The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is set to take place Saturday in Washington, D.C. And while the event has largely lost its luster, it has some extra buzz this year because President Donald Trump has said he will attend for the first time as president.
The president became the first sitting commander in chief not to attend a single “Nerd Prom,” when he chose to skip it in 2017, 2018, or 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, and Trump continued his no-show streak last year. But all signs point to the president being in attendance this weekend for the first time since he was an invited guest back in 2011 – and that is not going over too well with media members who are now threatening to protest his presence.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Rich Lowry and Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review to discuss the potential boycott and the irrelevance of the event.
The Dinner
The annual dinner is meant to serve as a fundraiser for the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), which claims to support the reporters that cover the executive branch, put on events to educate the public about the First Amendment and role of a free press, and award scholarships to help the next generation of journalists.
Historically, the dinner was attended by members of WHCA, select guests, the president of the United States, and members of the administration as a way to honor the press. A comedian was added to the mix in the early 2000s, and the guest list has gotten considerably starrier in recent years with news organizations inviting celebrities.
Last year, WHCA was forced to cancel headlining anti-Trump comedian Amber Ruffin after she called the Trump administration a “bunch of murderers” during a podcast interview and complained about being asked to tone down her material.
To avoid a similar headache, WHCA has enlisted the services of mentalist Oz Pearlman this year. But the event is still ginning up controversy.
The Letter
Some 250 journalists signed onto a letter urging attendees to “forcefully demonstrate opposition” to President Trump at the dinner, claiming “these are not normal times” and “this cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis.”
“We believe the White House Correspondents Association should take stronger action by issuing — from the podium — a forceful defense of freedom of the press and condemnation of those who threaten that freedom, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment,” the missive, addressed to members of WHCA, read. “Speak forcefully, in front of the man who seeks to undermine our country’s long tradition of an independent, strong, and free press.”
The letter went on to outline what it called the “Trump administration’s attack on freedom of the press,” including February 2025 changes to the White House Press Corps and the president’s lawsuits against outlets like ABC News and CBS News.
The Smug Protest
In addition to encouraging those gathered to “speak forcefully,” the letter noted that some media members attending the swanky dinner “plan to wear pocket handkerchiefs or lapel pins with the words of the First Amendment” as another form of protest.
Count CNN’s Jake Tapper among those in the pocket square brigade. He seemed downright giddy discussing the accessory – which says “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press” – with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show Monday night.
“Saturday night’s the White House Correspondents Dinner, and there are a bunch of us that are going to be wearing these… from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press because there might be some guests there that are unfamiliar with the [First Amendment],” Tapper explained to the cheering crowd as he also gifted one to the soon-to-be-unemployed late night host.
Lowry believes this ‘protest’ is going to fall as flat as the ‘insert-the-cause-du-jour-here’ pins celebrities wear to virtual signal at awards show. “I’m not into pin-wearing… This is pointless and annoying, and that dinner has been pointless and annoying for very long time,” he said. “Back in the day – 20, 25 years ago – was kind of enjoyable, but then it got celebrified… This is very incestuous and annoying event.”
In Megyn’s view, the glitz and glamour of the weekend is antithetical to what journalism is supposed to be. “The worst part about it is not even the actual event… it’s all the events around the dinner where… you got to go kiss the ring at all these parties to try to prove that you’re somebody special in Washington,” she lamented. “Meanwhile, you’re supposed to be a shoe leather, scrappy, hates everyone reporter. That’s what a good D.C. reporter is like. They don’t want to rub elbows with any of these people; they want to bring all of them down no matter which party they’re in. They’re looking for the latest scandal, not for the latest free cocktail and red carpet opportunity.”
While Cooke doesn’t take issue with defending the First Amendment, he does have a problem with the left and corporate media’s selective outrage. “There is nothing particularly offensive about that pocket square. The First Amendment is crucially important, and sometimes Donald Trump isn’t good on free speech,” he explained. “It’s just that that moment there only seems to happen when a Republican is president. That laughter/clapping from the audience on Stephen Colbert’s show… they didn’t do that when, for example, Twitter and Facebook shut down The New York Post story and the Hunter Biden laptop. They didn’t do that when abortion-covering journalists were being targeted in California. It’s just so one-sided.”
“So, it’s not that Jake Tapper is completely wrong there. It’s great to shout at all administrations and all government officials about the First Amendment,” he added. “It just becomes so annoying when it only happens in limited circumstances, and I think all the people who are clapping in that probably don’t know that. They probably think they’re entirely virtuous.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Cooke and Lowry by tuning in to episode 1,300 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.