I’ve long been ambivalent about the annual White House Correspondents Dinner — otherwise known as “nerd prom.”
This year’s red-carpeted gala will be held on Saturday, April 25 and televised on C-SPAN. President Donald J. Trump, the First Lady, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will all be in attendance.
Even among the press itself, there are two sides to this debate:
It was a terrible idea since its inception. The press shouldn’t be rubbing elbows with the people in power on whom they report. It’s a valid argument, though anyone who knows Washington, D.C. knows this type of social-circle intermingling happens all the time.
vs.
It raises money for scholarships! It’s a feel-good event, not to be taken too seriously — one night of the year when we can set aside our roles as “the power” and “the people tasked with holding power to account,” and celebrate the spirit of the nation and the brilliance of the First Amendment.
And, in the past, it has been an occasion where the press, politicians, cabinet members, press secretaries and Hollywood celebrities found common ground through comedy and self-deprecation.
The President last attended the gala as a guest in 2011, but sat them out during his first administration. This year, he’s back, having accepted the WHCA’s standing invitation to the President of the United States, and questions swirl about what Trump will say about the press in the room — and what they’ll have the courage to say about him.
No President nor politician ever adored the press, but President Trump comes close. His rhetoric would lead one to believe that he detests the media, but I think the opposite may be true.
It’s like the boy in 5th grade who has a crush on the girl sitting next to him in class, but he doesn’t know how to get and keep her attention. So, he acts silly, says mean things to her and relentlessly kicks the leg of chair while his friends laugh.
Prior to politics, Trump flirted with and manipulated the press to his gain — as a businessman, man about town and reality-TV star. As Commander in Chief, he is drawn to microphones, cameras, a pool of reporters, a press pen at one of his stadium rallies. And they’ve given him what he craves and needs to sustain his brand.
Yet the harm he’s inflicted on the press, in return, has been ruthless and harsh. He seizes every opportunity to lambast, to personally insult reporters, and to portray the news media as “enemies of the people.” He’s sued the press, negotiating millions in settlements — monies allocated to his future Presidential Library, now allegedly unaccounted for.
Trump famously shrugged off the murder of The Washington Post’s Jamal Khashoggi, saying “things happen.” More recently, when asked about Khashoggi’s murder, the President said, “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman,” as if it were justification.
Under the leadership of his appointments at the Department of Justice and FBI, Washington Post’s Hannah Natanson’s home was raided, her digital devices confiscated, igniting a costly court battle and sending a purposeful chill through newsrooms, government sources and would-be whistleblowers.
CBS News made the odd choice to invite Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as its guest to the dinner.
You’ll recall, Hegseth was picked to lead the most sophisticated, well-financed military ever known from his former role stirring up controversy at Fox News. Despite media being the reason for his brand and livelihood, the Secretary takes predictable, daily, ad hominem shots at the press. He booted Pentagon reporters from their convenient closet-sized workspaces. He required them to sign pledges that narrowed the scope and tone of their work. Earnest, ethical journalists refused.
In fact, it’s difficult to imagine a guest list more hostile to the press — and corrosive to the First Amendment— than Saturday night’s.
Absent from this year’s gala is a keynote comedian, so there goes the fun, self-deprecating part of the tradition. Instead, a “mentalist” will perform. Make of that what you will.
And the President will speak.
I’m not making any predictions about how the evening will unfold, but on paper, it reads cringy and toxic. Perhaps it is past time for the WHCA to consider a fresh fundraising event, the start of a new tradition.
Gretchen A. Peck 