Trump, US media in open war on annual dinner date

WASHINGTON (AFP) – It's meant to be the annual Washington love-in, a dinner where White House journalists and the president yuck it up in a hotel ballroom. But this Saturday, President Donald Trump stood up his dates.

Members of the White House Correspondents' Association, or WHCA, were decked out in bow ties and gowns at the downtown Washington Hilton.

Trump, however, was 685 miles (1100 kilometers) away in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for a rally with his baseball cap-wearing supporters.

As usual, he devoted portions of his speech – like most of his speeches – to haranguing the "fake news media" or "enemy of the people."

"They are fakers," he said of the media to a typically boisterous crowd. "I'll tell you, you know what sucks? their ratings suck because people don't believe them."

Back in Washington, the WHCA's president Olivier Knox told attendees he did not want to dwell on Trump – but called for a rejection of the president's rhetoric.

"Fake news and enemies of the people are not punchlines, pet names or presidential. And we should reject politically expedient assaults on the men and women whose hard work makes it possible to hold the powerful to account," he said.

Although there's nothing obligatory about attending WHCA dinners, presidents have usually done so at some point during their time in office every year since the inaugural version in 1921.

Ronald Reagan was the last absentee in 1981 and he had a decent excuse: Being recently shot in an assassination attempt.

Trump, however, has boycotted what he calls the "boring" and "negative" party for three years in a row -- his entire presidency so far.

The gala used to be a glamorous affair where hundreds of journalists, Hollywood celebrities and the president were entertained by a top-drawer comedian or other talent.

Now the celebs have drained away and this year even the comedian was missing. A presidential historian, Ron Chernow, was set to deliver the main speech instead.