Fox News topped the July ratings, but among the major cable news networks, MS NOW and CNN made gains during the month versus 2025.
In primetime, Fox News averaged 2.33 million viewers, down 3% from the same month in 2025. MS NOW averaged 1.02 million, up 18%, while CNN posted 658,000, up 32%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 204,000, down 21%, while CNN posted 102,000, up 11%, and MS NOW averaged 89,000, up 10%.
In total day, Fox News averaged 1.5 million, down 2%, compared to 636,000 for MS NOW, up 20%, and 465,000 for CNN, up 26%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 137,000, down 26%, while CNN posted 62,000, flat from a year earlier, and MS NOW was at 57,000, up 10%.
Fox News’ The Five was the most watched show, averaging 3.31 million, followed by Jesse Watters Primetime with 2.98 million, Gutfeld! with 2.63 million, Hannity with 2.55 million and Special Report with Bret Baier with 2.52 million. In the 25-54 demo, the top shows were The Five with 300,000, followed by Jesse Watters Primetime with 267,000, Gutfeld! with 249,000, Hannity with 238,000 and Special Report with 224,000.
MS NOW’s top show was The Rachel Maddow Show, averaging 2 million viewers, and CNN’s most watched program was Anderson Cooper 360, posting 739,000.
Among other news networks, NewsNation averaged 141,000 in primetime and 15,000 in the 25-54 demo. The network said that their primetime total viewers rose by 32% versus last year and 25% in the demo. Newsmax averaged 202,000 in primetime and 9,000 in the demo.
Newsmax’s top show was Rob Schmitt Tonight, averaging 306,000, and the top show on NewsNation was Cuomo, averaging 230,000.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins gave her take on Donald Trump‘s very personal insults of her at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner, telling The Daily Showhost Jon Stewart that the key in such situations is to focus on the work at hand.
In his one hour remarks at the dinner on Friday, Trump went after Collins and other journalists, to the point that CNN released a statement when he was still on stage defending their reporters. Collins had received an award from the WHCA earlier in the evening.
“It’s really not about me, and I don’t want it to be about my reaction,” Collins told Stewart. “And so I think if you let it become about that, then it becomes a back and forth between the two of us. … And so I just think in those moments it’s important to put the reminder back on the work, in the question, and on the non-answers that we get.”
Collins did note the lack of reaction to many of Trump’s remarks as he spoke at the dinner, his first time appearing before the group as president. Among other things, Trump went on about how Collins doesn’t smile, something he has done before.
Stewart asked Collins about whether the evening “felt surreal.”
“Was he bombing as hard as it appeared on the TV?” he asked.
Collins replied, “You know, I’ve covered Trump for 10 years, and so I’ve listened to pretty much all of his speeches for 10 years, with very little exception. And so I actually think its helpful for other people to be able to listen to them in their entirety, when people don’t that much these days. In the room, I think I was not surprised when he insulted me. That happens pretty regularly inside the Oval Office. This is just a bigger venue where it was happening. What was most surprising to me was the room was filled with a lot of his staffers, his cabinet, his allies, Republicans in Congress. It was so quiet in the room during the president’s remarks.”
Collins, who is CNN’s chief White House correspondent, also talked about the differences in the press corps since Trump’s first term. The White House this term has made a point of including more friendlier outlets in the pool. While noting that reporters should be able to ask whatever they want, Collins noted that the friendlier questions may come at the cost of pressing Trump on follow ups.
“I’ve never gotten in a back and forth with him,” she said. “I’ve always brought it back to the question. I think he does surround himself with people who praise him or laugh at his jokes, and when he’s confronted with someone who is asking a challenging question or a critical question of his policy or strategy in the Iran war, I think he doesn’t like it and lashes out over it. I mean, there have been moments where I’ve gone into the Oval Office … on behalf of the TV pool and I haven’t even asked a question yet, and he starts criticizing me. So it’s not even always just about the questions. Sometimes it’s my presence in the room.”
