The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) is celebrating its 114th year in 2025. It was originally created during President Woodrow Wilson’s time as a group of journalists who reported on the White House but stayed independent from the government.
Over the years, the U.S. has had its share of controversial presidents, like Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. But before Trump, every president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s attended the WHCA’s yearly dinner. That dinner was usually a light-hearted event where presidents joked around and comedians poked fun at politics.
However, things are very different now. David Smith from The Guardian wrote that the upcoming 2025 dinner feels more like a funeral than a celebration. This year, there won’t be a president trying to be funny or a comedian roasting the powerful. Instead, it feels like a sad gathering of journalists who are struggling to figure out how to deal with Trump’s aggressive tactics and the growing influence of pro-Trump media.
President Biden tried to bring back some normalcy during his time by giving funny speeches at the dinner. But now that Trump is back in office, he’s refusing to attend again, just like during his first term. Trump has long called the media “the enemy of the people,” and most of his team is expected to boycott the event too.
The WHCA had originally invited comedian Amber Ruffin to perform, but then took back the invitation. Many people see this as a sign that the media is giving in too easily and is failing to stand up to Trump’s attacks. Smith points out that Trump has tightened his grip on the press — controlling which journalists can follow him, banning the Associated Press from the Oval Office, and generally limiting media access.
Sally Quinn, a well-known journalist and the widow of famous Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, said she isn’t going to the dinner this year. She feels this is one of the darkest times in American history. She told Smith that people are scared — scared they’ll end up in jail if they write something Trump doesn’t like. She also said many media owners are giving in to Trump, and as a result, journalists are quitting their jobs in protest.
According to Quinn, covering Trump is the biggest story in journalism right now, but it’s also a very stressful and depressing one. Reporters aren’t enjoying their work; instead, they’re overwhelmed and deeply worried about what’s happening.
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