The casts of MS NOW and CNN were not thrilled with President Trump’s Friday speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner as they reacted to finding themselves on the receiving end for once of the dinner’s more pointed jokes.MS NOW did not even let Trump finish his speech before The Briefing host Jen Psaki interrupted, “Okay, in case you've had enough for this moment, we're going to break in for a moment. This has felt so far to me, like one of those awkward wedding speeches where the bride's father thinks he's funnier than he is and goes on way too long telling stories.” Jen Psaki interupts Trump's WHCD speech, "Okay, in case you've had enough for this moment, we're going to break in for a moment. This felt so far to me, like one of those awkward wedding speeches where the bride's father thinks he's funnier than he is and goes on way too long… pic.twitter.com/SWuS6HcLJX— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 Psaki lamented that Trump is “a man who has spent his presidency attacking, threatening, and suing the very media organizations who are in the room as he is speaking tonight, which I think we all have to talk about and acknowledge.”A few minutes later, former ABC reporter Terry Moran opined that “I think he's on his best behavior in some ways, you know, he's not ranting at the press. And once again, I think that's evidence, whatever his poll numbers, he's in charge. And I don't think he thinks he's going to lose power. He's going to — whatever happens in the midterms, he's going to attack the results if they don't go his way.”Moran further claimed Trump is “a megalomaniac now, filled with authority, and he is making his mark on the country physically, legally, morally, in every way. There will be an age of Trump that will be remembered. I'm sure that's the way he thinks about it.” Later, former ABC reporter Terry Moran says, "I think he's on his best behavior in some ways, you know, he's not ranting at the press. And once again, I think that's evidence, whatever his poll numbers, he's in charge. And I don't think he thinks he's going to lose power. He's… pic.twitter.com/f0G3NEYd53— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 Psaki disagreed, “I have a very opposite view on this. I think he feels quite weak inside and under threat because of his poll numbers, and because he can read a poll and sees what's happening out in the country and knows that if there's a take back of even part of Congress, that there's going to be a lot of attention paid to his administration, and it's not going to be as easy for him to avoid scrutiny.”What Moran and Psaki did agree on is that, in Moran’s words, “He'll attack the elections and I think he's got a plan to prevent anyone taking power.”Later, correspondent Eugene Daniels, who had the not-so bright idea to invite Amber Ruffin to the 2025 dinner before that idea fell apart, decried Trump’s speech, “The reason it's not funny is because Donald Trump has kicked the Associated Press out of the pool. He has taken over the pool. He is — he has — they have subpoenaed journalists. They have knocked on their doors and taken things for doing their jobs so he can act as if this is normal, right?” Eugene Daniels, who was the one who had the bright idea to invite Amber Ruffin last year before that fell apart, claims "At the end of the day, the reason it's not funny is because Donald Trump has kicked the Associated Press out of the pool. He has taken over the pool. He is. He… pic.twitter.com/viWh4Ihfei— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 A few minutes later, Daniels compared Trump to a schoolyard bully, “I think to your point earlier about him feeling weak, like he's very insecure. And so like bully, you know, I was bullied as a kid… but the bullies as I got older, what I realized is that they were insecure, they were fearful about—and they were learning the wrong lessons about what it means to be a man. And I think that's what you see with Donald Trump a lot of the times is that he is — sees one way to be a leader.” Daniels also claims "I think to your point earlier about him feeling weak, like he's very insecure...As I got older, what I realized is that they [bullies] were insecure, they were fearful about—and they were learning the wrong lessons about what it means to be a man. And I think… pic.twitter.com/dfjOiol85O— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 Over at CNN, John Berman led off that network’s response by reading the company press release in response to Trump saying Kaitlan Collins looks like Dylan Mulvaney, ‘The statement reads, quote, “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional, trusted journalist being honored tonight for her depth of knowledge in the context she provides to audiences all over the world. She reports every day from the White House and the field with real strength and tenacity, and skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day. We stand by her to the fullest extent.’ And we do.Co-anchor Laura Coates agreed and declared, “And we should. And we must. And the president, just talking about the respect he has for journalists in this room, frankly, I didn't see much of it in the last hour of his speech.” After Trump concluded, CNN's John Berman and Laura Coates began by reading the company press releases with Coates also claiming "And the president, just talking about the respect he has for journalists in this room, frankly, I didn't see much of it in the last hour of his… pic.twitter.com/dScWUlG9gy— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 She then read a second statement from CNN patting itself on the back, “But the president made additional attacks on some of our other colleagues, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and given that, I want to read this from CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson, ‘We stand by our journalists and the integrity and fair mindedness with which the CNN team reports the news. Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution. CNN will continue to exercise this right.’”Minutes later, media correspondent Brian Stelter declared, “You could hear a president who wants to talk about the power of the media. He knows the power of the media. He loves it. He resents it. He craves it. He wants to control it. So, he insults the journalists that he can't control. He gives shout-outs to the media executives who he thinks are his allies, whether they are or not.”Brian Stelter claims "You could hear a president who wants to talk about the power of the media. He knows the power of the media. He loves it. He resents it. He craves it. He wants to control it. So, he insults the journalists that he can't control. He gives shout outs to the… pic.twitter.com/LGVYhhoap4— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 Stelter then sort of admitted that CBS and Paramount have not suddenly become MAGA TV, “Paramount executives don't always feel the same way that the president does about the vision for the company. But, you know, Trump thinks he has them in his pocket, and that is problematic, that he has that impression.”He also compared Trump’s remarks to “a comedic speech in high school and I totally bombed. And it was humiliating. And I kind of feel like that's what I watched. It was giving me flashbacks to 11th grade in high school tonight.”Eventually NewsNight anchor Abby Phillip took over and, after playing a clip of Trump denouncing reporters with Trump Derangement Syndrome, mourned, “There were a lot of other attacks on the press that were much harsher and nastier and undignified.” After a clip of Trump denouncing Trump Derrangement Syndrome, Abby Phillip laments "And, you know, there were a lot of other attacks on the press that were much harsher and, nastier and undignified." pic.twitter.com/9j32hRrBhv— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 25, 2026 Over the years, the WHCD has had comedians wish death upon conservatives, call them racist, and accuse conservative women of being the female version of an Uncle Tom, among other things. If the media wants to turn the WHCD into a made-for-TV spectacle, then it can’t complain that what goes around eventually comes around.Here are transcripts for the July 24 shows:MS NOW The Briefing with Jen Psaki7/24/20269:57 PM ETJEN PSAKI: Okay, in case you've had enough for this moment, we're going to break in for a moment. This has felt so far to me, like one of those awkward wedding speeches where the bride's father thinks he's funnier than he is and goes on way too long telling stories. I mean, I have been to countless White House Correspondents’ Dinners. I have worked for two presidents who have spoken at these dinners, and it's always stressful to come up with funny jokes. But here we are. Now, the backdrop again, we've been talking about this, but the backdrop of tonight's speech was not just that this is a man who is somewhere between 30 and 32 or 33 percent in recent polls for overall approval rating. It's a man who has spent his presidency attacking, threatening, and suing the very media organizations who are in the room as he is speaking tonight, which I think we all have to talk about and acknowledge. And as for the speech itself, and if you've been listening, you've heard from a lot of this, but just in case you're tuning in now, or you're just trying to make sense of what's happening, he spent a good chunk of time talking about his favorite topic of all time surprise, surprise, his job as an interior decorator, musing about the chandeliers in the Palm Room and new windows. Everyone. We're in the middle of a war, but new windows and the chandelier. And of course, about his second favorite job as White House events coordinator from the recent fight on the White House lawn. That was quite a horror show that we all saw two plans for the future and his events he's planning in the future.…9:59 PM ETTERRY MORAN: That said, I think he's on his best behavior in some ways, you know, he's not ranting at the press. And once again, I think that's evidence, whatever his poll numbers, he's in charge. And I don't think he thinks he's going to lose power. He's going to — whatever happens in the midterms, he's going to attack the results if they don't go his way. And I think he's riding as high as he can. He's a megalomaniac now, filled with authority, and he is making his mark on the country physically, legally, morally, in every way. There will be an age of Trump that will be remembered. I'm sure that's the way he thinks about it.PSAKI: Well, see, I have a very opposite view on this. I think he feels quite weak inside and under threat because of his poll numbers, and because he can read a poll and sees what's happening out in the country and knows that if there's a take back of even part of Congress, that there's going to be a lot of attention paid to his administration, and it's not going to be as easy for him to avoid scrutiny. And that's part of it. And yes, he will certainly do everything you said.MORAN: He'll attack the elections—PSAKI: Of course he will.MORAN: —and I think he's got a plan to prevent anyone taking power.PSAKI: But that's a sign, I think, of feeling weak, not feeling strong.MORAN: Possibly.