A group of former FCC chairs and top agency officials of both parties are calling on current chairman Brendan Carr to end the early review of broadcast licenses for ABC stations, characterizing it as “an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process.”
In a filing with the FCC on Tuesday, the officials wrote, “The Commission initiated the early renewal process of all eight ABC-owned-and-operated stations one day after the President and First Lady criticized ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel for a joke he made about them.”
They added: “Public reporting and the notice establishing the procedures for this proceeding also suggest that the Chairman has prejudged the outcome of this proceeding and that the Commission may assert the power to terminate the stations’ licenses early. All this betrays that this proceeding is pretext for the Chairman’s continued campaign of suppressing disfavored speech.”
Among those signing on to the filing were Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick, chairmen of the FCC under Ronald Reagan; Alfred Sikes, chairman under President George W. Bush; and Thomas Wheeler, chairman under Barack Obama.
The FCC under Carr ordered ABC to file renewal applications for its eight owned stations at the end of May, even though the first of the licenses wasn’t set to expire until 2028. Carr has said that the action was as part of an ongoing investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
ABC filed for renewal, but characterized the action as “an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices which sends a clear warning to every broadcaster in America.”
As part of the process, the FCC opened up a public comment proceeding.
In their filing, the former FCC officials noted that two groups, the Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center, had called for the agency to deny the stations’ renewal applications.
The FCC officials said that the groups “ask the Commission to interfere with the stations’ First Amendment-protected editorial discretion: word choices, fact-checks, time covering certain topics, personnel, and the licensees’ perceived viewpoints. These are not legitimate subjects of FCC regulation. Indeed, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government may not ‘un-bias’ what it thinks is biased.”
So far, more than 141,000 comments have been received in the station renewal proceeding. The deadline for ABC to reply to the responses is Wednesday.
An FCC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its petition to deny the licenses, the Center for American Rights cited broadcasters’ public interest obligations. Among other things, they argued that ABC does not provide “a balanced presentation of information on issues of public importance.”
The group wrote: “It is likely lots of ink will be spilled in this proceeding focused on the First Amendment rights of Disney. ABC and its allies will ‘attempt to drape the mantle of First Amendment protection solely around those in the broadcast industry. This approach ignores the rest of the citizens of this country.’ … ABC’s rights are important, but they are not preeminent. It is the right of viewers of ABC stations which must feature first and foremost in this Commission’s considerations.”
In the filing, the former FCC officials called the agency’s early renewal action “virtually unprecedented.” The FCC also launched an investigation and separate proceeding into ABC’s The View and whether it qualifies as a bona fide news program and therefore is exempt from equal-time rules. The network has pushed back on that action as well, also characterizing it as a retaliatory effort to chill free speech.
The former FCC officials were represented in the filing by the Protect Democracy Project, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Gigi Sohn of G Squared Strategies and Berin Szóka of Tech Freedom. They also represented a group of former FCC officials to petition the agency to rescind its news distortion policy, arguing that Carr has used it to launch investigations into news coverage that is protected by the First Amendment.
Other former FCC officials signing on to the filing include Kathryn C. Brown, chief of staff to FCC Chairman William Kennard from 1998-2001; Rachelle B. Chong, a Republican commissioner who served from 1994-97; Jerald Fritz, legal adviser and chief of staff to Fowler from 1981-87; Rosemary Harold, enforcement bureau chief from 2017-22; William T. Lake, media bureau chief from 2009-17; Ruth Milkman, chief of staff to Wheeler from 2013-17; Peter Pitsch, chief of staff to Patrick from 1987-89; Gloria Tristani, Democratic commissioner from 1997-2001; and Christopher J. Wright, general counsel from 1997-2001.
A federal judge will allow Donald Trump to again amend his defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, as the publication has moved to dismiss the litigation.
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday gave Trump until August 27 to file the new complaint.
