Why Is Trump Skipping The White House Correspondents’ Dinner? Who Else Bailed?


Donald Trump is reportedly skipping the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Why did the president say he will not attend? Others, including CNN, have also been said to be bailing on the event as well.

Deadline has just reported that the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner will go on as planned, despite the fact that the president of the United States has declined to attend.

The White House Correspondents’ Association President Jeff Masson issued a statement on Saturday afternoon that noted Donald Trump’s refusal to attend the dinner but said that the dinner would “continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy public spotlight.”

President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday afternoon that he would not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, but wished everyone “well” and told them to have a “great evening.”

Donald Trump’s decision to bail on the traditional dinner as well as dealing with the press mob that usually occurs afterward came after a number of news organizations pulled out of their usual parties.

Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker all bailed this year.

Yesterday, the White House Correspondents’ Association issued a statement that “protested strongly” against the White House’s decision to exclude CNN, New York Times, Politico, and multiple other prominent news organizations.

“We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not.

“The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.”

The Correspondents’ Dinner, which is usually a good-natured event, faced a downfall when the president continued on his rampage regarding “fake news” and calling the press “the enemy” of the American people. Trump has condemned the use of anonymous sources as well.

The press highlighted the fact that Trump’s administration had routinely offered journalists not-for-attribution information.


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The White House Correspondents’ Dinner’s proceeds fund college journalism scholarships, dating back to 1920. Calvin Coolidge was the first president of the United States to attend in 1924.

John F. Kennedy threatened to boycott the dinner unless the ban on women was lifted and it was.

Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter skipped the dinner a few years, as did President Ronald Reagan who did not attend after he was shot in an assassination attempt.

However, for the most part, all of the presidents have made a habit of going to the “roast-like” event.

Stephen Colbert’s 2006 keynote speech at the event with President George W. Bush became controversial when he made jokes like, “He not only stands for things, he stands on things, things like aircraft carriers, and rubble, and recently flooded city squares.”

Why do you think President Donald Trump is refusing to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

[Featured Image by Pool/Getty Images]

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