…10:01 PM ETEUGENE DANIELS: So he knows the people in that room do have a kind of power, right? They do have a kind of influence. So he's constantly kind of auditioning to you. When you're when you meet Donald Trump, you talk to him, he's selling himself to you, right? And that's why he makes the jokes. He is a little bit self-deprecating. And I think at the end of the day, he can be as self-deprecating as he wants. He can make as many jokes about Bobby Kennedy as he wants. At the end of the day, the reason it's not funny is because Donald Trump has kicked the Associated Press out of the pool. He has taken over the pool. He is — he has — they have subpoenaed journalists. They have knocked on their doors and taken things for doing their jobs so he can act as if this is normal, right? He's going to keep going. And he's — he might be ranting about the press at this point, but he's ranting and raving and raving, right?…10:09 PM ET               DANIELS: I think to your point earlier about him feeling weak, like he's very insecure. PSAKI: Yeah.DANIELS: And so like bully, you know, I was bullied as a kid. They said I was gay. They were right. But they were still mean about it. But—PSAKI: You’re still six foot five. DANIELS: Correct. Exactly. PSAKI: So, there's that. DANIELS: Exactly. I can tussle, but the bullies as I got older, what I realized is that they were insecure, they were fearful about—and they were learning the wrong lessons about what it means to be a man. And I think that's what you see with Donald Trump a lot of the times is that he is — sees one way to be a leader. And I think there are a lot more ways than maybe or maybe even more effective than the way that he views it. And so it's attack, attack, attack, be mean to the people who you feel like are being mean to you. When he has all the power, he has consolidated more power than any other president in, definitely, modern history, possibly in history. Right? We'll have to look at the end of the day when this is all over and see. But someone with all that power, with access to all of the information, with access, he could call anyone on Earth right now and they would probably pick up. And yet he still has to tussle with people because they said something mean about him.***CNN News Night with Abby Phillip7/25/202610:39 PM ETJOHN BERMAN: Before we bring in the panel, I want to read you a statement from CNN in the wake of the president's remarks tonight about CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who was honored tight for her breaking news reporting. The statement reads, quote, “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional, trusted journalist being honored tonight for her depth of knowledge in the context she provides to audiences all over the world. She reports every day from the White House and the field with real strength and tenacity, and skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day. We stand by her to the fullest extent.” And we do.LAURA COATES: And we should. And we must. And the president, just talking about the respect he has for journalists in this room, frankly, I didn't see much of it in the last hour of his speech. But the president made additional attacks on some of our other colleagues, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and given that, I want to read this from CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson, “We stand by our journalists and the integrity and fair mindedness with which the CNN team reports the news. Honest, accurate journalism may sometimes irritate politicians, but our right to report and present that reporting to the public without government interference is fully protected by the U.S. Constitution. CNN will continue to exercise this right. …10:45 PM ETBRIAN STELTER: You could hear a president who wants to talk about the power of the media. He knows the power of the media. He loves it. He resents it. He craves it. He wants to control it. So, he insults the journalists that he can't control. He gives shout-outs to the media executives who he thinks are his allies, whether they are or not. He repeatedly mentioned the Ellisons, the owners of Paramount who were trying to buy CNN, and our parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. Today, Paramount was dealt a big setback. They've had to agree to a timeline that will delay that merger for many months, probably into 2027, a big setback for Paramount. But he was praising Larry and David Ellison, calling both men his friends and saying he believes they're going to make good changes to CBS. Paramount executives don't always feel the same way that the president does about the vision for the company. But, you know, Trump thinks he has them in his pocket, and that is problematic, that he has that impression. He wants to control the media. But listen to the conversation we're having right now and the conversation on other networks and all across social media, people are open and able and free to criticize the American president. And that's what this night's actually all about, that celebration of the First Amendment. John, Laura, I once had to give a comedic speech in high school and I totally bombed. And it was humiliating. And I kind of feel like that's what I watched. It was giving me flashbacks to 11th grade in high school tonight.…11:03 PM ETABBY PHILLIP: And, you know, there were a lot of other attacks on the press that were much harsher and nastier and undignified. But I actually think, you know, because, Arthur, you brought this up about his press coverage being very negative in his perception. He acknowledges that even in spite of that, he won the election. And then at another point, he actually talked about how often he talks to reporters. He gives them his number freely. They call him. And he does that because his philosophy is, well, if you talk to them, you have at least a slim chance of getting your POV in.