At least one group of Washington insiders is feeling confident that big gatherings will be back on by August. The White House Correspondents’ Association has rescheduled its annual dinner — an evening typically packed with schmoozing journalists and guests — for Aug. 29.
That puts it at the tail end of convention season, with the Republican National Convention set to wrap up two days before.
Often (affectionately?) referred to as “Nerd Prom,” the dinner was originally on the calendar for April 25, until the coronavirus pandemic shuttered large swaths of the country. “Saturday Night Live” veteran Kenan Thompson was supposed to host, and Hasan Minhaj was booked as a featured entertainer.
Both comedians can make the new date, according to a statement from the dinner’s planners posted Monday on Twitter. (Minhaj is a repeat performer; the “Daily Show” veteran hosted the event in 2017.)
The WHCA settled on the August date after consulting with unspecified “public health and medical officials,” the association announced.
WHCA president Jonathan Karl described the rescheduled dinner as “a chance to celebrate the kind of important journalism we have seen throughout this crisis.”
It’s just the latest twist for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner during the current administration. After Donald Trump broke with a tradition established by previous presidents and declined to attend, the event has struggled to redefine itself. Last year, historian Ron Chernow delivered a restrained keynote address, offering a love letter to the First Amendment instead of a presidential roast.
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