Michelle Wolf's reaction as White House dinner spurns comedians

A comedian will not address next year’s White House Correspondents Association dinner for the first time in 15 years.

The annual event, traditionally attended by the President and Vice-President has become known for its roast-like humour.  But Donald Trump – who was savaged by President Barack Obama from the stage of the 2011 dinner – has declined to attend while he has been in office.

Last year’s host, Michelle Wolf, attracted criticism for the severity of some of her attacks, notably against White House Press Secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders. It made her a hate figure among the alt-right who spread vile lies about her online.

So in an apparent attemot to dodge controversy,  next year’s speaker will be historian Ron Chernow, who has written biographies of  Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant.

Wolf tweeted: ‘The @whca are cowards. The media is complicit. And I couldn’t be prouder.’

The last year not to feature a comedian was 2003,  when President George W. Bush decided to eschew a comedian given the recent invasion of Iraq. Ray Charles was booked instead.

But the tradition of using comedians goes back decades, with previous hosts including Bob Hope, Milton Bearle, Richard Pryor and George Carlin.

Before Trump boycotted the event, the last president not to attend was Ronald Regan in 1981. However, he was recovering from being shot in an assassination attempt – and even then he called into the event and joked about the incident.

On being announced, Chernow said: ‘Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to basics. 

‘My major worry these days is that we Americans will forget who we are as a people and historians should serve as our chief custodians in preserving that rich storehouse of memory. 

‘While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won’t be dry.’

The dinner takes place on Saturday, April 27,

• Ten near-the-knuckle lines from Michelle Wolf’s White House Correspondents Association speech.

Published: 19 Nov 2018