Trump Accepts White House Correspondents' Dinner Invitation For First Time
Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner for the first time as president, after declining to attend during his initial term in office due to his view that the majority of the media is unfairly biased against him. The president also did not attend in 2025, the first year of his second presidential term.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“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!”
Trump criticized the press and its coverage of him in his acceptance, pointing to it as a reason for his absence from past events.
“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,” he wrote. “However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very special.”
The annual dinner, which celebrates the First Amendment, is set to take place on April 25 at the Washington Hilton, outside of which John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Trump was the first president to skip the event since Ronald Reagan in 1981, who was recovering from the assassination attempt at the time.
The event also serves as a fundraiser for journalism scholarships and awards.
The WHCA announced last week that mentalist and mind-reader Oz Pearlman would entertain at the event.
“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president, a dinner that celebrates the First Amendment while supporting the work we do including awards honoring excellent journalism and scholarships to help the next generation of reporters who someday will be the ones asking the questions at the White House,” WHCA President Weijia Jiang, a CBS News correspondent, stated in a response to Trump’s acceptance.
The dinner started in 1924 during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge. The president and a comedian or entertainer generally make remarks, often roasting political figures and the media.
Trump made headlines in 2016 when he roasted his campaign opponent Hillary Clinton ahead of Election Day at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.