Trump accepts White House Correspondents' Association dinner invitation for the first time as president

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President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner for the first time as president this April.

“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!”

He added, “Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree. However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Shortly after the post, WHCA President Weijia Jiang released a statement celebrating Trump’s decision.

“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president, a dinner that celebrates the First Amendment while supporting the work we do including awards honoring excellent journalism and scholarships to help the next generation of reporters who someday will be the ones asking the questions at the White House. We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him,” the statement read.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the WHCA for comment.

Trump has never attended the WHCA event as president, skipping every yearly dinner during his first term in office as well as the 2025 dinner held during his second term.

Trump has not attended the dinner since 2011, where he was infamously mocked by Seth Meyers for his political aspirations.

“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising because I just assumed he was running as a joke,” Meyers said at the time.

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Several commentators have credited the dinner for eventually inspiring Trump to run for president in 2015.

The 2025 dinner broke tradition after the WHCA canceled comedian Amber Ruffin’s scheduled performance following White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich criticizing the decision to have her. Then-WHCA President Eugene Daniels said pulling Ruffin was part of an effort to move away from “the politics of division.”