Donald Trump says he will attend the upcoming White House Correspondents Dinner, marking the first time he’ll do so as president after skipping the dinner during his first term and last year.
“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “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!”
He added that he “boycotted” the event during his first term due to “extraordinarily bad” press coverage, “FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term.”
Trump’s decision comes after the WHCA selected mentalist Oz Pearlman as this year’s featured entertainer, bypassing the frequent practice of having a comedian as the entertainer, which often included an extended routine roasting the president.
Last year, the WHCA initially sleected Amber Ruffin as the featured entertainer for the event but had to cancel her appearance in the wake of White House criticism.
Though Trump skipped the WHCD while president, he attended multiple times before he became president, most famously in 2011 when both then-President Barack Obama and featured entertainer Seth Meyers poked fun at him while he looked unamused. An experience that some have said may have inspired Trump’s decision to first run for president in 2015.
The 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner is set for April 25 in Washington.