Trump sued the Times in September, taking particular issue with the premise that Trump’s celebrity fame was due to Mark Burnett and NBC’s The Apprentice. It cited an article from Susanne Craig and Ross Buettner, also named as defendants, and their book Lucky Loser. Their article was headlined, “The Star-Making Machine That Created ‘Donald Trump.’” Penguin Random House also is a defendant in the case, as is Peter Baker, who wrote a piece headlined, “For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment.”
.Merryday tossed out Trump’s original lawsuit, but allowed the president to refile. He filed an amended complaint in October, pointing out individual passages in the book and Times articles. Among those cited: “Mark Burnett’s The Apprentice fortified Trump’s fact-free bubble, while also making it national and bankable in ways that Trump never did on his own.”
The Times and other defendants moved to dismiss the new complaint, arguing that the case was filed in an improper venue, Florida, rather than New York, and that Trump failed to “plausibly allege actual malice.” It also noted that “many of the challenged statements express the authors’ subjective interpretations of undisputed facts, which are not capable of being proven false.”
A hearing on the motion to dismiss was held last week, and the judge noted that Trump’s team asked for time to “cure any . . . deficiencies” by showing “why the Challenged Statements are not substantially true, along with additional facts and innuendo by Defendants to show why the Challenged Statements are defamatory, and additional evidence of actual malice for each Defendant.”
On Truth Social on Monday, Trump wrote that the Times “just failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped. As we requested, the Highly Respected Judge has called for an updated complaint, which will lay out, in extreme detail, all the ways in which The Times has repeatedly and consistently acted, with actual malice in defaming me, my family, our Great MAGA Movement, and America, itself. We will continue to hold The Times and their ‘comrades’ in the Mainstream Media accountable for publishing, promoting, and dealing in Fake News.”
Charlie Stadtlander, spokesperson for The Times, said in a statement that the judge’s decision “makes no statement in support of the frivolous accusations in Mr. Trump’s earlier complaint. To the contrary, the judge simply gives him yet another chance to draft a complaint that demonstrates any legal merit. The president has had this chance twice previously and failed each time. The Times stands by our journalism, and the president’s legal pleadings will not change that or deter further reporting. We will continue to defend our reporters’ constitutionally protected rights — and the public’s right to know — and are confident in the laws that underpin them.”
A federal magistrate judge ruled that Donald Trump‘s trust will be compelled to provide financial documents from his businesses to the BBC, as the network defends itself from the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett granted part ofthe BBC’s motion to compel the production of documents from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, but limited the scope of the network’s subpoena to records dating back to Jan. 1, 2023.
“Considering the Trust’s relationship to Plaintiff’s alleged damages, the information the Trust possesses is relevant and material to any damages analysis Defendant may elect to conduct,” the judge wrote. “Defendant’s damage analysis is especially important to Defendant where Plaintiff now alleges $10 billion in damages.”
The judge had already indicated her ruling at a hearing last week. Per Politico, the judge also limited the scope of information that could be sought by the BBC into January 6th. “All of the impressions that were received by President Trump’s statements on January 6 are at issue. The full relitigation of January 6 is not at issue,” the judge said, per the outlet.
In her written ruling, the judge rejected the trust’s claims that the subpoena for documents from nearly 400 different entities is outside the scope of discovery, citing Trump’s claims that his “brand, properties and businesses” were harmed.
In the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?, a clip is shown from his January 6 speech, in which he says, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” In fact, the remark was an edit of different portions of the speech. The documentary aired on Oct. 28, 2024.
In the fallout from the focus on the edited speech, BBC director general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, who led the news division, stepped down.
Last month, after the president’s legal threat, the BBC apologized to Trump, calling it an “error of judgement.” But the BBC did not offer to pay Trump any damages.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said, “The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”
Trump is seeking $5 billion in defamation damages and another $5 billion over violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The judge wrote that “documentation from the date of January 1, 2023, to the present should allow Defendant to determine Plaintiff’s financial position immediately before and after the documentary’s publication.”
