Is anyone coming to this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner?
It was announced last month that comedian Amanda Ruffin, the previously announced headliner in the event, would not be appearing and that no comedian would replace him.
“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Eugene Daniels, the WHCA president, said when the decision was announced.
The headliners are usually comedians and sitting presidents, but the president won’t be there either.
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Axios reported that President Trump will not attend the April 26 dinner. Trump skipped the WHCA throughout his first term, although the event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, will also not attend.
SCOOP: Trump won’t attend 2025 White House Correspondents’ Dinner https://t.co/Yuoc5GwIqP
— Axios (@axios) April 14, 2025
The official pullout comes as the WHCA, the organization that hosts the dinner, has been even more at odds with Trump than in the past. In a letter in late March, the WHCA accused the White House of acting to “exert pressure on journalists over coverage they disagree with.” The Association has also been fighting the Trump Administration over who controls the press pool.
Meanwhile, Axios, citing Politico, reported that “the White House and conservative groups have floated the idea of hosting a rival event on the same night as the dinner — potentially to celebrate First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday.”
Of course, one of the most famous moments in Trump’s political rise occurred at a White House Correspondents Dinner. Trump was a guest at the 2011 version of the event, sitting in the crowd as both host Seth Meyers and then-President Obama roasted him. After months of Trump pushing the discredited lie about Obama not being born in the United States, Obama released his long-form birth certificate that week and mocked Trump about it.
No WHCA Dinner this year.
Instead: #THISDATE in WHCA Dinner History.
Today’s installment: April 30, 2011.
Barack Obama: “Donald Trump is here tonight.” pic.twitter.com/pobeJywpNH
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) April 30, 2021
The raid that killed Osama Biden Laden took place the following night, cementing Obama’s popularity. However, it’s been speculated over the years that it was that night that encouraged Trump to finally run for president in 2016.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
