Ending speculation, the US president tweeted that he won't be attending the annual Correspondents' Dinner in April, a first in over three decades
A float featuring US President Donald Trump in a fools parade through Frankfurt am Main. Pic/AFP
Washington: In yet another salvo in his ongoing tiff with the media, Donald Trump yesterday announced that he would skip the glitzy White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) annual dinner, becoming the first US President to miss the gala in over three decades.
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"I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" Trump tweeted.
The black-tie dinner, which raises money for journalism scholarships, takes place every spring and is usually attended by the president, journalists, celebrities and Washington insiders.
The last president to miss the dinner was Ronald Reagan, who sat out because he was he recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981, although he still delivered remarks by phone. According to National Public Radio (NPR), Richard Nixon was the last president to simply skip the event, doing so in 1972. Trump's announcement came a day after the White House excluded several major broadcasters and newspapers from an off-camera press briefing.
"The level of tension seemed incongruous with a black-tie event that is typically a jocular, if occasionally sharp-edged evening. The dinner, which has attracted A-list celebrities in recent years, features a presidential roast of reporters and a comic routine by a notable entertainer. Presidents are expected to be self-deprecating, which Mr Trump is decidedly not," The New York Times said.
Reacting to Trump's decision, The Correspondents' Association, in a measured statement, said that it "takes note" of it. Jeff Mason, its president, wrote that the dinner "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."
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