TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - 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.
Trump jokes about possible third term
"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 has repeatedly suggested that he would entertain the idea of a third term, despite the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution barring a president from being elected more than twice.
Trump makes light of shooting incident, praises Secret Service officer
Trump also joked about the incident during April's gala, when a gunman tried to storm a security checkpoint before he was stopped by security personnel before making it into the ballroom where the dinner was being held.
"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."
What else did Trump say during the White House Correspondents' Dinner?
This year's events were the first Trump has attended as president. He did not appear at any correspondents' dinners during his first term.
Trump said he had not attended previous dinners because the press has treated him "unfairly," although he promised to come back next year.
The US president has long had a hostile relationship with many journalists and media outlets.
During his speech, he attacked some journalists, including CNN's Kaitlan Collins — whom Trump repeatedly complained about not smiling enough — and Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal. Both were honored with journalism awards at the gala.
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.
"I have tremendous respect for the people in this room. Sometimes I don't feel you treat me fair. Maybe you do. I don't know," Trump said.
Trump vs the media
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.
Trump has maintained that the measures aim to improve accountability and address media bias.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, he defended federal subpoenas—which were later withdrawn—issued to New York Times journalists over their reporting on the security of the new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
"We're not after journalists. We're after leakers. We're after people that are cowards, people that are unpatriotic, people that are treasonous in many cases. And the way you find them is through the journalists," Trump said.
Read: Trump Administration Drops New York Times Subpoenas
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