President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was planning to attend his first White House Correspondents’ Association dinner as president.
In a post to Truth Social on Monday evening, Trump said he was asked “very nicely” to be the “honoree” at this year’s gala, which has traditionally been a bipartisan event for politicians and journalists for over a century.
“In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!” Trump posted.
It is unclear which statement from the association Trump was referring to. There is no evidence that the organization weighed in on Trump’s legacy beyond its normal coverage of his presidency.
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The White House Correspondents’ Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment but in a public statement Monday evening said: “We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.”
The WHCA did not mention whether it was honoring Trump in any capacity.
The event, scheduled for April 25, is a normally light-hearted Washington affair to celebrate press freedom, and often features comedic roasts of administration officials.
“I look forward to being with everyone this year,” Trump’s post continued. “Hopefully, it will be something very Special.”
Before becoming president, Trump appeared at the dinner under previous administrations. At an event in 2011, then-President Barack Obama’s jokes about Trump’s support for the debunked “birther” conspiracy theory, which held that Obama was not born in the U.S., went viral.
But since he took office in 2017, Trump has declined all of his invitations to the event, deriding the “fake news” and many of the journalists in attendance.
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