Wearing a "Trump 2028" hat, Donald Trump jokes about running for a new term

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump wore a hat that read "Trump 2028" and joked about running for a new term while attending the annual White House Correspondents Association or WHCA banquet on Friday night.

Anadolu Agency quoted Saturday, July 25, saying the event was a WHCA reception that was rescheduled after the original agenda in April was disrupted by a shooting near a security checkpoint.

"I am pleased to announce my intention to run for a fourth term as president of the United States," Trump said.

He then joked that he had "won three times" and was getting better at running for president.

The remarks appeared to be made in jest. The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution limits a person to a maximum of two terms as president.

Trump also took a swipe at the media. He claimed 93 percent of the coverage about him was negative and said some journalists didn't like him.

"This place really is the largest collection of people with Trump hate syndrome ever in one room," he said.

The WHCA reception was originally scheduled for April, but was interrupted by a shooting near a security checkpoint when a number of Trump administration officials attended the event.

The outgoing WHCA president, Weijia Jiang, opened the event by insisting that journalists would not be cowed by violence.

"We are back. We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let violence be the last word," Jiang said.

Trump also alluded to the incident. According to him, many lessons were learned about security and the dangers faced by all parties in their work.

He then launched another joke.

"Like my presidency, the second one is always better," Trump said.

In his speech, Trump also discussed Iran. He claimed that the US military had destroyed 250 fighter jets and 159 ships belonging to Iran.

"They only have very few drones left, regardless of what you see," he said.

Trump said Iran was talking to the US and wanted to reach an agreement. However, he assessed that Tehran was not ready.

"I think they are not ready. I think now is not the time. However, I am willing to listen. They must not have nuclear weapons," he said.

Trump closed his speech with a final jab at the event.

"It's an interesting night. I didn't really know what was going to happen, and it turned out to be a lot worse than I imagined," he said.