A spokesperson for the BBC did not immediately return a request for comment.
Inside the Waldorf Astoria on Friday evening, President Donald Trump took to the stage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and tried out some Don Rickles-like shtick, interspersed it with some of his greatest rally hits and fixated on some of his obsessions, including his plans for a White House ballroom.
What stood out during his one-hour-and-two minute remarks, though, was the silence in the crowd: many jokes didn’t land, he meandered into asides and veered into insider-ish attacks that likely went well over the heads of the TV audience. Much of what he said wasn’t humor, in contrast to the tightly scripted routines of his predecessors, but akin to a fever dream from someone who has spent a bit too much time watching right-wing TV.
At about 45 minutes in, guests were looking at their phones and fidgeting in their seats. I looked around and locked eyes with a man who gave a brief yawn. It was Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
The length of Trump’s remarks were a reminder of one of Johnny Carson’s quips from the Oscars decades ago: “Welcome to two hours of sparkling entertainment spread over a four-hour show.” It should be noted that Trump’s weaving from topic to topic included a riff on the Academy Awards and how they have gotten too anti-Trump, but even that didn’t get much of a response.
The president did deliver some funny lines, including quips about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloin, very special beef. And I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow in his car.”
Trump also revealed that he still counts how many front-page stories he gets in the New York Times, and gave some practical guidance for reporters who have his phone number and want to call him directly, and why he answers some of them. “I always find that when you don’t speak to the press, you always get a bad story. When you do speak to the press, you have a shot at a good story.”
Yet in a room full of journalists, Trump’s attacks on figures like CNN’s Kaitlan Collins were met with stone-faces from those who were well aware their reactions could be caught on C-SPAN cameras. His personal insults, ranging from Adam Schiff having a pencil neck to Chris Christie’s weight to Bruce Springsteen’s aged face, also were repeats of various Truth Social posts.
The event, in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, was in a much smaller venue than the Washington Hilton, making it more intimate and putting many attendees face-to-face with Trump’s top advisers and members of his cabinet including Stephen Miller, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. With a much smaller crowd, and no pre-event receptions, the enhanced security generally moved briskly.
There were standout moments during other parts of the evening. This was the rescheduled dinner after April’s event was stopped by an apparent assassination attempt on the president, as a gunman breached security and the sounds of gunfire sent the thousands of attendees at the Washington Hilton to the floor. The WHCA paid tribute to the Secret Service officer, Victor Gonzales, who helped stop the gunman, as well as the Washington Hilton staff.
WHCA president Weijia Jiang, White House correspondent for CBS News, gave a very personal and heartfelt speech about her journey, having been born in China, raised in Appalachian coal country and, inspired by Connie Chung, landing in the “Oval Office to ask questions of the president of the United States.”
L-R: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump and Weijia Jiang
Eric Lee/Getty Images
There was pressure on the WHCA to directly confront Trump for his attacks on the press. Jiang talked about the purpose of the First Amendment and the intent of the founders, while commenting more generally on the state of the situation rather than call out specific episodes. She said, “Criticism of the media can be unfair. It can also be legitimate. We get a lot right, but sometimes we get things wrong. We mistake proximity to power for understanding it, and at times we get trapped in our own bubbles. There is a difference, though, an existential difference, between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it.”
When it came to the defense of the press at a difficult moment, the approach of the WHCA appeared to be that of what is taught in J-school: Show, don’t tell. A video segment featured an AI-generated James Madison explaining the importance of the First Amendment, with clips of Trump’s predecessors, including Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, acknowledging the essential role of the press corps. Comments from Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson reinforced how the adversarial nature of the relationship is nothing new.
The most direct face-to-face with Trump’s press attacks came when Wolf Blitzer presented an award to Wall Street Journal for its reporting on an alleged bawdy letter that Trump wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. As Blitzer noted that Trump sued the Journal for $20 billion, the president gave a smirk, to some laughter, then he shook hands with the reporters who received the prize. After it was over, he threw his hands up in the air, as if to say, whatever.
