President Trump says that he “probably” won’t attend the annual White House correspondents dinner, marking the second time that the President has ditched the event during this term in office.
He made the comment during an interview Friday with “Bernie & Sid in the Morning,” and followed it with a remark about the news media being “so bad and so fake,” The Hill reports.
The White House Correspondents Dinner celebrates award-winning political reporting. The annual event is often attended by celebrities and athletes, as well as the President and other White House administrators. The President typically delivers a joke-filled speech at the event and is later roasted by a famous comedian.
Every President since Coolidge has attended the event at least once. Nixon skipped the dinner two of his six years in office, and Carter declined the invitation two of his four years in office. Last year Trump held a campaign rally at the same time as the event, forcing several White House reporters to miss the dinner to cover the competing event.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will attend this year’s dinner in place of the President.