President Donald Trump will head to the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for the first time as commander in chief after notably skipping the annual event honoring the press during his first term.
The president is set to deliver remarks at the gala before thousands of journalists, politicos, student scholarship recipients and celebrities.
The announcement that Trump would be attending came as a surprise, since he’s notably passed on the White House Correspondents’ Association’s invitation in the past. But it’s also raised questions about how he will address Washington’s press corps, many of whom he frequently criticizes for their reporting, alleging bias, and being the “fake news.”
The event will honor the student scholarship winners and various awards for professional print and broadcast reporters and photojournalists covering the White House.
The association usually chooses a comedian each year to speak. This year, Oz Pearlman, a mentalist and magician, will deliver remarks, in addition to the association’s president, senior White House correspondent for CBS News Weijia Jiang.
This year’s event will likely honor the 250th anniversary of America’s founding and the role the press has played in Washington since then.
The annual weekend-long festivities sometimes receive a bad reputation for the glitz and glam that comes from reporters mingling with their political sources, but the association insists that the gathering is intended to honor coverage of the presidency and serves as a fundraiser for the student scholarships.
Attendees say that the weekend’s events serve as a networking opportunity for reporters who rely on tips from sources in their normal coverage. The event typically gets criticism, but in the lead up to the 2026 weekend, with Trump in attendance, it’s garnering more scrutiny over those who say journalists shouldn’t casually mingle with a president who has it out for them doing their job.
The Associated Press’ Washington bureau chief Ron Fournier acknowledged the role the dinner has for reporters and student journalists but questioned why they would want to celebrate journalism with Trump.
“Why celebrate journalism with a man who hates it?” Fournier said in an essay.
