Trump to skip "boring" White House Correspondents' Dinner for third year in a row
President Trump announced that he will be skipping the annual White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner in Washington later this month and will hold a campaign rally instead. This will be his third year in a row skipping the annual gathering of journalists, celebrities and big names in politics.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Mr. Trump said the dinner was "so boring" and "too negative." Last year's entertainment at the WHCA dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf, was criticized by the Trump administration and members of the press after she mocked Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and her appearance.
The WHCA will be going a different route this year, by tapping Ron Chernow, a biographer of American presidents and statesmen, to be the featured speaker at the annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
"I like positive things," the president told reporters. The location of the rally is yet to be determined, but the president said "we have about three sites, everybody wants it, it'll be a big one."
Last year, Mr. Trump held a rally in Michigan on the night of the dinner. The year before, he spoke to supporters in Pennsylvania. During both of those events, he slammed the members of the media and the annual gathering, telling attendees he was spending time with "much better people" than the D.C. press corps.
#WHCA President Olivier Knox on President Trump’s decision not to attend the association’s annual dinner April 27. “We’re looking forward to an enjoyable evening of celebrating the First Amendment and great journalists past, present, and future." @OKnox
— WHCA (@whca) April 5, 2019
White House Correspondents Association President Olivier Knox said in response to the president's expected no-show, "We're looking forward to an enjoyable evening of celebrating the First Amendment and great journalists past, present, and future.