Small crowd, tight security for redo of White House Correspondents' Dinner

by · UPI

July 24 (UPI) -- Take two of the White House Correspondents' Dinner is set to take place on Friday with fewer attendees and heightened security after April's gala was cut short by a gunman.

Several notable attendees from April's event will not be in attendance on Friday, including first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. President Donald Trump is planning to attend after boycotting the event in previous years while in office.

The dinner is being held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., formerly the Trump International Hotel. April's dinner was held at the Washington Hilton.

Trump's attendance invites a showdown between the president and the press. Presidents and comedians traditionally trade lighthearted barbs during the Correspondents' Dinner but Trump is expected to air his criticisms of the press as he often does during regular speaking opportunities.

A group of hundreds of journalists have again called on the White House Correspondents' Association to urge it not to normalize Trump as he has repeatedly attacked the freedom of the press. In a letter, they asked the association to "forcefully stand up for freedom of the press in front of the president, publicly defend the journalists he attacks, and vow to resist his administration's concerted effort to undermine the First Amendment."

The U.S. Secret Service warned ahead of Friday's event that threats against protected individuals and venues have increased. The agency says it has opened nearly 10,000 protective intelligence cases this year, a roughly 40% increase over the same time last year.

With the increase in threats, the Secret Service has been involved in nearly 10 times as many mental health-related interventions that involve people making threats.

"The environment has become very volatile, and that's just across the board," said Sean Curran, Secret Service director. "The threat picture and environment is as large as I've ever seen it."

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo

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