He missed Hasan Minhaj.
He skipped Michelle Wolf.
But when mentalist Oz Pearlman takes the podium at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner next month, President Trump will be there.
Trump is ending his boycott of the D.C. journalism gala after a year spent doing battle with the White House press corps.
“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!” the president said on Truth Social on Monday.
Traditionally, the WHCA dinner is a place for the political and media elite to mingle with more glamorous guests imported from Hollywood. But the Trump era has cast a pall over the proceedings. Each year, the show has had to address “the elephant that’s not in the room,” as Minhaj put it.
“The leader of our country is not here,” Minhaj said in 2017. “That’s because he lives in Moscow… As for the other guy, I think he’s in Pennsylvania because he can’t take a joke.”
After the sour reception for Wolf’s blistering set the following year, the WHCA took a break from comedy, turning to historian Ron Chernow for a lecture on presidential civility. Trump skipped that, too.
Then came a two-year COVID hiatus, followed by three Biden years. With the return of Trump last year, the WHCA initially leaned into edginess by picking comedian Amber Ruffin — only to make an abrupt about face when it became clear she planned not to censor herself. The show went ahead without Trump and without entertainment.
Meanwhile, in its day job, the WHCA has been waging a mostly losing battle on behalf of journalistic access. Early on, the administration stripped the group of its primary power — control over the White House press pool — allowing pro-Trump influencers to attend events. Last fall, the WHCA could only protest when the administration barred reporters from the press secretary’s office in the West Wing.
The WHCA has also joined an amicus brief in defense of the Associated Press, which was kicked out of various events for refusing to go along with Trump’s attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico. For now, at least, an appeals court has refused to force the White House to readmit the AP to certain restricted spaces.
Reporters have also been kicked out of the Pentagon, which has issued credentials to friendlier faces.
For this year’s entertainment, the WHCA went with an apolitical choice in Pearlman, whose bits include guessing people’s ATM PINs.
“We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him,” said WHCA president Weijia Jiang, a White House correspondent at CBS.
The dinner will be held on April 25.
