WASHINGTON _ For his second year in the White House, President Donald Trump will skip the White House Correspondents' Dinner amid his attacks on "fake news" and media outlets such as CNN, NBC News and The New York Times.
"The White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year's dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment," Margaret Talev, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said in a statement.
Talev is a Bloomberg News reporter.
Talev's comments followed Trump's statement during a radio interview on the "Bernie and Sid Show" that he was inclined to skip the annual dinner, which sees Hollywood celebrities and journalists roast politicians, because he views the media as "novelists" who make up reports.
"I just think that I want to get it straightened out with the press before I do it," he said. "So it's probably unlikely I'll do it."
Last year, Trump skipped the gathering in favor of holding a campaign-style political rally in Harrisburg, Pa., during which he told a crowd to chants and boos that he'd rather be with regular people than a bunch of celebrities and media elites "consoling each other in a hotel ballroom."
