Guess who is not going to dinner?

UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump will not attend the White House correspondents’ dinner, after a campaign and early tenure where he continually battled with the press.

Trump announced his decision on Twitter yesterday. The dinner is scheduled for April 29.

He tweeted: I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!

The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, which sponsors the annual event, said the dinner would take place even without Trump’s attendance.

‘‘[The dinner] has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic,’’ WHCA president Jeff Mason said.

‘‘We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognising the promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.’’

The event is an annual gathering of journalists and the people they cover, typically headlined by the sitting president.

The WHCA awards $100,000 in scholarships at its annual dinner, which began in 1921.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan managed to deliver remarks by phone even though he was at Camp David recovering from an assassination attempt.

’’If I could give you just one little bit of advice, when somebody tells you to get in a car quick, do it,’’ Reagan said to laughter.

News organisations, including the BBC, CNN, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times were critical at the weekend of Trump’s White House for banning media outlets from a press briefing on Friday. – Washington Post, Telegraph Group