After declining to attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Trump said he will “absolutely” attend the event in 2018.
“I would come next year, absolutely,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters.
Trump has had a love-hate relationship with the media since the time he announced his candidacy and has called media the “enemy of the American people.”
In February, Trump announced on Twitter that he will not attend this year’s WCHA dinner. “I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!”
I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017
WHCA President Jeff Mason, a Reuters correspondent, said that the annual dinner would go as planned. “The White House Correspondents’ Association looks forward to having its annual dinner on April 29. The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,” Mason said.
Statement from @PressSec on decision by White House staff to skip Correspondents’ Dinner: pic.twitter.com/iNkDRDjlc5
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) March 29, 2017
Press secretary Sean Spicer said the White House staff, out of “solidarity” with the president who “has been treated unfairly” by the media, will also not attend the event on Saturday.
The WHCA dinner is an event where the media, the president and lawmakers mingle over drinks and food and share a few laughs. The president usually gives a funny speech roasting the media and politicians in the room.
Trump who attended the dinner in 2011, then-President Barack Obama and “Saturday Night Live” comedian Seth Meyers took a few digs at Trump’s expense. Trump stared at the stage while Meyers said, “Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican. Which is surprising, since I just assumed he was running as a joke.” Poking fun at Trump’s TV appearances on Fox News, he said, “Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic because a fox often appears on Donald Trump’s head.”
Instead of appearing for this year’s dinner, Trump announced he is holding a rally in Harrisburg, Pa., to mark his first 100 days since taking office. The rally will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, according to a statement from Trump’s campaign committee.
Next Saturday night I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2017
