President Trump said Friday he doesn’t plan to attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, saying he’ll hold a rally with supporters instead.
“The dinner is so boring and so negative,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he departed for California.
If he follows through, it will be the third year in a row that Mr. Trump has skipped the annual gala in Washington.
Mr. Trump enjoys the optics of railing on the media instead of gathering with them for the scholarship dinner, which traditionally involved a comedian roasting the president and then the commander in chief getting a turn to snap back with funny quips.
Supporters of the president say the dinner is too “inside the Beltway,” making it dissonant to Mr. Trump’s base, though critics say he’s too thin-skinned to handle a few jokes.
The correspondents’ association decided to have author Ron Chernow speak at this year’s event instead of a comedian.
“We’re looking forward to an enjoyable evening of celebrating the First Amendment and great journalists past, present and future,” said WHCA President Olivier Knox.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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