Only in America: Amid the roast, Trump toasts free speech

Donald Trump at White House correspondent's dinner (Image/AP) TOI correspondent from Washington: It was as though a bull had been invited to hand out prizes at a china convention. The White House Correspondents' Association's rescheduled annual dinner on Friday night produced one of those deliciously improbable scenes that remind the world why American democracy is equal parts constitutional republic and absurdist theatre. There sat President Donald Trump, who has spent years suing, skewering, ridiculing and generally treating journalists the way a cobra views a mongoose, applauding Wall Street Journal reporters as they collected an award for investigating... Donald Trump.The Journal team received the WHCA's Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for reporting on Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, introducing the award, reminded the audience – in front of the President – that the reporting had triggered lawsuits, retaliation and personal consequences for reporters. “Trump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the Journal, revealing reporter Khadeeja Safdar’s home address. Her family had to be relocated. The Journal was kicked off of ...