(NewsNation) — President Trump returned to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Friday, three months after a gunman’s foiled attack scuttled the earlier event, and delivered a speech with both praise and criticism for the media — with plenty of jabs for political rivals.

“As I said a few months ago, the show must go on,” the president told an audience of about 700 at the Waldorf Astoria at the start of his remarks. “In America, we do not yield to political violence.”

The audience size was a significant reduction from the 2,600 who attended the April 25 dinner at the Washington Hilton. That program was disrupted when a heavily armed Torrance, Calif., man allegedly breached a security checkpoint and fired at a Secret Service agent whose body armor saved him from serious injury (that agent, Victor Gonzales, was given an award at Friday’s dinner and shook hands with the president).

Trump’s initial remarks came across as conciliatory and jocular, but it wasn’t long before he complained about being treated unfairly by the “fake news media,” and he predicted news organizations would go out of business when he leaves office.

And yet he promised to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner next year, unless the media treats him “really, really nasty.” Trump had boycotted previous dinners during his presidency, but changed course this year.

“You hate to go where maybe you’re not wanted,” Trump said. “This year, I was called by your president and your chairman and all of the people (who) said, ‘We’d like to do it.’ And I said, ‘You know what? … Time passes, and you sort of look at life a little bit differently. Let’s do it.'”

That doesn’t mean he didn’t get his licks in. The Republican president ridiculed a variety of celebrities and political opponents that included Rosie O’Donnell and Democratic nemeses including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. He also took aim at people in his own political sphere, such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump credited for the beef served at dinner.

“Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow in his car, and he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight. So, it’s very fresh,” Trump said, a reference to Kennedy saying he has collected roadkill.

The president capped his more than hourlong speech by donning a red “TRUMP 2028” hat, as if he might seek an unconstitutional third term in office.

As he did in April, Trump again used the threat of violence at Washington, D.C., events to support his pet project of a highly secure White House ballroom that can keep future presidents and guests safe. Trump’s razing of the East Wing for the new addition has met legal challenges and criticisms for its potential public costs.

Trump’s attempts to, as he called it, “tighten up” elections, and the ongoing war in Iran also crept into the his remarks.

“They are talking to us right now — they’d love to make a deal,” Trump said of Tehran, which has resumed hostilities with the U.S. after a shaky ceasefire ended. “I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen.”

Friday’s security procedures at the Waldorf Astoria were notably tighter as the Secret Service sought to prevent another outburst of violence.