Toward the end of his winding remarks, Trump did say that he respected those in the room, but also that he planned to be back at the event next year.
Pres. Trump reacts to award to Wall Street Journal receiving @whca Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for investigative reporting detailing a birthday card and drawing sent to Jeffrey Epstein pic.twitter.com/AyFZjjx1Vj
What seemed to really wow the room came at the end, when mentalist Oz Pearlman performed a series of feats, made all the more notable when they involved UN Ambassador Mike Waltz and Blanche. The latter figure, awaiting Senate confirmation to take the DOJ post permanently, gamely played along as Pearlman asked him to lie about how much money he had in his wallet. Blanche said $130; Pearlman wrote down the correct figure, $85.
Later, Pearlman had Blanche sign one of his $20 bills.
“Hold it up and let everyone see the federal offense you have just committed,” Pearlman quipped. “He just clearly lost the Senate confirmation hearings on camera.” The interplay made sense a little later when Pearlman performed another feat, writing a figure on a whiteboard that matched the serial number to Blanche’s bill.
The moment was a bit incongruous to what is going on in D.C. and with Blanche himself, what with the DOJ recently issuing subpoenas to reporters from The New York Times, and then withdrawing them in the face of a judge’s criticisms. But for the WHCA dinner, a tradition that has traditionally mixed the serious with showbiz, Pearlman’s routine at least proved to be a bit of sparkling entertainment.
At the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Friday, Donald Trump delivered an hour-long speech blending shopworn rally material with a string of leaden one-liners.
He was making his first appearance as president at the dinner, which had to be rescheduled last April after a shooter attempted to rush the ballroom and was subdued by the Secret Service. While presidents for decades have long used the event’s keynote slot to zing reporters to varying degrees, Trump lapsed into rally mode, only deviating for some personal broadsides at members of the press, marbled with references to their appearance.
After one clanger about an elderly U.S. senator’s sex life drew crickets, Trump asked, “Does anybody get that? I thought that was actually great. That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole frickin’ stupid speech. It was the only good one, and that went down with not exactly great laughter.”
Over the rest of the meandering speech (watch the whole thing below), Trump seemed to recognize that many of his would-be jokes were not landing. There were few laughs or reactions at all beyond squirming or fidgeting as he veered in stream-of-consciousness fashion from topic to topic.
“Tonight’s event is even crazier than the last time,” Trump said. “It’s so successful that I’ve been informed by CBS News’ David Ellison” (Ellison is CEO of CBS parent Paramount) that “next year, they’re going to call it the Trump White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” Changing the name, he added, “is the only way you’re going to get me back here.”
The hour-long speech tested the patience of all but the fiercest Trump loyalists in attendance. The audience only sporadically reacted, with long periods of near-silence prevailing in the ballroom. Once Trump’s remarks concluded and mentalist Oz Pearlman took the stage, a number of guests streamed toward the exits.
Compared with April’s event at the Hilton, the ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria is much smaller. Trump cabinet members mingled with reporters in an aisle near one of Paramount’s tables. Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim was at the dinner just a couple of hours after the decision to push back the company’s planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery amid an antitrust challenge. At a Paramount table with Delrahim were Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, presidential advisor Stephen Miller and his wife Katie Miller. Also at the event: Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Himes, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was at the center of one of Pearlman’s mental feats.
Prior to Trump’s remarks, there were some awkward moments onstage as annual awards were given out, including to some journalists who investigated the president. As Wall Street Journal reporters accepted an honor for their Jeffrey Epstein story, Trump shook their hands and then threw his hands up in the air and smiled a bit. Wolf Blitzer, who was presenting the award, noted that he sued the WSJ over the story for $20 billion.
