Trump to skip media dinner, a first in 36 years

  Washington, Sunday

President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the US media Saturday, announcing he would skip the annual correspondents’ dinner one day after a row erupted over White House press access .

By boycotting the event, Trump breaks a tradition that began in 1921 in which journalists invite the US president for a light-hearted roast.

Missed event

The last time a president missed the event was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was recovering after being shot in an assassination attempt. Reagan however phoned in with friendly remarks.

Richard Nixon, who despised the media, skipped the event in 1972.

Over the years the dinner organised by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) has evolved—or devolved, depending on one’s point of view—into the self-described “Nerd Prom” packed with Hollywood celebrities.

“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump built his campaign on blasting the mainstream US press, and as president has intensified his media-bashing.

The WHCA said it would proceed with the dinner, set for April 29.

“The event has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment (on freedom of the press) and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,” WHCA president Jeff Mason tweeted.

Some news groups have already pulled out. Conde Nast, publisher of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair magazines, will be absent, and Bloomberg will no longer co-host a popular post-dinner party. -AFP

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