The White House Correspondents Association has sent out this notice to the staff of Donald Trump at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I’ll bet the White House staff is pretty upset they had to say no to this event– they came to Washington to meet celebrities and have some fun. Now they’ll be the first staff in 25 years to miss the festivities. What do they in return? Bowling night with Tiffany?
WHCA:
Dear members, The White House informed the White House Correspondents’ Association this evening that White House staff will not be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner out of “solidarity” with President Trump, who has previously announced that he would skip the event. The WHCA board regrets this decision very much. We have worked hard to build a constructive relationship with the Trump White House and believe strongly that this goal is possible even with the natural tension between the press and administrations that is a hallmark of a healthy republic. We made clear in our meeting tonight that President Trump, Vice President Pence, and White House staff continue to be welcome to join us at this dinner. Only the White House can speak to the signal it wants to send with this decision. But our signal is clear: We will celebrate the First Amendment on April 29 and look forward to acknowledging the important work of our terrific members and awarding scholarships to students who represent the next generation of our profession. Best, Jeff WHCA president
