President Donald Trump said Friday he will skip the 2019 White House Correspondents Dinner for the third year in a row and hold a political rally instead during a brief pool spray before departing for California.
“Thee the dinner is so boring and so negative that we’re going to hold a very positive rally instead,” Trump said. “The correspondents’ dinner is too negative. I like positive things.”
Trump has skipped the annual dinner every year of his presidency, which was particularly mired in controversy in 2018 after comedienne Michelle Wolff made several jokes at the expense of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Wolff attacked Sanders appearance and made several jokes about abortion which were considered offensive. (RELATED: Comedian Michelle Wolf Doubles Down On WHCD Jokes About Sarah Huckabee Sanders)
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is DEAD as we know it. This was a total disaster and an embarrassment to our great Country and all that it stands for. FAKE NEWS is alive and well and beautifully represented on Saturday night!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is seen at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
Trump has teased the prospect of attending the dinner after the White House Correspondents Associations announced that in lieu of a comedian telling jokes, they would invite a respected presidential historian.
The president floated the idea of attending the dinner after the announcement in November 2018, saying:
So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
