Love him or loathe him, he appears far more interested in being authentic to his own instincts than being liked, the GB News star said

Donald Trump walked to the podium looking subdued - but he had just sat through two hours of awards given to journalists - and as the man who invented the phrase, "Fake News" giving out gongs to the press would surely strike him as pure theatre.

Of course, the event itself was down-beat given that it had been postponed in April after the assassination attempt which could have proved devastating to this government.

Teacher, left-wing activist and Kamala Harris donor Cole Tomas Allen was stopped by Secret Service agents in a shocking and dramatic moment and is currently awaiting trial.

So tonight, the 47th President looked frankly preoccupied. Before speaking, sat beside Karoline Leavitt, he spent long periods looking down, appearing deep in thought rather than revelling in the back-slapping.

Even after speaking, when he returned to his seat and shared some tic-tacs with Leavitt, there was a seriousness about him that lingered.

Maybe other Presidents have simply been better at acting happy when they had the weight of responsibility weighing them down. But what you see is what you get with Donald J Trump.

With age he appears to be becoming even more uninhibited; even less concerned about public opinion.

Presidents juggling domestic politics can maybe afford to park their troubles for one evening.

But a President carrying the weight of Iran, Ukraine, China, trade negotiations and a dozen other geopolitical flashpoints is another entirely.

Iran, in particular, hangs heavily over Washington at the moment and whether consciously or not, Trump looked like a man with plenty on his mind.

He also appeared a little disengaged during some of the awards and speeches beforehand.

While others politely applauded, he occasionally looked as though he would rather be at home watching his weekend UFC fights on TV.

Once he had the microphone, however, familiar Trump returned - at times twisting and turning his way through anecdotes and bouncing on and off the teleprompter, but keeping everyone engaged, not least because of his unpredictability.

It's fair to say that whoever wrote the speech could have added more original and knowing lines.

There were even moments when Trump himself despaired, "Who wrote that line?" The WHCA dinner is an opportunity to take pot-shots at individuals in a frank but affectionate manner.

But the only joke that stood out as capturing the zeitgeist came at the expense of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as he said the beef tenderloin served was “very special.”

“Bobby Kennedy is right here,” Trump joked to laughter, “He personally ran over the cow in his car.”

Some of the other personal attacks felt a tad predictable: CNN's Kaitlan Collins was singled out once again.

Rosie O'Donnell came in for a predictable broadside, as did obese Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; and Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilan Omar.

He joked about singer Nicki Minaj at the April event, “After hearing the gun shots, many people yelled, ‘Get down! Get down!’ which caused Nicki Minaj to start twerking. Do you believe it? Get down!” Trump said.

“She’s the only one that really understood what that meant,” he added.

One of the most authentic moments of the evening came when Trump complained that journalists ring him "every three-and-a-half minutes" looking for a quote or a scoop - and, according to him, he ignores almost all of them.

The room laughed because everyone knows exactly what he meant.

Every reporter wants a line from Potus. Every producer wants him on the record.

Yet I couldn't help smiling, because every rule has its exception. Somehow, he does take my calls.

Whether that's because he knows I'll ask a fair question, because we've built a genuine rapport over the last year, or simply because he enjoys talking to a British broadcaster, I'll let you decide.

Either way, in a media landscape where access to the President is fiercely fought over, it's a privilege I never take for granted.

But he was at his more relaxed when he stopped talking about politics altogether.

He reminisced about restoring the Waldorf Astoria in which they stood and admitted that its magnificent chandeliers weren't American at all - they were Czech.

He mused about whether he could remove them and install them in the ballroom he's building now because, as he put it, you simply can't buy craftsmanship like that anymore.

For a minute or two, the politician disappeared and the property developer took over.

You could almost see the younger Trump in the 1980s, obsessing over every tiny detail of a building, noticing things that most people would walk straight past.

Whether you're impressed or exasperated by him, there is no denying that he has always had an eye for detail and a genuine fascination with creating beautiful spaces.

After the President finished, Oz the Mentalist took to the stage and immediately had the room tittering awkwardly.

"I thought he might be talking until next year," he joked, perfectly capturing Trump's reputation for speeches that rarely trouble the stopwatch.

The line landed because everyone in the room recognised the truth behind it.

This was a tough crowd. Despite being packed with influential people, countless guests spent much of the evening staring at their phones.

Conversations continued through speeches and attention drifted.

It felt oddly disconnected for a room full of people supposedly gathered for the same event.

Trump must have felt it. But I suspect he doesn't really care.

We live in an age where popularity is too often mistaken for success.

Social media encourages us to believe that likes equal leadership, that applause equals achievement and that universal approval should be everyone's ambition.

Success isn't about being popular; it's about living a life according to values you genuinely believe in, even when those values make you unpopular.

Donald Trump has many flaws: his rhetoric is often abrasive and his attacks can be deeply personal.

Tonight's remarks about Kaitlan Collins, Rosie O'Donnell and JB Pritzker will undoubtedly dominate headlines.

But chasing approval has never been his goal. Love him or loathe him, he appears far more interested in being authentic to his own instincts than being liked.

In today's political world, that's becoming increasingly rare.

He finished his speech by announcing that he will be running in the next election, donning a Maga hat emblazoned with Trump 2028 and telling the room this was an "exclusive."

It was baffling and confusing - like much of Trump's more recent social media posts - the message left you unsure about whether this was fact or fiction: perhaps it was his turn to lie to the press, rather than stand by and watch them do the "fake news."

I messaged a White House insider to ask if he really is considering standing. The response was succinct but probably quite accurate: "Who knows."

With two more years of Trump, there is genuinely a sense that anything is possible, but everything is impossible to predict.