Trump says he'll attend the White House Correspondents' Association dinner [View all]

Source: Politico

03/02/2026 07:53 PM EST


President Donald Trump announced on Monday he plans to attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for the first time as president, setting up a potentially dramatic confrontation with members of the media he has regularly attacked. Trump wrote on social media he accepted the WHCA’s invitation in part to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and also to make the event the “MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!”

Trump has boycotted the event every year he’s served as president, bucking the tradition that many presidents have observed of attending and giving light-hearted remarks that poke fun at the Washington press corps and other public officials.

“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,” Trump said. “However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special.”

Attendance at the April 25 dinner would present the president with an opportunity to further wage battle against the White House press corps. Since he returned to office, the Trump administration sought to ban the Associated Press from covering events at the White House, filed lawsuits against multiple media outlets he views as covering him unfavorably, pushed for funding cuts to public media, revoked press credentials for journalists covering the Pentagon, and used the Federal Communications Commission to exert pressure on media companies.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/02/trump-says-hell-attend-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner-00808083