Wore a "Trump 2028" hat and mocked the media: Trump announced he is running for a fourth term

In brief: US President Donald Trump spoke tonight at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington. Trump attacked the media and told journalists: "When I leave, you will all be bankrupt." In a joking announcement, he wore a "Trump 2028" hat and said he intends to run for a fourth term as US President — a move prohibited by the US Constitution. The event was supposed to take place in April and was halted due to an assassination attempt.

US President Donald Trump delivered a long speech tonight (between Friday and Saturday) at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, which was held this year at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington. This was the first time Trump participated in the event against a backdrop of years of strained relations with the media, and this time too, his arrival was accompanied by increased security — just three months after an assassination attempt disrupted the event in its original format and caused his chaotic evacuation from the scene.

In his speech, the President mocked the American media and claimed that without him, the entire news industry would collapse financially. "You have no idea how lucky you are," Trump told the journalists who filled the hall. "When I leave, you will all be bankrupt. Your business model will end. There will be no one to report on. No one cares about anyone else."

Immediately after, the President claimed that this very evening was intended to show how much he cares about the media. "I want to save your ratings," he said jokingly, put on a red hat with the inscription "Trump 2028," and announced: "I am happy to announce, and this is a kind of scoop, my intention to run for a fourth term as President of the United States. I will do it. I won three times, now I'm going to do it again. It should be easy. I've become really good at running for president."

This statement, made as a joke, contradicts the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that a person cannot be elected to the US presidency more than twice. This is not the first time Trump has joked about the subject of a third and fourth term, and in recent months, "Trump 2028" hats have been sold on his official website for $55 each (before a 10% discount).

Trump opened his speech with praise for law enforcement and Secret Service agents, and thanked administration officials for ensuring the safety of media personnel the moment shots were heard outside the event hall at the Hilton Hotel in Washington in April. Immediately after, the President turned to take a jab at a well-known supporter who was also present in the hall that evening. "After the shots were heard, many people shouted 'Get down! Get down!' — which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking," he joked. "Can you believe it?"

Later in the speech, Trump jokingly recounted how he tried to match elegant shoes with a bulletproof vest, and admitted that he did not want to wear the vest in the first place — because, according to him, it made him look fatter.

The President also did not miss the opportunity to hit out at the media and his political rivals. "This place is truly the greatest concentration ever of people with 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' in one place," he quipped, and moved on to clash with his political rival in the last elections, former US President Joe Biden. Trump referred to the MMA cage fight that took place last month outside the Oval Office and joked: "Before I arrived, if you wanted to see someone lose consciousness on the South Lawn of the White House, all you had to do was ask Joe Biden a question."

Trump did not spare criticism for the Senate Minority Leader, the Jewish Democrat Chuck Schumer, saying about him that he had become a Palestinian. "This was a man who was 100% in favor of Israel, but now he is a big and proud Palestinian," Trump said, and cynically added that he intends to send him a beautiful Palestinian outfit tomorrow so he can welcome Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives next week.

The President also did not skip over musician Bruce Springsteen, who tends to sharply criticize the President, and cynically asked: "What the hell happened to this guy?" adding: "They changed the name of his tour to 'Bored in the USA'."

Later in his speech, Trump moved on to joke about the issue of term limits in Congress. "Regardless of the jokes — I do think we need term limits in Congress," he said, and started a joke about a senator who received a message from his wife telling him she wanted him to make love to her when he got home. The joke, in which the President asked the hall to understand the sexual hint in the story, was met with silence from the audience. "You know? In other words, it's impossible to go up the stairs and make love. Does anyone understand that?" Trump asked, and added: "I thought that was actually a good joke. It was the only joke I thought was good in this whole stupid speech they wrote for me. And even that didn't really go over with a big laugh."