President Donald Trump has officially said no to attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Axios reported Monday night that the president will skip the annual dinner, scheduled this year for Saturday, April 26.
The White House had been floating doing some kind of counter-programming to send a message.
In the past, Trump scheduled campaign rallies to take place during the dinner, which historically has attracted prominent media members and Hollywood stars.
The date of this year’s dinner is the birthday of first lady Melania Trump, so it’s likely the president will do something to celebrate his wife.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump and his staff have been sparring with members of the press and blasting the White House Correspondents’ Association, which hosts the dinner as a journalism scholarship fundraiser every year.
So it’s no surprise that Trump said no – especially since he refused to attend the dinner during his first term.
The dinner typically includes a comedy bit performed by the president – and then a roast – of the president and the press – by a prominent comedian.
President Donald Trump will skip the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Last year, President Joe Biden attended. The comedian was Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost (left), who was tapped by WHCA President Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News (right)
President Donald Trump’s White House had floated doing some kind of counter-programming of the April 26 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s the same day as Melania Trump’s birthday, so the president will likely do something to celebrate his wife
This year’s WHCA president, MSNBC’s Eugene Daniels, had originally picked comedian Amber Ruffin as the headliner.
But in March, Ruffin ruffled feathers by saying of the Trump administration that they were ‘kind of a bunch of murderers’ during a podcast appearance.
Daniels announced in late March that he had decided to nix Ruffin’s performance.
‘At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,’ Daniels said in a statement.
Relations were already tense between the Trump administration and the WHCA – the group that handles which journalists are in daily White House pool rotation and where outlets sit in the briefing room, among other logistical matters.
The White House, in an effort to take over which reporters are in the pool that covers the president daily, was trying to characterize the WHCA as a group of Beltway elites who are out-of-touch.
‘They have not really welcomed other people, new media, independent journalists, with open arms, and so we thought it was time to expand the coverage and determine who gets to be part of the 13-person press pool, who gets to ask the president of the United States questions in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One,’ argued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the press pool takeover.
In reality, the WHCA has members from all types of outlets and from all political persuasions and the WHCA’s board is democratically elected from the membership.
Then businessman Donald Trump famously attended the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner and found himself the butt of President Barack Obama’s comedy routine. During his first term, he skipped the dinner every year the group held it
Comedian Amber Ruffin (left) was supposed to host this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but in late March the group’s president decided to nix her appearance after she said of the Trump administration they’re ‘kind of a bunch of murderers’
President Joe Biden delivers a comedy routine during last year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Biden appeared at the WHCD every year it happened during his one term. It was canceled during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Journalists have argued that the White House’s move to take over who’s in the pool is being used as a scare tactic warning reporters and outlets against negative coverage.
The Trump administration already punished reporters with the Associated Press over the wire service’s refusal to use the preferred ‘Gulf of America’ for Gulf of Mexico in its influential style book.
Despite a judge last week ruling in the AP’s favor, the outlet’s journalists have still not been able to rejoin the pool.
On Monday a reporter and photographer from the outlet were excluded from Trump’s Oval Office meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
Leavitt said in March that she wouldn’t be going to the dinner.
Trump’s former press secretary, the current governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders attended the 2018 WHCD in place of her boss, and became a punching bag for comedian Michelle Wolf.
‘I actually really like Sarah, I think she’s very resourceful,’ Wolf said onstage at the Washington Hilton. ‘But she burns fact and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye.’
‘Like, maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies,’ Wolf said. ‘It’s probably lies.’
Trump, himself, famously attended the dinner in 2011 and was publicly roasted by both President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that she would not attend the dinner. When press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) went in Trump’s place in 2018, she was mercilessly made fun of by comedian Michelle Wolf (right)
President Barack Obama took on then businessman Donald Trump during the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Obama played his ‘birth video’ – the opening credits of the Lion King – after Trump’s birtherism forced him to publicly release his long form birth certificate
Real estate developer Donald Trump (left) and Melania Trump (right) walk the red carpet at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Obama and Seth Meyers both mocked Trump from onstage
Obama attacked Trump’s birtherism as soon as he got to the podium.
Trump was one of the highest-profile figures to push the ‘birther’ conspiracy theory – that Obama, the country’s first black and biracial president, was born in Africa and not his native Hawaii.
The issue got such play, that Obama was forced to release his long-form birth certificate, which he did the Wednesday before that year’s dinner.
He opened the comedy set by saying he was ready to additionally release his ‘birth video.’
Obama then played the opening African-set scene of Disney’s The Lion King.
‘I know he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than “The Donald,”‘ Obama then said.
‘And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like: Did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?’ the Democrat continued.
Obama also mocked Trump’s gig as a reality TV host.
‘For example, on a recent episode of “Celebrity Apprentice,” at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the men from Omaha Steaks,’ Obama began.
‘And there was lots of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership,’ the president continued.
‘And so ultimately you didn’t blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey,’ Obama said. ‘These are the kinds of decisions that keep me up at night. Well handled, sir, well handled.’
