The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) held its annual awards dinner on Saturday night in Washington, D.C., drawing mainstream media figures for a night that celebrated their peers and honored select journalistic work.
The event, once known for its bipartisan spirit, has in recent years drawn criticism for becoming overtly political and exclusionary toward voices outside the Beltway media establishment.
President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not attend the event.
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The decision follows a pattern established during Trump’s first administration, when he frequently declined invitations to the dinner, citing the event’s partisan tone and the media’s treatment of his presidency.
This year, one of the WHCA’s highest honors—the award for “Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists”—was given to New York Times photographer Doug Mills for a black-and-white image of Joe Biden.
According to the WHCA, the photo was meant to capture Biden “wrestling with historic challenges, including international crises, amid calls for him to end his reelection campaign.”
The image, while reflective of recent political discourse surrounding Biden’s fitness for office, stood in stark contrast to another widely discussed photograph from the past year: the moment President Trump rose from the stage after an assassination attempt, blood on his face and fist raised as he shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
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That image quickly became a symbol of resilience and leadership for many Americans, and was widely circulated across news outlets and social media.
Left: photo of the year, according to the White House Correspondents’ Association.
Right: photo of the year , according to anyone with a functioning brain cell. pic.twitter.com/jjnp8vLnAi
— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) April 28, 2025
Despite its significance and public impact, the Trump photo was not recognized by the WHCA, not even as an honorable mention.
It is so utterly preposterous that it is a perfect distillation of everything wrong with our media.
Insular, driven by pique, willing to look like fools if it means not doing anything that might be to Trump’s benefit—but ultimately magnifying what they are trying to hide.
— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) April 28, 2025
Instead, that designation was awarded to a photo from Agence France-Presse showing tech billionaire Elon Musk jumping in the air at a Trump rally.
Final thought: there is also something hilariously on point about the WHCA giving photo of the year to a guy trying to portray Biden as having gravitas, at an event where they were giving another guy an award for not being part of the effort to hide Biden’s senility.
— Legal Phil (@Legal_Fil) April 28, 2025
The decision to bypass the Trump photo in favor of less visually or historically impactful images has sparked criticism from media observers and members of the public.
Supporters of President Trump viewed the photograph as one of the most iconic in recent American history, capturing the moment a sitting president survived a violent attack and immediately returned to his feet, visibly injured, but undeterred.
The WHCA did not respond to requests for comment on the criteria used in selecting the award winners or on why the Trump image was not formally recognized.
The photo selection comes amid broader scrutiny of the media’s handling of coverage surrounding President Biden’s cognitive decline and health.
Many major outlets have faced criticism for downplaying or dismissing growing concerns about the former president’s mental acuity during his time in office and the 2024 campaign.
While the WHCA dinner has traditionally been seen as a moment for reflection and unity among journalists, critics argue the evening has instead come to reflect the disconnect between legacy media institutions and large segments of the American public.
The annual dinner, which began in 1921, is typically attended by journalists, celebrities, and political figures.
In the past, it has been a stage for self-deprecating humor, bipartisan camaraderie, and recognition of journalistic excellence.
However, recent years have seen increasing criticism that the event reflects ideological uniformity and favors coverage that aligns with left-leaning political narratives.
The image of President Trump rising in the immediate aftermath of an attempted assassination is likely to remain etched in the nation’s memory.
Whether it receives formal recognition from media organizations or not, its lasting impact appears to be undeniable.
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