Once at the lectern, Trump went after Josh Dawsey, one of the WSJ winners, and CNN host Kaitlan Collins with highly personal digs, but the room fell nearly silent as the would-be laugh lines were delivered. Weijia Jiang, outgoing president of the WHCA, largely stayed serious, not giving up a reaction, as Trump went into the would-be-roast-like digressions.
CNN even released a statement during the speech, defending its journalists.
The president appeared to have a set of prepared jokes, but he frequently veered off script, or their subjects seemed to remind him of an aside. The result was a speech that weaved through familiar political attacks, like on Adam Schiff’s appearance, to an extended riff on his plans for a White House ballroom. At one point, he pointed to details on the chandeliers at the Waldorf Astoria venue, which he built and previously operated as a Trump hotel. Some of his biting insults at the press were perhaps more muted than they otherwise would have been, given the sheer length of the speech and the topics covered.
When Pearlman took the stage, he noted that Trump had made “an announcement that he will attending next year’s event. I thought he was going to be speaking until next year, actually.”
Trump had been scheduled to speak at the April dinner, but it was interrupted and then ended after a gunman breached a security barricade. The incident took place just outside the Washington Hilton ballroom, but shots could be heard among dinner guests. That sent the Secret Service scrambling to remove Trump and Vice President JD Vance from the dais, as well as other guests seated in the ballroom.
Trump urged the White House Correspondents’ Association to reschedule, but the new arrangements were for a new venue at the Waldorf, formerly a Trump hotel, and with a new set of security measures in place.
But just as in April, there has been attention on the WHCA and what would be said during the evening, not just by Trump but by other journalists. In addition to a flurry of lawsuits against media outlets and routine rants about the news media, Trump has threatened to pull network broadcast licenses and his Justice Department has subpoenaed reporters to try to obtain their sources. In the latter case, the DOJ this week withdrew subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters who wrote pieces on the lack of security features on the new Air Force One. That followed a court hearing in which a federal judge criticized government attorneys for the way that the subpoenas were issued.
The president skipped the WHCA dinners last year and during his first term, at times holding counter events. But he agreed to attend this year, putting him front and center at an event celebrating some of the journalists he has attacked. Among those receiving awards were reporters for The Wall Street Journal who reported on a bawdy letter with Trump’s signature sent to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump denied he sent the letter, and sued the publication, along with its publisher and Rupert Murdoch.
Inside the Waldorf Astoria on Friday evening, President Donald Trump took to the stage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and tried out some Don Rickles-like shtick, interspersed it with some of his greatest rally hits and fixated on some of his obsessions, including his plans for a White House ballroom.
What stood out during his one-hour-and-two minute remarks, though, was the silence in the crowd: many jokes didn’t land, he meandered into asides and veered into insider-ish attacks that likely went well over the heads of the TV audience. Much of what he said wasn’t humor, in contrast to the tightly scripted routines of his predecessors, but akin to a fever dream from someone who has spent a bit too much time watching right-wing TV.
At about 45 minutes in, guests were looking at their phones and fidgeting in their seats. I looked around and locked eyes with a man who gave a brief yawn. It was Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
The length of Trump’s remarks were a reminder of one of Johnny Carson’s quips from the Oscars decades ago: “Welcome to two hours of sparkling entertainment spread over a four-hour show.” It should be noted that Trump’s weaving from topic to topic included a riff on the Academy Awards and how they have gotten too anti-Trump, but even that didn’t get much of a response.
The president did deliver some funny lines, including quips about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire, very delicious beef tenderloin, very special beef. And I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow in his car.”
Trump also revealed that he still counts how many front-page stories he gets in the New York Times, and gave some practical guidance for reporters who have his phone number and want to call him directly, and why he answers some of them. “I always find that when you don’t speak to the press, you always get a bad story. When you do speak to the press, you have a shot at a good story.”
Yet in a room full of journalists, Trump’s attacks on figures like CNN’s Kaitlan Collins were met with stone-faces from those who were well aware their reactions could be caught on C-SPAN cameras. His personal insults, ranging from Adam Schiff having a pencil neck to Chris Christie’s weight to Bruce Springsteen’s aged face, also were repeats of various Truth Social posts.
