White House Correspondents’ Association Nixes April 25 Date For Annual Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association has canceled its April 25 annual dinner because of the coronavirus crisis.

The organization indicated that it would be looking to hold the event at a different date.

“The White House Correspondents’ Association regrets to announce that it is unable to go ahead with its 2020 dinner on April 25,” the organization said. “We will get back to you soon with our alternative date. Thanks for your support.”

The event, the annual gathering of thousands of media and political figures, was to have featured Kenan Thompson and Hasan Minaj, in a returned to featured entertainment after last year’s event was headlined by historian Ron Chernow.

That the event was being canceled or postponed is not a surprise, given that organizations already have been nixing conferences and other large gatherings slated for May.

Another big part of DC’s social season, the annual Gridiron dinner, was slated to be held on March 14, but was canceled earlier that week as the coronavirus crisis escalated.

President Donald Trump has not attended the dinner since he took office, and in recent years had started to counter-program the event by staging rallies at the same time.

The WHCA event raises money for journalism scholarships, and the group uses the occasion to present awards for outstanding journalism during the year. This year’s president is Jon Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News.