US3 min(s) read
Published 09:34 25 Jul 2026 GMT
Trump shares surprising reaction after WSJ reporters behind Epstein report he sued over are honoured at White House Correspondents' Dinner
When a group of journalists was awarded at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for their reporting on the President’s connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump’s reaction was comical.
The Wall Street Journal journalists received the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for their reporting on a 2003 birthday card written by Trump for Epstein's 50th birthday.
Trump has consistently claimed the card is fake
In the card, which Trump is adamant is fake, the president drew a drawing of a naked woman and included it in a birthday album for Epstein made by Ghislaine Maxwell, his accomplice and convicted sex trafficker.
As the reporters were awarded during the dinner, to every other guest’s surprise, Trump smiled and laughed.
At one point, he even appeared to mouth, "I don't know," while throwing his hands in the air in what looked like an attempt to make a joke about the situation.
Trump clearly did not have a say in who won the awards
The president also later shook hands with each of the reporters who worked on the investigation and congratulated them on their achievement.
During the dinner, Trump even remarked: "This has not been an easy evening, all those awards."
At some point in the evening, he questioned his role in the evening’s events by asking, "Do I have a say?"
The Journal's investigation, published in July 2025, drew more attention to Trump's undeniably close past relationship with Epstein and prompted the release of not-damaging-enough records related to the disgraced financier.
Later, the Trump administration released documents connected to the Epstein case, which included the birthday card at the centre of the Journal's report.
Trump responded by filing a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.
The case was dismissed in April by US District Judge Darrin Gayles, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
While the judge did not rule on whether the letter was authentic, he dismissed the lawsuit after finding that Trump had failed to prove that the Journal had acted with "actual malice" when publishing the report.
Trump, who continues to argue that the card is not real, filed a fresh lawsuit in May that remains ongoing.
The appearance at the dinner came as the president continues to face questions over the Epstein documents and his past association with the financier.
The Journal reporters' award showed that the controversy surrounding Trump’s relationship with Epstein was an important part of the evening traditionally centred on the relationship between the White House and the news media.













