United States President Donald Trump called Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘gay’ during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Friday, without taking his name directly.
Talking about his administration’s achievements which, as per him, are often overlooked by “fake news media”, he spoke of the country’s ongoing war with Iran and said, “A once feared and powerful regime that relentlessly attacked America has finally been toppled. Their former leaders have been removed and they’re now being run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions.”
Trump made the remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner held at Waldorf Astoria in Washington DC on Friday.
During his hour-long address, which was full of jokes and potshots at journalists including praises for some, Trump touched on multiple aspects of his second presidential term including the country’s ongoing war with Iran and also quipped about a possible third term in office, before saying that he was “just kidding”.
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The dinner, which originally took place back in April, was rescheduled after a shooting incident at the security gate prompted an immediate evacuation of the venue.
Trump began his address with a remark stating that it had “not been an easy evening for him” after multiple awards were handed out to journalists over the course of the night, many of whom had been critical of his administration.
‘Press Secretary has one of the hardest jobs in White House’
Drawing back to the original dinner which took place in April, the President remarked that he “suspected” many members of his audience were “lucky” that their last dinner was “cut short” due to the fierce criticism he had planned on delivering. He then went on to label the Press Secretary’s role as “one of the hardest jobs in the White House”.
“She has to deal with all of you all of the time and you can be very difficult… this place is really the largest group of Trump Derangement Syndrome people ever put together at one time I suspect,” he added.
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Besides singling out multiple people for personal attacks including journalists such as Don Lemon and Lawrence O’Donnell, politicians like Chris Christie and Adam Schiff, and celebrities including Bruce Springsteen and Jane Fonda, the President also hinted at running for a possible third term in office.
“I won three times — now I’m going to do it again,” he said while putting on a red cap with “Trump 2028” labelled on it.
Constitutionally, the 22nd Amendment explicitly bans a person from being “elected to the office of the president more than twice”.
US-Iran confrontations continue
Meanwhile, the US-Iran conflict entered a fresh round of confrontation on Friday as multiple strikes were reported in parts of the Gulf region. Several explosions were heard near Erbil airport in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where US-led coalition troops and a major US consulate complex are located.
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In retaliation, the United States targeted a Revolutionary Guards base in the northern province of Gilan as per deputy governor Ali Bagheri. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned countries against supporting the US in its attacks, adding that the country “reserves its right to take all necessary measures within the framework of self-defence”.
The US House of Representatives also passed a resolution calling for the White House to halt military action against Iran without explicit authorisation. The move, however, remained largely on paper as the US military continued its attacks for the 13th consecutive night.
