White House correspondents 'excited' for Trump's return to annual DC dinner, insiders say
Anticipation is building among White House reporters ahead of Donald Trump's first appearance as president at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
"I think people are almost universally excited and curious what President Trump will say in his speech," one White House correspondent told Fox News Digital. "Even if you don't like the president, the president appearing at the dinner makes the dinner a much more significant event."
Trump shocked the media landscape last month when he announced on Truth Social that he had accepted the invitation to appear at the annual gala for the first time as president after boycotting it last year and during his first term in office.
Reporters have "guarded optimism" that the dinner will go smoothly as some are nervous that Trump "might bail at the last minute," whether it's due to his adversarial relationship with the press or new developments in the ongoing war with Iran.
However, assuming Trump does take the podium, he'll certainly take aim at the media, the correspondent said.
"President Trump can be very friendly and gracious, but he can also be very critical and aggressive," the correspondent said about what Trump might say in his speech.
Trump's attendance is attracting plenty of outside criticism, and the dinner will have political tensions and messages, regardless. CNN's Jake Tapper showed off a pro-First Amendment pocket square he intends to wear as a message to Trump at the dinner during an appearance on Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" this week, saying, "There are a bunch of us that are going to be wearing these."
More than 200 journalists, including broadcast veterans Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson, signed an open letter calling on the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) to call out Trump to his face over what they describe as "attacks" on the free press. Trump and his team's barbs at the "fake news" media are so well-known and expected at this point that they're essentially part of the administration's repertoire.
"I don't think that that's a sentiment that's held by many people who are actually White House reporters," the correspondent reacted. "I know the dinner has had cringy optics for a while, reporters rubbing shoulders with officials and acting all chummy and friendly, but having at least a functional working relationship and at least a little bit of respect among the parties is good for everyone."
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The correspondent credited WHCA's current president, CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, for her "diplomatic" approach with the Trump administration, something they said halted the "demise" of the organization. They predict Jiang won't take her cues from the likes of Rather and Donaldson.
"She's a very savvy diplomat," the correspondent said. "And she knows that the Association needs to survive the long haul. And she has made progress with the administration, cooling tensions that peaked under Eugene [Daniels, the previous WHCA president and ex-Politico reporter, now an MS NOW host], who was more openly antagonistic. So I don't see any reprimand for President Trump, you know, perhaps a polite request that they curb this or that, but no. They're not going to be bashing him."
A second White House correspondent praised Jiang's leadership and restoring relations between the WHCA and the Trump administration.
"Trump’s coming because she handled it so well," the correspondent told Fox News Digital.
They said last year's dinner was "dead on arrival" when far-left comedian Amber Ruffin was selected as the marquee entertainer and that it took a further blow when the WHCA, then under Daniels, scrapped her appearance over the growing backlash.
"It was kind of a joke," the correspondent said. "Like the only people that went were legacy reporters looking to get pictures on Getty. It wasn’t actually a big event."
But the attitude among reporters has turned around dramatically, not only with Trump in attendance, but the WHCA having popular and non-controversial mentalist Oz Pearlman to provide the entertainment versus a liberal comedian.
"There is a lot more interest this year," the second correspondent said. "I am very happy that [Trump] is coming. I think that’s kind of the sentiment across the board."