Donald Trump Attends White House Correspondents’ Dinner as President for the First Time in Over a Century of Tradition

Donald Trump attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for the first time as president on April 25, 2026, marking a significant moment in his relationship with the press corps he has frequently criticized.

The event, held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., represented Trump’s first appearance at the annual gala since taking office, breaking a long-standing boycott that began during his first term and continued through the initial year of his second term.

Trump had previously attended the dinner only as a private citizen in 2011 and 2015, sitting in the audience while President Barack Obama made jokes about him. The White House Correspondents’ Association has invited every sitting president since Calvin Coolidge attended in 1924, with Trump being the sole exception until this year.

In a social media post announcing his attendance, Trump stated that he had “boycotted the event” because “the Press was extraordinarily bad to me,” but added that he looked forward to being with everyone and hoped the evening would be “something very Special.”

The association’s president, Weijia Jiang, confirmed in a statement that they were “happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him,” emphasizing that the tradition of presidents attending the dinner spans more than a century.

The dinner proceeded despite heightened security concerns following reports of shots fired outside the ballroom, which led to Trump being evacuated from the event unharmed. This incident occurred during what was described as his first time attending the gala in his official capacity as president.

Trump’s attendance came amid ongoing national celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday, which he referenced in his social media announcement as adding significance to the occasion.

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, established in 1920 and held annually since 1924 with exceptions during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic, has traditionally featured presidential remarks on the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, often accompanied by light-hearted roasts of journalists.

This year’s event featured mentalist Oz Pearlman as the headline entertainment, a departure from the traditional comedian format that has characterized many past dinners.

The Associated Press reported that Trump had been invited annually but consistently declined until 2026, noting that every president since Coolidge had attended the dinner except for Trump until his appearance this year.

Journalists and media advocacy groups have expressed concern about the normalization of Trump’s historically adversarial relationship with the press, with a petition signed by over 250 veteran journalists describing his presence as “a profound contradiction of its purpose.”

Conversely, the White House Correspondents’ Association leadership maintained that they were pleased to see Trump ending his years-long boycott and embracing a tradition that dates back one hundred years.