has attended as president. He did not appear at any correspondents' dinners during his first term. During his speech, he attacked some journalists, including CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal. Despite those barbs, Trump ended his speech, which lasted over an hour, by saying that he has 'tremendous respect' for the reporters attending the dinner. The Trump administration has filed lawsuits against multiple media outlets, barred the Associated Press from the White House press pool and limited journalists' access to the Pentagon, among other measures. Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, he defended federal subpoenas issued to New York Times journalists. 'We're not after journalists. We're after leakers,' Trump said.