Trump calls Schumer Palestinian again at correspondents' dinner

Trump once again taunts Schumer as 'Palestinian' and hails pressure on Iran at correspondents’ dinner Trump mixed attacks on Chuck Schumer with boasts about Iran, references to Netanyahu’s upcoming US visit, and jokes about Palestinians and Sharia Law. U.S. President Donald Trump tosses his TRUMP 2028 hat to an attendee during the re-scheduled White House Correspondents Dinner [GETTY] US President Donald Trump used the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Friday night to lash out at political enemies, boast about his pressure campaign on Iran and joke that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had "turned Palestinian", in a speech that floated between stand-up routine, grievance politics and foreign-policy muscle-flexing. Trump told the ballroom crowd that Schumer "was 100% for Israel" but was now "a great, proud Palestinian", adding that he would send him "a beautiful Palestinian outfit" so he could greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the Israeli leader comes to Washington next week. The US president added that "the mayor" would not be happy with the visit, hinting at New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent calls for the federal government to arrest Netanyahu over war crimes. He also mocked Schumer with a jab about "Palestinian rules" and "Shariah law", language that drew on Trump’s familiar habit of using MENA references as punchlines rather than policy points. The president’s remarks came as Netanyahu is expected in the United States next week for talks in Washington. Reuters reported on Friday that Trump said the Israeli leader will visit the US next week, while other reporting has said Netanyahu was seeking a meeting with Trump in the coming days. One Israeli outlet also reported that Netanyahu’s office had indicated he would travel on Monday and meet Trump on Tuesday, although the schedule has shifted repeatedly in recent weeks. Trump also devoted part of his speech to Iran, saying the United States had hit the country "very hard" and claiming Iran’s navy, air force, radar and much of its drone capability had been destroyed. He said Iran was "talking to us right now" and "would love to make a deal", but added that he was "willing to listen" only so long as Tehran could not obtain a nuclear weapon. "We don’t want to see Washington, DC, or any of our cities, or Israel or, frankly, the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapon," Trump said. The dinner had originally been held in April but was suspended after a gunman, later identified by federal authorities as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, tried to force his way through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton and fired a shotgun outside the ballroom where Trump and members of his cabinet were taking their seats. Prosecutors have said Allen was carrying multiple weapons, and he has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to assassinate the president; the case remains before federal authorities. This week’s event was moved to the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC and attended by a much smaller crowd of about 700 people, with security tightened after the April incident. Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and a CBS News correspondent, thanked Trump for showing up a second time in three months. The CBS angle landed against the backdrop of the network’s new ownership under David Ellison, whose purchase of Paramount and CBS last year has drawn attention because of his family’s deep ties to Israel-related political and media networks. Related Articles