Donald Trump has announced that he will attend his first ever White House Correspondents’ dinner as president, finally breaking his longstanding boycott of the glitzy event.
In a Truth Social post Monday, the president claimed he had agreed to go along on Saturday, April 25 because White House journalists now recognize him as a great president, without citing evidence.
Trump has shunned the dinner ever since 2015, after suffering a humiliating barrage of roasts from then-President Barack Obama at the 2011 event that reportedly persuaded him to run for the White House four years later.
“In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!” Trump thundered.
“Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree.
“However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The White House Correspondents’ Association, which has organized the dinner every year since 1924, did not comment on Trump’s unlikely claim.
“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president,” said WHCA President Weijia Jiang.
The dinner, she went on, “celebrates the First Amendment while supporting the work we do, including awards honoring excellent journalism and scholarships to help the next generation of reporters who will someday be the ones asking the questions at the White House.
“We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt chimed in on X: “Will be fun!”
Trump broke with decades of tradition after his first inauguration in 2017 when he announced that he would not attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that year.
Back in 2011, the cameras had caught him glaring fiercely as Obama and late night talk show host Seth Meyers ridiculed Trump and scoffed at the idea that he might ever become president.
Many reports have since suggested that this event solidified Trump’s intention to run in 2016, ultimately leading to his election victory.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, which has frequently mocked Trump by posting in his distinctive and peculiar prose style, called Trump’s announcement “beyond parody” in a post on X.
“WE COULD NOT WRITE IT BETTER OURSELVES,” it said.