The event, in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom, was in a much smaller venue than the Washington Hilton, making it more intimate and putting many attendees face-to-face with Trump’s top advisers and members of his cabinet including Stephen Miller, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. With a much smaller crowd, and no pre-event receptions, the enhanced security generally moved briskly.
There were standout moments during other parts of the evening. This was the rescheduled dinner after April’s event was stopped by an apparent assassination attempt on the president, as a gunman breached security and the sounds of gunfire sent the thousands of attendees at the Washington Hilton to the floor. The WHCA paid tribute to the Secret Service officer, Victor Gonzales, who helped stop the gunman, as well as the Washington Hilton staff.
WHCA president Weijia Jiang, White House correspondent for CBS News, gave a very personal and heartfelt speech about her journey, having been born in China, raised in Appalachian coal country and, inspired by Connie Chung, landing in the “Oval Office to ask questions of the president of the United States.”
L-R: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump and Weijia Jiang
Eric Lee/Getty Images
There was pressure on the WHCA to directly confront Trump for his attacks on the press. Jiang talked about the purpose of the First Amendment and the intent of the founders, while commenting more generally on the state of the situation rather than call out specific episodes. She said, “Criticism of the media can be unfair. It can also be legitimate. We get a lot right, but sometimes we get things wrong. We mistake proximity to power for understanding it, and at times we get trapped in our own bubbles. There is a difference, though, an existential difference, between criticizing the press and trying to undermine it.”
When it came to the defense of the press at a difficult moment, the approach of the WHCA appeared to be that of what is taught in J-school: Show, don’t tell. A video segment featured an AI-generated James Madison explaining the importance of the First Amendment, with clips of Trump’s predecessors, including Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, acknowledging the essential role of the press corps. Comments from Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson reinforced how the adversarial nature of the relationship is nothing new.
The most direct face-to-face with Trump’s press attacks came when Wolf Blitzer presented an award to Wall Street Journal for its reporting on an alleged bawdy letter that Trump wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. As Blitzer noted that Trump sued the Journal for $20 billion, the president gave a smirk, to some laughter, then he shook hands with the reporters who received the prize. After it was over, he threw his hands up in the air, as if to say, whatever.
Toward the end of his winding remarks, Trump did say that he respected those in the room, but also that he planned to be back at the event next year.
Pres. Trump reacts to award to Wall Street Journal receiving @whca Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for investigative reporting detailing a birthday card and drawing sent to Jeffrey Epstein pic.twitter.com/AyFZjjx1Vj
What seemed to really wow the room came at the end, when mentalist Oz Pearlman performed a series of feats, made all the more notable when they involved UN Ambassador Mike Waltz and Blanche. The latter figure, awaiting Senate confirmation to take the DOJ post permanently, gamely played along as Pearlman asked him to lie about how much money he had in his wallet. Blanche said $130; Pearlman wrote down the correct figure, $85.
Later, Pearlman had Blanche sign one of his $20 bills.
“Hold it up and let everyone see the federal offense you have just committed,” Pearlman quipped. “He just clearly lost the Senate confirmation hearings on camera.” The interplay made sense a little later when Pearlman performed another feat, writing a figure on a whiteboard that matched the serial number to Blanche’s bill.
The moment was a bit incongruous to what is going on in D.C. and with Blanche himself, what with the DOJ recently issuing subpoenas to reporters from The New York Times, and then withdrawing them in the face of a judge’s criticisms. But for the WHCA dinner, a tradition that has traditionally mixed the serious with showbiz, Pearlman’s routine at least proved to be a bit of sparkling entertainment.
The agreement is an extraordinary new development in the merger transaction, which has won regulatory approval from the federal government and European regulators.
