Trump to Attend White House Correspondents’ Dinner for First Time as President, Breaking Boycott

For the first time, Donald Trump will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as a sitting president, breaking a years-long boycott that lasted throughout his first term and into his second.

“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER! Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree. However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Trump announces that he will attend the White House Correspondents Dinner this year — his first time ever participating as president (he never went during his first term or last year, though he has previously attended the dinner as a guest) pic.twitter.com/1Xu3vuy7EE

— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) March 2, 2026

Trump has attended the annual ceremony before in the past, but only as a guest and never as the sitting president.

On Thursday, White House Correspondents’ Association announced that it would not be tapping a host prone to political commentary and instead named mentalist Oz Pearlman as its headliner.

“As the world’s most celebrated mentalist, Oz Pearlman will offer a fascinating glimpse into what’s truly on the minds of Washington’s newsmakers,” WHCA president Weijia Jiang said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting, fresh, and interactive evening as we celebrate the First Amendment and Washington news coverage together.”

This marks two years in a row that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has avoided the tradition of having a stand-up at the helm after bucking comedian Amber Ruffin from the show last year. At the time, the then-WHCA president Eugene Daniels said that this move was done to “ensure the focus is not on the politics of division.”