Trump returns to correspondents' dinner 3 months after shooting

President Donald Trump returned to the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner Friday night, delivering a rambling, hour-long speech that praised some journalists, took potshots at others, made jokes about public figures' weight and intellect, and quipped about a third presidential term. He assured the crowd of journalists, though, that he'd scrapped the most biting parts of his remarks. 'That was going to be a doozy,' Trump said about the speech he'd been prepared to give in April, before a gunman upended the original dinner and forced its postponement. 'As I said three months ago, the show must go on,' the president said to begin his remarks. Trump's return to the correspondents' dinner — and his promise to come back next year as well — represented a notable moment in his relationship with the news media, which he has attacked, sued and taken administrative action against since he began his second term early last year. Trump's sometimes off-color speech, which lasted just over an hour, was full of vague potshots directed at individuals he doesn't like — from Jane Fonda to Bruce Springsteen to 'Barack Hussein Obama.' The audience, reacting at first with some friendly laughs, slowly quieted to scattered titters as the insults piled up. Among other targets of Trump's humor: Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Trump's own speechwriters, whose jokes he sometimes criticized even as he delivered them. Some of the comments flirted with racism. The president also spent some time expressing pride in the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel. 'It's great to be back at a place that I know very well, because I built it,' Trump said. He also made reference to the journalism awards. 'Do I have a say in those awards?' he asked with a grimace. 'Just like my presidency, the second time is always better,' the president quipped. 'And the third time will be better yet.' He added: 'I'm only kidding.' Then, at the end, he donned a red cap that said 'Trump 2028' and delivered the 'scoop' that he was running again. Trump, though, ended with an attempt to mend fences — to a point. 'I have a lot of respect for your profession,' he told the assembled journalists. He also touted his own success, and declared: 'When I'm not around, you're all gonna be broke.' And he concluded about the evening: 'I didn't know what to expect. It's far worse than I originally thought.'