This text is adapted from the latest episode of School of War, hosted by Aaron MacLean. To watch Aaron’s conversation with Douglas Murray, click here. You can follow School of War here or wherever you get your podcasts.
My Saturday night began the same way it did for most attendees of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner: being harangued by protesters outside the venue. As I walked up to the hotel, one woman in a keffiyeh screamed at me, “How could you possibly have dinner with a child rapist?”
That was the tenor going in.
The event itself was the normal run of things: pre-parties, pre-drinks, everyone filing into the hall. I sat with my colleagues from the New York Post, along with United Nations ambassador Mike Waltz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and others. When the president came in, there was great excitement—it was the first time Trump had attended one of these dinners. We were looking forward to him roasting the media, which was what everyone expected.
And then it happened.
