At the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was seated as a guest on the dais, she found herself singled-out with numerous mean-spirited barbs from the event’s host, so-called “comedienne” Michelle Wolf.
That won’t be happening again, at least not this year, as Sanders just revealed that she won’t be attending the 2019 WHCD. Instead, she will accompany President Donald Trump to a rally with supporters at a yet to be disclosed location.
“Not planning to attend”
In an email on Friday to The Hollywood Reporter about the 2019 WHCD, Sanders simply said, “I’m not planning to attend.”
Instead, she added, “I’m going to travel with the president for his rally that evening.”
In addition to the dinner, Sanders had also previously attended several smaller social gatherings related to the main event, but she presumably will not be attending any of those this year either.
THR further noted that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who was also targeted by several of Wolf’s malicious “jokes” at the 2018 dinner, had not yet responded to questions as to whether she would attend this year’s media-centric event.
Skip the negativity
As was noted by Sanders, President Trump has already announced his intention to skip this year’s correspondents’ dinner.
Speaking with reporters prior to leaving the White House on April 5, in response to a question about whether he would attend the dinner or hold a rally with supporters instead, Trump replied, “I’m gonna hold a rally.”
“Yeah, because the dinner is so boring, and so negative, that we’re going to hold a very positive rally instead,” Trump said.
Asked where that rally would be held, the president replied, “We haven’t determined. We have about three sites — everybody wants it, it’ll be a big one.”
“But the correspondents’ dinner is too negative. I like positive things, OK,” he added.
NEW: Pres. Trump says he will hold a rally at an undetermined location rather than attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which he called “so boring and so negative.”
“I like positive things, okay?” https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/rmPvokd4L6
— ABC News (@ABC) April 5, 2019
No more comedy
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is scheduled to be held on April 27 in Washington D.C. After the overwhelming backlash over Wolf’s disastrous performance last year, the event’s organizers are breaking with tradition and eschewed hiring another comedian to host the 2019 dinner.
This year’s featured speaker is biographer Ron Chernow, who was asked to “make the case for the First Amendment” at the event. “While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry,” he quipped.
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