Body language at the White House Correspondents Dinner: Trump had fun, his audience endured

Analysis by WorldTribune Staff, July 26, 2026 Non-AI Real World News

You can’t humor the humorless.

Just by showing up for the first time as president at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night at DC’s Waldorf Astoria, President Donald Trump put a damper on what was once the hottest social event of the year in the nation’s capital.

The President teases ‘TDS’ sufferers in the audience. / Video Image

After all the awards, the largely anti-Trump Washington press elite sat with grim expressions as Trump dominated the evening with jokes that fell flat only to resonate later on social media.

Despite the political tension in the air, Trump stood to congratulate each of the honored journalists. Later in his speech, he told the subdued audience he had “tremendous respect” for journalists and their profession while noting that the room featured “the largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome people ever put together at one time.”

The dinner was rescheduled from April after a gunman and would-be assassin breached security outside the original venue.

TDS sufferers should not have been surprise when Trump announced that he would be running again in 2028: “But just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better, and the third time will be better yet,” he said, donning a red “Trump 2028” cap.

Trump warned the gathering of journalists about what awaits them when he departs: “When I’m not around, you’re all going to be broke.”

The president also informed dinner guests that their beef tenderloin was “very special” because “Bobby Kennedy personally ran over the cow with his car.”

Body language analyst Dr. Lillian Glass delivered her assessment of the evening in a post to Facebook:

PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS RELAXED, WARM, CORDIAL… AND HILARIOUS at WH CORRESPONDENTS DINNER. THE PRESS HARDLY LAUGHED.

Whether you love President Trump, dislike him, or fall somewhere in between politically, one thing stood out to me immediately. This was one of the most relaxed, warm, cordial, and genuinely humorous speeches I have seen him deliver in a very long time.

From a body language standpoint, he appeared comfortable in his own skin. His smile was genuine. His timing was excellent. His facial expressions matched his words. His delivery was conversational rather than combative.

Early in the evening, he thanked the United States Secret Service for protecting him during the shooting that disrupted the original White House Correspondents’ Dinner. His demeanor became noticeably more emotional and sincere, and the audience responded with a standing ovation. It was one of the most heartfelt moments of the evening. He also spoke about the safety of the ballroom being built and how the press would be using it in the future.

He spoke of the success of the fights and let everyone know that the Indy 500 races were coming to the White House.

Then he shifted into humor. He poked fun at himself. He teased politicians and really let some of them have it with some serious zingers at Shifty Schiff, Pritzker, Pohanatas, Elizabeth Warren and AOC, and Ilhan Omar, whom he shared referred to WW2 as WW11. He even had some real zingers for Gaven Newscum, as he called him, who admitted Kamala Harris was smarter than him and how he said he was going to fight fire with fire when he runs for President. Trump said, ” Well, he certainly couldn’t fight fire with water referring to the California fires. He also joked how once staunch Israeli supporter Chuck Schumer now became a Palestinian who embraces Sharia law.

He joked about journalists and said he was being fake when he congratulated Caitlin Collins. Then he cleverly compared her to Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender person who was on the beer cans, which lost the beer company billions of dollars. The joke was hilarious because Caitlin does indeed look like Dylan.

Some of his jokes actually brought tears to my eyes because I found them that funny. His delivery was better than any stand-up comedian.

Bonus: Transcending the political tension: The mentalist Oz Pearlman stunned all.

250 Years of Freedom Is At Risk

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