It started out like any White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. I have been to many — perhaps too many — but this one was regrettably historic.

I said hello to a lot of old friends while seeing many healthy-sized egos who regularly attend. For the most part, it was business as usual. Yet, there was a different mood than most years. President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak at the dinner for the first time. There was concern in the air and seemingly more protesters than usual.