The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has decided to cancel the traditional performance by a comedian at this year’s annual fundraising dinner.
For decades, comedians have spoken at the dinner to roast politicians, journalists, administration officials, and anyone else in attendance.
However, on Friday, WHCA President Eugene Daniels emailed members to announce a unanimous board decision to cancel comedian Amber Ruffin’s performance, expressing a desire to refocus the event on journalism instead of political satire.
“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Daniels said, according to a report from The Hill.
“For the past couple of weeks, I have been planning a re-envisioning of our dinner tradition for this year,” Daniels continued. “As the date nears, I will share more details of the plans in place to honor journalistic excellence and a robust, independent media covering the most powerful office in the world.”
Ruffin, who works on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” was announced as the featured comedian in February. However, she is a bitter critic of Trump, and the choice reportedly ruffled some feathers in the White House, which already has a strained relationship with the WHCA.
Prior to Trump, presidents traditionally attended the dinner as a show of goodwill between themselves and the establishment media.
Shortly after it was announced that she would be participating, Ruffin appeared on CNN and said that she hoped President Donald Trump did not attend the dinner.
Recent comedians to host the event include Michelle Wolf, Seth Meyers, and Stephen Colbert.
It is unclear if Trump will be attending this year’s dinner. He did not attend the dinners in 2017, 2018, or 2019 during his first term.
The post White House Correspondents’ Association Cancels Comedian’s Performance at Annual Dinner After She Made Anti-Trump Comments appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.