WASHINGTON — The comedian who was set to headline this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner addressed the decision announced over the weekend to cancel her performance at the annual glitzy event, which comes as the organization of journalists navigates tense relations with the Trump administration.
In an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night” on Monday, host Seth Meyers and Amber Ruffin of CNN’s “Have I Got News For You,” who was set to headline the dinner, critiqued the announcement through jokes, with Ruffins noting if there is one thing she learned this weekend “it’s you have to be fair to both sides.”
Ruffin went on to quip that she now knows that watching the “Sound of Music” means she has to “root for the singing children and the other people.”
"You mean the Nazis?” Meyers responded.
“Calling them that is so one-sided,” Ruffin quipped back.
The comedian added, seemingly jokingly, that she was “wrong” in previously thinking that she was supposed to call out when “people take away your rights, erase your history and deport your friends.”
In a note emailed to members over the weekend, the WHCA announced it was “re-envisioning” this year’s annual fundraising dinner, a tradition dating back to 1921 that sees prominent journalists, celebrities and politicians gather at a Washington hotel. WHCA President Eugene Daniels told members that the organization's board “unanimously decided” that this year’s dinner, set for April 26, would no longer feature a comedic performance in a bid to shift focus to the importance of an “independent media covering the most powerful office in the world.”
“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Daniels wrote.
The dinner often features performances in which comedians take jabs at guests and the political climate and media more broadly, with “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost headlining the event last year.
The move to seemingly take on a more serious tone this year underscores the uneasiness between the more-than-century-old independent organization of journalists covering the president and the White House since President Donald Trump’s return to office. The White House has pursued significant changes, such as taking control of the small rotating group of press allowed in certain presidential events each day, known as the “pool,” and blocking The Associated Press’ participation due to the outlet not fully using a name the president designated for a body of water.
On Friday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich criticized the WHCA’s choice of Ruffin for this year’s dinner in a post on X, writing that the “2nd rate comedian” was “previewing the event” by making anti-Trump statements.
“What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this?” Budowich added in the post. “More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?”
Budowich also took to X after the WHCA announcement canceling Ruffin, calling the once-storied and consequential organization of journalists now “broken and useless.”
Sitting presidents in the past have attended the annual dinner, giving light-hearted remarks that often feature jokes. Trump was the first president in decades to skip the event during his first term, which he then did each year after as well.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has already announced that she would not attend this year’s dinner.
