Trump’s correspondents’ dinner RSVP raises a dilemma: Can journalists laugh at his jokes or not?
Who benefits from this decision?
Welcome to Washington Secrets, your daily look inside Donald Trump’s brain. Sort of. Today we bring you the burning question about this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner, we show some love for Mark Levin, and yet another Maga civil war.
White House correspondents got what they wanted when Donald Trump made the surprise announcement that he would attend their dinner after boycotting the event for years.
But that leaves them with a terrible dilemma. Can they laugh at his jokes?
“It will be a tricky one for journalists who stake their reputations on standing up to Trump. Will they want to be captured on camera laughing at his jokes?” said a reporter who asked Secrets for anonymity to exercise his journalistic right to bitch about colleagues.
“Then again, what are they even doing there if they reckon the President is destroying democracy and spreading war in the Middle East?
“It’s just a reminder of what a bizarre night it is.”
The April 25 event will be Trump’s first appearance at the dinner as president.
The White House Correspondents Association, which organizes the annual jamboree, said it was “happy” the President had accepted its invitation.
And it marks something of a coup for Weiji Jang, the CBS correspondent who is president of the W.H.C.A., and who has steadily rebuilt relations between reporters and Trump.
She is (predictably) taking heart from pearl-clutching media correspondents for booking a mentalist for the evening, rather than a comedian who might have tweaked a notoriously thin-skinned President.
Yet the result is an age-old problem – how do journalists enjoy a cozy evening of food and jokes with the figure they are meant to cover dispassionately?
In this case, how do they sit down for dinner with a President who has disparaged their role and limited access for news organizations that he doesn’t like?
And will the president use his speech for revenge?
Brian Karem, a veteran reporter who sued the first Trump administration when it tried to take his White House pass away, said he was bracing for a speech that mixed humor with bluster.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to set some kind of record for length,” he told Secrets. “But it’s hard to watch this guy crack wise with a press corps he has worked so hard to destroy.”
READ MORE: White House Correspondents’ Association dinner gives Trump chance to hit media critics
Trump last attended in 2011, when Barack Obama famously made fun of him. His top lieutenants have …
Who benefits from this decision?
Welcome to Washington Secrets, your daily look inside Donald Trump’s brain. Sort of. Today we bring you the burning question about this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner, we show some love for Mark Levin, and yet another Maga civil war.
White House correspondents got what they wanted when Donald Trump made the surprise announcement that he would attend their dinner after boycotting the event for years.
But that leaves them with a terrible dilemma. Can they laugh at his jokes?
“It will be a tricky one for journalists who stake their reputations on standing up to Trump. Will they want to be captured on camera laughing at his jokes?” said a reporter who asked Secrets for anonymity to exercise his journalistic right to bitch about colleagues.
“Then again, what are they even doing there if they reckon the President is destroying democracy and spreading war in the Middle East?
“It’s just a reminder of what a bizarre night it is.”
The April 25 event will be Trump’s first appearance at the dinner as president.
The White House Correspondents Association, which organizes the annual jamboree, said it was “happy” the President had accepted its invitation.
And it marks something of a coup for Weiji Jang, the CBS correspondent who is president of the W.H.C.A., and who has steadily rebuilt relations between reporters and Trump.
She is (predictably) taking heart from pearl-clutching media correspondents for booking a mentalist for the evening, rather than a comedian who might have tweaked a notoriously thin-skinned President.
Yet the result is an age-old problem – how do journalists enjoy a cozy evening of food and jokes with the figure they are meant to cover dispassionately?
In this case, how do they sit down for dinner with a President who has disparaged their role and limited access for news organizations that he doesn’t like?
And will the president use his speech for revenge?
Brian Karem, a veteran reporter who sued the first Trump administration when it tried to take his White House pass away, said he was bracing for a speech that mixed humor with bluster.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to set some kind of record for length,” he told Secrets. “But it’s hard to watch this guy crack wise with a press corps he has worked so hard to destroy.”
READ MORE: White House Correspondents’ Association dinner gives Trump chance to hit media critics
Trump last attended in 2011, when Barack Obama famously made fun of him. His top lieutenants have …
Trump’s correspondents’ dinner RSVP raises a dilemma: Can journalists laugh at his jokes or not?
Who benefits from this decision?
Welcome to Washington Secrets, your daily look inside Donald Trump’s brain. Sort of. Today we bring you the burning question about this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner, we show some love for Mark Levin, and yet another Maga civil war.
White House correspondents got what they wanted when Donald Trump made the surprise announcement that he would attend their dinner after boycotting the event for years.
But that leaves them with a terrible dilemma. Can they laugh at his jokes?
“It will be a tricky one for journalists who stake their reputations on standing up to Trump. Will they want to be captured on camera laughing at his jokes?” said a reporter who asked Secrets for anonymity to exercise his journalistic right to bitch about colleagues.
“Then again, what are they even doing there if they reckon the President is destroying democracy and spreading war in the Middle East?
“It’s just a reminder of what a bizarre night it is.”
The April 25 event will be Trump’s first appearance at the dinner as president.
The White House Correspondents Association, which organizes the annual jamboree, said it was “happy” the President had accepted its invitation.
And it marks something of a coup for Weiji Jang, the CBS correspondent who is president of the W.H.C.A., and who has steadily rebuilt relations between reporters and Trump.
She is (predictably) taking heart from pearl-clutching media correspondents for booking a mentalist for the evening, rather than a comedian who might have tweaked a notoriously thin-skinned President.
Yet the result is an age-old problem – how do journalists enjoy a cozy evening of food and jokes with the figure they are meant to cover dispassionately?
In this case, how do they sit down for dinner with a President who has disparaged their role and limited access for news organizations that he doesn’t like?
And will the president use his speech for revenge?
Brian Karem, a veteran reporter who sued the first Trump administration when it tried to take his White House pass away, said he was bracing for a speech that mixed humor with bluster.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to set some kind of record for length,” he told Secrets. “But it’s hard to watch this guy crack wise with a press corps he has worked so hard to destroy.”
READ MORE: White House Correspondents’ Association dinner gives Trump chance to hit media critics
Trump last attended in 2011, when Barack Obama famously made fun of him. His top lieutenants have …
