The White House Correspondents Association said President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend its annual dinner on April 30 after a lengthy presidential absence due to former President Donald Trump’s spats with the mainstream media and the pandemic.
“The WHCA is pleased to host President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden as we honor the First Amendment at our dinner on April 30,” the association tweeted.
The dinner is held to raise money for WHCA activities and scholarships for student journalists. It is best known for its roasts in which a prominent comedian lays into the leader of the free world before the president bites back from the lectern.
Mr. Trump refused to attend the dinner, saying the media was unfair to him and he would rather hold rallies elsewhere in America than attend the inside-the-Beltway affair. The pandemic canceled the 2020 and 2021 editions.
The White House had been coy about whether the Bidens planned to attend this year’s edition, given the risks of contracting the virus in crowded settings. A recent political gala, the Gridiron Dinner, was linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the upper echelons of Washington.
The WHCA will require attendees to be fully vaccinated and take a same-day antigen test for the coronavirus.
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• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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