After years of boycotting the WHCA dinner, Trump says he’ll finally show up, and he has one bold promise

President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) annual dinner in April. As reported by Fox News, It will be his first time appearing at the event while serving as president.

Trump announced the decision in a Truth Social post on Monday, saying the WHCA had “very nicely” asked him to be the honoree. He tied his attendance to the nation’s 250th birthday and claimed the correspondents now admit he is “one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country,” adding he would make it the “GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!”

In the same post, Trump cited his long-running boycott of the dinner, saying he skipped it because the press was “extraordinarily bad” to him and “FAKE NEWS” from the start of his first term. He added that he is looking forward to attending this year and said he hopes it will be “something very Special.”

Trump reverses course on a dinner he has long avoided

After Trump’s announcement, WHCA President Weijia Jiang released a statement welcoming his decision. She said the dinner is an evening for journalists and the president to celebrate the First Amendment and noted it also supports honoring journalism and providing scholarships for future reporters. The announcement landed amid midterms cancellation speculation.

Trump did not attend the WHCA dinner during his first term, and he also skipped the event in 2025. His most recent appearance at the dinner was in 2011, when he attended as a celebrity.

That 2011 dinner is often remembered for remarks from host Seth Meyers, who mocked Trump’s political ambitions during the program. Some commentators have pointed to that moment as a factor that later fed into Trump’s decision to launch his 2015 presidential campaign.

The WHCA has also shifted its approach to the dinner in recent years. For the 2025 event, the group canceled comedian Amber Ruffin’s scheduled performance after criticism from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich.

Then-WHCA President Eugene Daniels said the decision was part of an effort to move away from “the politics of division.” Daniels also said the press was “not the opposition,” responding to rhetoric that frames journalists as adversaries, amid OpenAI military agreement backlash.