Trump says he will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time as president

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he will attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25, the first time he has done so as commander-in-chief.

Read more: Journalists gather to honor the First Amendment at the 2025 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

“The White House Correspondents’ Association has very kindly asked me to be the honoree at this year’s dinner, a long and recurring tradition since it began in 1924, under then-President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump wrote on his social media site Monday evening.

He pointed out that the latest batch comes amid celebrations of the 250th anniversary of America’s birth, adding that “I am honored to accept their invitation.”

Trump is invited annually, but he never attended the dinner during his first term and also skipped last year’s ceremony.

“For more than 100 years, White House Correspondents’ Association journalists have enjoyed an evening with the president,” Association President Weijia Jiang said in a statement. He added, “We are happy that the president accepted our invitation and we look forward to hosting him.”

The event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but President Joe Biden attended every dinner during the last three years of his term. Every president since Coolidge has attended except Trump — so far. “Because the press was so bad for me,” Trump wrote in his post, he “boycotted the event and never went.”

He watches: Biden unleashes on Trump during his remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

“However, I’m looking forward to being with everyone this year. I hope it’s something very special.”

The Correspondents’ Dinner first began in 1921. Three years later, Coolidge became the first president to attend.

And while all the presidents have gone, except for Trump, not all of them have done so every year of their terms. Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon chose not to do so, and Ronald Reagan—then recovering from an assassination attempt—also missed the Class of 1981, but was recalled from Camp David.

Trump attended the Correspondents’ Dinner before becoming president, and was the subject of ridicule by former President Barack Obama in 2011. “Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he will certainly bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we have there,” Obama joked.

The screens then flash to the White House, which features a huge neon sign reading “Trump White House Hotel Casino Golf Course” and includes gold columns and a massive chandelier blocking the front entrance.

This joke, which came out years before Trump turned to politics, has proven prophetic. Trump relied on his background in construction to take over the White House in unprecedented ways during his second term.

These remodeling efforts include paving the lawn near the Rose Garden to install a patio reminiscent of the Mar-a-Lago club he owned in Florida, and pasting party plaques with portraits of all the presidents on the Walk of Fame along the hallway. He also decorated the Oval Office with copious amounts of gold ornaments and demolished the East Wing to begin work on a massive ballroom.

Upon his return from his Mar-a-Lago weekend on Sunday, Trump stopped to admire two new additions to the area surrounding the Rose Garden, the statues of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin that were installed there during his absence.

“Incredible statues. Come look at them,” Trump told a group of reporters nearby.