US President Donald Trump has poked fun at the press during a redo of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner after a shooting forced the suspension of the original event in April.
The president, whose administration has often been at odds with the press, mostly stuck to the warm and relaxed tenor of the evening, noting that his speech for the original event "was going to be a doozy".
"I was so psyched, I was going to rip people," he said during his hour-long speech.
"Your lives were really in danger the last time … but on the plus side, your careers were saved."
Mr Trump alternated between friendly jokes and pointed criticisms of what he called the "fake news media".
He also could not resist taking cracks at his adversaries in the press and show business, singling out journalists, politicians and celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen and Jane Fonda.
"I know it was not easy finding shoes to go along with your bulletproof vest, which many people didn't want to wear because they'd rather die than look 20 pounds heavier," Mr Trump said.
Donald Trump said his speech had been toned down since the first event. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
At one point he said he was "probably being a little bit oversensitive" with regard to negative press, but said: "I really do think that some of you don't like me."
Press freedom advocates have criticised the Trump administration over lawsuits it has filed against media organisations, restrictions on some journalists' access, and threats of action against broadcasters.
The president has previously rejected the criticism, saying his administration is promoting accountability and addressing bias.
Ahead of his speech, Mr Trump sat through more than an hour of awards presentations, including for journalists who published stories critical of him and his administration in the last year.
A team of Washington Post journalists were awarded the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for their reporting on a lewd sketch signed by Mr Trump that was included in a compilation of birthday messages for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The president laughed and threw his hands up in a shrug when it was acknowledged he sued the outlet over the story.
Mr Trump made his first presidential appearances at the event this year after boycotting it during his first term.
"Time goes by, time passes, and you sort of look at life differently," he said of his change of heart.
Mr Trump promised to return next year.
Heightened security
The black-tie gathering of journalists, politicians and administration officials on April 25 was called off after a man tried to force his way through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun outside the ballroom where Mr Trump and members of his cabinet were taking their seats.
In May, Cole Allen pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including attempting to assassinate the president.
The dinner was rescheduled for July 24 and moved to the smaller Waldorf Astoria.
One of the first messages of the night was defiance in the face of the assault.
"Tonight, our message is this: We are back," outgoing White House Correspondents' Association president Weijia Jiang said.
"We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word."
Mr Trump later said: "We do not yield to political violence … no deranged loser with a gun will ever change that."
Security was tightened for the second event. (AP: Cliff Owen)
The event also honoured the Washington Hilton staff who assisted guests after the attack in April, as well as Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot at a security checkpoint outside the ballroom.
Mr Gonzales, who was wearing a protective vest and was the only person wounded that night, is credited with stopping the attack.
The gala has been an annual fixture on Washington's calendar for more than a century. It raises money for journalism scholarships and celebrates press freedoms as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
It normally features a comedian who pokes fun at the president and the press, but this year's entertainment came from mentalist Oz Pearlman.
At one stage during his speech, Mr Trump ribbed Pearlman, who correctly guessed the name of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's unborn baby at the first dinner, for not foreseeing the attack.
"How the hell he didn't see that coming?" Mr Trump asked to laughter.
ABC/Reuters
