Trump's USA White House Correspondents' Dinner

Trump jokes about serving a third term at postponed gala dinner

Donald Trump spoke last night at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, an annual and somewhat informal meeting between the president and the press, which had to be postponed earlier this year after a dinner was stormed by a man suspected of having been out to assassinate the president.

Several media outlets are reproducing Trump's jokes during the traditional speech. The president joked, among other things, that Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy personally killed the cow that was served – which drew some laughter – and that he would serve a third term – which was received with a little less mirth.

Analysis: Trump bombed – and noticed it himself

Donald Trump managed to make exactly one good joke during tonight's correspondents' dinner, writes CNN's Jeff Zeleny in an analysis.

The fact that Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy allegedly killed the cow that was served as a beef tenderloin during dinner was the only time that almost everyone in the room laughed. Otherwise, the president spent most of the time condescendingly attacking his opponents and praising himself.

“Even he could tell, in real time, that many of his jokes were bombing.”

The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh agrees that the heartfelt moments were few and far between, and that these “were in some ways even stranger than when he loaded up on his usual invective.”

Deadline’s Ted Johnsson writes that most of the jokes seemed to be recycled from the president’s campaign rallies and were received with silence. Hundreds of guests stood up and left as soon as it was over.

“The hour-long speech really tested the patience of all but the most stalwart Trump loyalists in the audience.”