Trump to stay out of major press event

First prez in 36 years to skip correspondents’ dinner

Washington, Feb. 26: President Donald Trump ratcheted up his feud with the US media on Sunday, announcing he will skip the annual correspondents’ dinner one day after a row erupted over White House press access.

By boycotting the event Mr Trump breaks a tradition that began in 1921 in which journalists invite the US President for a lighthearted roast.

The last time a President missed the event was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was recovering after being shot in an assassination attempt. Reagan, however, phoned in with friendly remarks.

Richard Nixon, who despised the media, skipped the event in 1972.

Over the years the dinner organised by the White House Correspondents Association has evolved — or devolved, depending on one’s point of view — into the self-described “Nerd Prom” packed with Hollywood celebrities.

“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump built his campaign on blasting the mainstream US press, and as President has intensified his attack.

The WHCA said it will proceed with this year’s dinner, set for April 29.

The event “has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment [on freedom of the press] and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,” WHCA president Jeff Mason tweeted.

Some news groups have already pulled out. Conde Nast, publisher of The New Yorker and

Vanity Fair magazines, will be absent, and

Bloomberg will no longer co-host a popular post-dinner party. According to Buzzfeed

News, CNN is debating whether to also pull out. The New York Times has skipped the event for years to avoid charges that its reporters are too close to the White House. — AFP