(The Hill) — President Donald Trump is not expected to attend next weekend’s White House Correspondents’ dinner, The Hill confirmed on Tuesday.
Trump did not attend any of the annual dinners during his first term, bucking a tradition that went back several administrations.
Earlier this year, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not rule out the possibility of Trump attending the dinner when asked by reporters. Though she did say she would not make an appearance.
“When he makes his decision, I will let you all know,” she said at the time. “But definitely an interesting choice of a comedian. I’ll talk to the boss and see what we decide.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association had been planning to feature comedian Amber Ruffin as the entertainment for the April 26 dinner.
But the WHCA changed course late last month, with its president Eugene Daniels saying the event would no longer feature Ruffin and saying he would “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.”
Trump’s decision not to attend comes amid a time of heightened tensions between the West Wing, WHCA and press more generally.
The White House recently took control of who is included in the press pool and banned The Associated Press from the pool over its style on “Gulf of America.”
Last week, a federal judge ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
