Trump heads back to correspondents’ dinner months after gunfire forced evacuation

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump will return to the stage Friday to deliver remarks at a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, just months after gunfire abruptly ended the organization’s annual banquet. "In April, President Trump promised to finish the job and plan another WHCA Dinner, and on Friday, he will deliver on that promise. We look forward to a great and fun evening celebrating 250 years of American greatness and a free press," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. Trump attended the original dinner in April during the nation’s 250th-anniversary year. He skipped the event throughout his first term amid repeated clashes with the press. This month's dinner is expected to be a night of unity with a more intimate guest list after the April dinner devolved into chaos. "This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence. As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above," Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), said when the new date was announced. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EVENT BEING RESCHEDULED AFTER SHOOTING The annual dinner has historically been held at the Washington Hilton . Chaos, however, broke out at this year’s banquet when an armed suspect, Cole Allen, stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president. The incident prompted Secret Service agents to rush the president and first lady from the room as guests scrambled for cover, abruptly ending the dinner. The WHCA will honor U.S. Secret Service Officer Victor Gonzales during Friday's dinner in recognition of his actions in helping stop an armed suspect from entering the ballroom, WHCA announced in a press release Tuesday. HOW DID SUSPECTED GUNMAN GET WEAPONS INTO CO…