In A First, US President Donald Trump To Attend White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Last Updated:March 03, 2026, 11:22 IST

Donald Trump is set to attend the 2026 Correspondents' Dinner after four boycotts as president. The event unites journalists, politicians, and celebrities for a gala in Washington.

For the first time as a sitting president of the United States, Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he will attend the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner scheduled for April 25.

“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 Honouree," he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “However, I look forward to being with everyone this year."​

White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang welcomed the move, saying the association was “happy the president has accepted our invitation".

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a formal annual event in Washington, D.C., held every spring at the Washington Hilton hotel. It dates back to 1921, and the first sitting president to attend was Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The event raises money for the White House Correspondents’ Association, which funds First Amendment scholarships and journalism programs.​

Washington insiders call it “nerd prom" because it pulls together journalists, politicians, celebrities, and media personalities all under one roof. The format is straightforward: a comedian roasts the president, and the president delivers a comedy set in return. It is the one night a year where everyone in the capital is expected to laugh at themselves, including the person sitting in the Oval Office.​

The 2011 Night That Started It All

Trump was in the audience at the 2011 dinner, seated with his wife Melania, when President Barack Obama stepped up to the microphone. At the time, Trump had been publicly pushing the “birther" conspiracy theory, questioning whether Obama was born in the United States. Obama had released his long-form birth certificate just days earlier.​

Obama did not let the moment pass. “No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald," he told the crowd. He then joked that Trump could now focus on other pressing mysteries, “like did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"​

Comedian Seth Meyers also took shots that night, joking that Trump’s potential presidential run was “surprising, since I just assumed he was running as a joke." Trump sat stone-faced the entire time. According to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was present, Trump “was beside himself with fury" afterward. Many observers have since speculated that the public embarrassment that night pushed Trump toward actually running for president in 2016.

Four Years of Boycotts

Trump attended the dinner in 2015, before he was elected. But once he entered the White House in 2017, he stopped going. He skipped the event all three years it was held during his first term. The 2020 dinner was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.​

He did not stay quiet about it, though. In 2018, after comedian Michelle Wolf’s sharp monologue drew controversy, Trump went on social media calling the dinner “DEAD as we know it" and a “total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country." He called Wolf a “filthy comedian" and suggested the association scrap the event entirely.

In his second term, Trump skipped the April 2025 dinner too, bringing his total boycotts as a sitting president to four. The 2025 dinner dropped its featured comedian entirely after backlash from Trump’s team over the original choice of headliner Amber Ruffin. The White House also moved to take control of press pool access away from the correspondents’ association, sharpening the tension between the administration and the press corps.​

News world In A First, US President Donald Trump To Attend White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Read More