President Trump is so pleased with the White House Correspondents' Association's decision to ditch its usual comedian at next year's event that he hinted he may actually show up this time. The WHCA is opting for an author to give the keynote remarks after the backlash they received for comedian Michelle Wolf's insensitive monologue in April.
So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 21, 2018
Wolf mocked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders's appearance in her dinner remarks, while Sanders was sitting an uncomfortable few feet away.
“I actually really like Sarah," Wolf said. "I think she’s very resourceful. But she burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like, maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies. It’s probably lies.”
Even liberal media personalities were outraged by Wolf's offensive routine.
Women who use their government positions to spread lies and misinformation deserve to face the same withering criticism as men. But leave our looks out of it. Watching from home, I hurt for Sarah, her husband and her children.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) April 29, 2018
It was, by most people's standards, nasty. Reeling from the outcry, the WHCA first put out a statement condemning their keynote speaker's comedy bit. This week, the association took a more drastic step and announced that they were doing away with a comedian altogether next year. Instead, they have asked historian and biographer Ron Chernow to give remarks.
Wolf called the WHCA "cowards" for bowing to public pressure and changing its traditional format.
Trump has yet to attend a WHCD as president. The last time he showed up to one of these functions was in 2011, when he was mercilessly roasted by that year's host, Seth Meyers, and then-President Obama.