President Donald Trump routinely blasts the “fake news media.” He called one reporter a “very obnoxious person” and described another as “piggy.”
But on Saturday, Trump will sit down with reporters from various news organizations — as well as other politicians, government officials and celebrities — for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
It will be Trump’s first time at the event as president. He last attended in 2011, when then-President Barack Obama made Trump the butt of some of his sharpest jokes.
Some are calling the president’s decision to attend this year a political move, considering the event is meant to celebrate journalists, whom he regularly criticizes and verbally spars with. That tension between the president and the media may even lead to notable changes at the annual dinner.
That tension is already present, days before the event. On Monday, hundreds of veteran journalists sent a letter to the White House Correspondents Association, asking them to “forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”
The group claims Trump’s attendance at the event is a “profound contradiction of its purpose,” saying the dinner is meant to serve as a symbol of how vital and irreplaceable the free press is in the U.S.
They said the dinner “cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis.”
Trump’s last attendance
The last time Trump attended the dinner, he had been amplifying the “birther” conspiracy theory, which falsely claimed Obama was not born in the U.S. and was not eligible to be president.
Hawaii had released Obama’s official birth certificate a few days before the 2011 dinner, and Obama used it as material for his stand-up routine. Who better, he said, to quash the false citizenship claims than “the Donald.”
“I know that he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald,” Obama said. “That’s because we can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like did we fake the moon landing?”
Seth Meyers, who hosted the 2011 dinner, also poked fun at Trump. He later said that Trump had sent his lawyer to pressure him into apologizing.
Breaking with tradition, Trump hasn’t attended the correspondents’ dinner since, citing his dislike of the media and his belief that the press is “fake.”
This year’s dinner: what’s different?
Now, the president is changing his tune and attending the event on Saturday. And while we can’t predict exactly what will happen at the event, we can say this one will be different.
For one, the dinner is typically hosted by a comedian. But not this year. Oz Pearlman, better known as Oz the Mentalist, will be the master of ceremonies.
Pearlman told ABC News the dinner will be a “career-defining moment.”
“I think it’s going to be the ultimate challenge, and it’s also the most authentic, genuine reaction, because when I do things, the easiest solution is always, ‘Well, they’re in on it, right?'” Pearlman said.
He said the audience of journalists is his “bread and butter.”
He even noted his job is “not to come in and roast,” even though the dinner has become known as a roast session for public officials.
“I think I was brought in to unite, unite in a sense of wonder and amazement,” Pearlman said. “I do things that blow you away, that you get to laugh, wow, gasp, and feel like you’re a kid again.”
What to expect roast-wise
Although Pearlman wasn’t planning any roasts, the same can’t be said for other attendees — including Trump himself, according to his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.
“I think everyone should get ready because he’s [Trump] going to do some roasting, and we know that he doesn’t hold anything back,” Lara Trump said on Meghan McCain’s “Citizen McCain” podcast this week.
She noted the president has some “people who he’s tapping” to help him with his jokes, but said he comes up with “a lot of good material.”
The likely target of his jokes? The journalists in the room.
Lara Trump told McCain she hopes Trump “roasts every journalist in the room” and “just takes them all to task.”
The question remains, however, will anyone else be making jokes? And if so, will they be targeted at the president, who is known for going after people who disrespect him?
“There’s a lot on the line if you go after Trump at this dinner,” Denise Dudley, a clinical psychologist, told HuffPost.
Where to watch
Despite the unknowns, Saturday’s dinner is sure to be a highly talked-about event. And while major TV networks are not airing the dinner due to playoff basketball and Major League Baseball games, you can catch it live on C-SPAN, MS Now, CNN and NewsNation.
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