WASHINGTON _ Daily Show correspondent and comic Hasan Minhaj is this year's host of the White House Correspondents Association Dinner.
Reuters reporter Jeff Mason, White House Correspondents Association president, made the announcement Tuesday on "Morning Joe."
"It's a different dinner. President Trump has said that he will not be coming, but we will still be celebrating the First Amendment and the importance of a free press and Hasan brings all that," Mason said. "He brings comedy chops but he also brings heart and I think that we're going to see that at the dinner."
"He's going to bring the message that we hope to get across that night and that is that the First Amendment is critical and the work on the White House press corps and journalists around the world is very important," Mason added.
Trump announced in February that he would not attend the April 29 dinner.
Mason said that the WHCA was not looking for a comedian who would "roast" the president.
"He's involved in actual fake news as a senior correspondent for the 'Daily Show,'" Mason said.