After a court filing spelling out the agreement came during the last hour of trading on Wall Street, shares in Paramount added to what was already a lackluster day. They fell 3.3% on the day to finish at $8.21 after touching a 52-week low of $8.17. The stock slid another penny in after-hours trading.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin this week granted the states a temporary restraining order pausing the transaction for 14 days to hold a hearing on whether to grant a lengthier preliminary injunction. She later extended the TRO by another 14 days, through August 17. Now both sides have indicated that they want to schedule a trial.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a statement on social media, called the agreement “a major victory for a free and fair economy, for the entertainment industry, for workers, for consumers, and for affordability.” He planned to share additional thoughts with the media at a Friday afternoon press briefing.
Hanging over the legal proceedings has been the prospect that Paramount would be on the hook to pay a $7 million-per-day “ticking fee” to Warner Bros Discovery for every day that the transaction does not close past September 30. The agreement opens the very real possibility that legal proceedings will extend well beyond that date. There is a $7 billion breakup fee if the deal falls apart.
In their filing in federal court Friday, the attorneys for the parties wrote, “The transaction at issue in State of California and Writers Guild shall not close, be consummated, or otherwise be completed and Defendants will not take any steps, directly or indirectly, to integrate or consolidate their operations pursuant to the Transaction until the earlier of (1) five days after the merits determination in these matters, or (2) June 1, 2027. This stipulation and order extends to Defendants’ agents, officers, servants, employees, attorneys, and other persons who are in active concert or participation with Defendants.”
A Paramount spokesperson said, “Today’s agreement is a significant win because the result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence. This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached. Plaintiffs’ market definitions bear no relationship to the realities of today’s marketplace and cannot withstand scrutiny. We look forward to proving our case at trial.”
The judge still has to sign off on the plan, but she had asked attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants to meet to try to agree to a schedule.
In a joint statement on the agreement, the WGA West and WGA East said, “Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery today agreed to what the state Attorneys General and the WGA both sought from the court: the merger will be put on hold pending the outcome of the states’ and the WGA’s cases or until June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. It remains our view that this merger is unlawful, and we will continue the fight to block it.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, representing one of a dozen seeking to block the transaction, said in a statement, “From the workers and artists who bring stories to life to the families who buy tickets at the box office, Paramount’s illegal takeover of Warner Bros. is a bad deal for all those who count on a competitive entertainment industry. Halting this merger while our case proceeds is a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries. I look forward to continuing our case to stop this illegal merger.”
The sides also agreed to scrap the current briefing schedule, as well as an August 3 hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction. They also agreed to file a joint statement regarding the scheduling of a trial by July 31.
The state attorneys general sued July 13 to block the transaction, claiming that it would stifle competition for wide release theatrical film distribution, anticipated big budget blockbusters, and basic cable television channel licensing. The WGA filed its own suit a day later, contending that the merger would illegally limit competition for writers services.
Paramount called the state AGs lawsuit a “flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law. We will vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace.”
During a press conference Friday at the White House, a reporter asked Trump where he stood on the James versus Michael Jordan debate.
“Well, Michael Jordan is a guy who is a friend of mine — play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said.
He continued, “I think LeBron is… Maybe he’s a racist. Maybe he doesn’t like Trump. I don’t know, but I only like people that like me. So I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
James has been open about his political choices, voicing his support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2020 election; for the 2024 election, James endorsed Harris in her presidential run. Claims that Jordan endorsed Trump for the last presidential election were debunked by his management team, who said “there is absolutely no truth” that the former NBA star publicly endorsed a candidate.
James made news earlier in the day after he confirmed he was headed to the 76ers for “a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.”
“I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn’t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game,” James posted on X. “I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.”
ESPN reported that James signed an $8 million, two-year deal with the 76ers. The basketball star made almost $53 million playing with the Lakers last year.
Watch Trump make the comments about James in the video below.
When asked who is better, LeBron James or Michael Jordan, Trump says LeBron James might be a racist who doesn’t like him.
