Some people want Washington’s annual “Nerd Prom” to have a little more backbone.
Journalism advocacy groups and former journalists including Sam Donaldson, Lynn Sher and Linda Douglas have called on the White House Correspondents’ Association to “take a stand” when President Donald Trump makes his first appearance at the organization’s annual banquet on Saturday, April 25.
“This dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of the free press in American democracy, and as a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who support it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attack on the free press makes his presence at events like this invaluable.”
There is a serious conflict in its objectives,” the letter to WHCA members and the board states.
Signatories include the Society of Professional Journalists. National Association of Black Journalists. National Press Photographers Association. Freedom of the Press Association. Coalition for Women in Journalism. and Radio Television Digital News Association.
The Trump administration and the media that cover it have a strained relationship at best. The group’s letter cites a series of efforts to undermine news organizations, including banning The Associated Press from reporting on the White House pool and stripping reliable news organizations of office space that cover the Pentagon. Many of these efforts ended up being litigated in court.
The rift between President Trump and the media has been years in the making. During his first term, he refused to attend WHCA events that have been a fixture on the Washington, D.C., calendar for years, and the organization has retreated in recent years from its regular business of requiring comedians to deliver some hot takes about the current occupant of the Oval Office. Last year, the WHCA withdrew its invitation to cartoonist Amber Ruffin, who was scheduled to be featured at its annual banquet. Plans for 2026 call for demonstrations by mentalists to replace cartoon routines.
The WHCA faces difficulties figuring out how to respond to a president who favors only certain types of criticism. During President Trump’s first term, the WHCA undermined invited comedian Michelle Wolf, who led a fiery performance at a 2018 dinner. “I think she’s very resourceful, like burning facts and using the ashes to create the perfect smokey eye,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who attended the event. “Maybe she was born with it, and maybe it’s a lie,” the comedian said, repeating a popular Maybelline advertising slogan. Later that day, the WHCA issued a statement saying Wolf’s performance was “contrary to the spirit” of the group’s mission to call attention to the values of free press and great journalism.
Some journalists attending this year’s dinner have announced plans to wear pocket squares or lapel pins emblazoned with First Amendment text. But supporters called on the WHCA to take “stronger action by strongly defending press freedom and issuing a statement from the platform condemning press freedom.”
We stood and toasted the First Amendment in the wake of those who threaten that freedom, pledging to continue to protect this vital foundation of our democracy. “Speak forcefully in the face of a man who seeks to undermine our country’s long tradition of an independent, strong, and free press. We also ask the WHCA to reaffirm without question that press freedom is not a partisan issue and that the association will not normalize this behavior, but will fight back against officials who have waged a systematic war against journalists praised at dinner parties.”
We probably won’t know until Saturday night whether anyone takes the group’s advice.
