The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) canceled a comedian's performance scheduled for their annual dinner after she made controversial anti-Trump remarks. The decision comes amid growing scrutiny over the event's tone and political bias, especially as the dinner has often served as a platform for comedians to target conservative figures.
WHCA President Eugene Daniels emailed members to announce that comedian Amber Ruffin’s performance would be canceled after a unanimous board decision. He hinted at the annual dinner’s attempt to rebrand the event to focus on journalism rather than political satire.
“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 said. “For the past couple of weeks, I have been planning a re-envisioning of our dinner tradition for this year. As the date nears, I will share more details of the plans in place to honor journalistic excellence and a robust, independent media covering the most powerful office in the world.”
The decision follows concerns White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich raised regarding comedian Ruffin’s history of criticizing Trump. In February, Ruffin remarked that “nobody wants” Trump at the upcoming April 26 dinner, and just last week, she told the Daily Beast that she intended to portray the Trump administration as a “bunch of murderers.” Despite these inflammatory statements, Ruffin disclosed that the WHCA had previously asked her to tone down her material for the event.
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“This year’s WHCA dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian who is previewing the event by calling this administration ‘murderers’ who want to ‘feel like human beings, but they shouldn’t get to feel that way because you’re not.’ What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such a hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?” Budowich wrote on X.
Trump did not attend the event in 2017, 2018, or 2019 during his first term; it is still unknown whether he will attend this year’s dinner.
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