Amid Trump absence, WH Correspondents' dinner delivers defiant message: We're not the 'enemy of the people'
Journalists at the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner offered an impassioned defense of their work at the annual event — which broke with tradition and featured neither the president nor a comedian — saying defiantly, "We are not the enemy of the state."
"Our responsibility is not to align with any one party or any one of gender, but to serve the people of this country with integrity and dedication," WHCA president Eugene Daniels said Saturday at the Washington Hilton hotel as members of the press, lawmakers and a smattering of Hollywood stars came together for the 111th annual dinner.
"We care deeply about accuracy and take seriously the heavy responsibility of being stewards of the public's trust. What we are not is the opposition," Daniels said to applause, before appearing to push back on remarks made in the past by President Trump.
"What we are not is the enemy of the people," Daniels said, without naming the president.
Trump has repeatedly called the "fake news media" the "enemy of the people."
Daniels's remarks came as Trump — who never attended the Correspondents' dinner throughout his first term in office — opted to buck tradition once again and skip the black-tie gala.
"For decades, presidents on both sides of the political spectrum get gussied up and join us," Daniels, of MSNBC, told the thousands of attendees seated in the Hilton's ballroom.
"I want to be clear about something: We don't invite presidents of the United States to this because it's for them. We don't invite them because we want to cozy up to them or curry favor. We don't only extend invites to the presidents who say they love journalists or who say they are defenders of the First Amendment and a free press," he continued.
"We invite them to remind them that they should be. We invite them to demonstrate that those of us who have chosen the public service of journalism aren't doing it because we love flights on Air Force One or walking into the Oval Office. It's to remind them why a strong Fourth Estate is essential for democracy," Daniels said as the audience clapped, before showing a montage of clips of past commanders in chief, from President Ronald Reagan to Obama, appearing at previous WHCA dinners.
Beyond Trump's absence, Daniels acknowledged that Saturday's dinner would "feel a little different," as organizers nixed the traditional headliner for the event. Comedian Amber Ruffin had been tapped as the night's entertainer in February, before the WHCA later announced that it would no longer be “featuring a comedic performance this year.”
The event also took place at a time of heightened tensions between much of the media and the Trump White House.
The White House took control from the WHCA in February over which outlets are included in its press pool, including banning The Associated Press (AP) over its style regarding the “Gulf of America,” Trump’s preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.
A federal judge later ordered the Trump administration to restore the AP’s access to White House spaces.
On Saturday, as AP reporters Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani accepted an award for their news coverage under deadline pressure, the audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
"This has been a challenging couple of months for AP's White House crew, so this means a whole lot to our entire team," Madhani said as he ticked off the names of some of his colleagues.
While typically filled with a mix of journalists, lawmakers and performers, this year's dinner appeared to be light on entertainers and political figures.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) were among some of the past and current lawmakers eyed at the dinner. A handful of Hollywood stars were also seen throughout the weekend-long festivities related to the Correspondents' dinner, including "The White Lotus's" Jason Isaacs, Tim Daly, "Wonder Woman" star Lynda Carter and Michael Chiklis.
Axios's Alex Thompson was recognized with an award for overall excellence in White House coverage for his reporting that revealed that former President Biden's "cognitive decline was impacting his ability to do his job."
"We, myself included, missed a lot of this story. And some people trust us less because of it. We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows," Thompson said to applause.
"I say this because acknowledging errors builds trust and being defensive about them further erodes it," Thompson said.
"Thank you to the Association's leadership for your unflinching defense of the First Amendment, not just now, but always," he said.
"Everyone can and should push for what we know is right," Daniels told the audience.
"Everyone can and should stand up against government interference in a free press."
--Alex Gangitano contributed.