Trump attends White House Correspondents Dinner as critical reporting takes top honors

President Donald Trump had to sit through the felicitation of journalists Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani for a report they did against the President, and his expression has taken social media by storm. Miller and Madhani were honored with the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure at the White House Correspondents' Dinner for an article for the Associated Press.

The article, headlined 'Trump team is questioning civil servants at National Security Council about commitment to his agenda', revealed that President Trump had removed members of the National Security Council (NSC) staff who were not loyal to him. As CNN's Wolf Blitzer congratulated Miller and Madhani for bringing the story to the public, Trump was visibly uncomfortable. Cameras captured the President smirking, shrugging, and looking noticeably unamused. 

Trump later jokingly admitted that it had not been an "easy evening" for him. The President's words were well-founded, as Miller and Madhabi weren't the only journalists critical of Trump who were awarded. The Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure has two categories: Print and Broadcast. Miller and Madhabi won in the Print category, while the winner for the Broadcast category was CNN's Kaitlan Collins, whose recent interactions with President Trump have been less than amicable.

Trump could not help but take a dig at Collins when he spoke at the event later. "I want to personally congratulate CNN's Kaitlan Collins on receiving her award," Trump said, adding, "It was all about me. It's a fake—she shouldn't get the award; it was a fake. But I didn't mind. I said, 'Kaitlan, congratulations.' But it was fake; there's no question about it."

Additionally, the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists was won by Andrew Harnik, who famously shot an image of President Trump in the Oval Office, not coming to the aid of a staffer who fainted right behind him. The Katherine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability was won by The Wall Street Journal for its reporting on the relationship between President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.

During his speech at the Dinner, President Trump claimed that once his term came to an end, the journalists in the room would be "broke," as there would be no one left to report about. "You people have no idea how lucky you are. When I'm gone, you're all going to be broke. Your business model is going to be finished. No. It's true. When I'm not around, you're going to be broke. There's not going to be anybody to report on. Nobody gives a damn about anybody else," he said.