Trump's correspondents' dinner appearance sparks boycotts and petition: 'You're having dinner with him?'

Source: The Independent

Thursday 23 April 2026 13:09 EDT


President Donald Trump's expected attendance at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner this weekend has brought renewed scrutiny to the event that honors the press. The administration's animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump's second term, from berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Associated Press in court to restricting press access to the Pentagon.

It's another layer of complexity for the so-called “nerd prom,” given the name for the sight of reporters in tuxes. Some people are already squeamish about journalists toasting and laughing with people they regularly cover. “This is sort of a critical moment for these dinners and it will be interesting to see what happens going forward,” said former ABC News reporter Lisa Stark.

Journalists urged to ‘speak forcefully’ on freedom of press

She and longtime colleague Ian Cameron have circulated a petition urging journalists at Saturday’s event to “speak forcefully” in defense of the press with Trump in attendance. Dan Rather and former ABC White House reporter Sam Donaldson are among more than 350 former journalists to sign. Reporters have talked about a visible protest like lapel pins touting the First Amendment.

Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, was the first president to attend the dinner. Chief executives usually appear, requiring them in recent years to appear to be good sports as comics like Stephen Colbert, Colin Jost and Trevor Noah make jokes about them. Trump attended in 2011, glaring from the audience at President Barack Obama's barbs about him. This will be the first year he attends as president, however.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-2026-b2963782.html