Donald Trump said that he will attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, marking the first time he will do so as president.
Trump posted on Truth Social, “The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge. In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER! Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree. However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Up to now, Trump has passed on the invitation from the White House Correspondents’ Association, and in some years has held rival events. Last year, the White House bashed the WHCA when they selected Amber Ruffin as featured entertainer, noting her past jokes and comments about the president. This year, WHCA President Weijia Jiang selected mentalist Oz Pearlman to perform, bypassing a comedian who may have triggered controversy.
The event is scheduled for April 25 at the Washington Hilton. It’s been a long tradition of the president to appear at the event and to do some stand up of his own, with Joe Biden and Barack Obama appearing each of the years of their terms.
Trump attended the dinner multiple times before he became president — most famously in 2011, when he did not look happy at being the butt of Obama’s humor about his role as the star of The Apprentice. Trump’s administration has had a fraught relationship with the WHCA and members of the press corps this term, taking control of the press pool. But Trump himself has routinely engaged with the press, answering questions sometimes multiple times a day, while taking calls from some reporters on his cell phone. Over the weekend, he did a dozen or so phone calls with mainstream media figures to talk about the decision to go to war with Iran.
