For the second year running, President Donald Trump will skip the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“The White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year’s dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment,” White House Correspondents’ Association President Margaret Talev said in a statement. “In keeping with tradition, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also will represent the administration at the head table.”
Some of the reporters to be honored at the April 28 dinner hail from CNN, a channel that has frequently been the subject of the President’s ire. The others come from the New York Times, Politico and Reuters.
Trump’s acrimonious relationship with the dinner stretches back past his two recent absences to 2011, when he sat in the audience and was lampooned by President Barack Obama.
