President Will Skip WHCA Dinner

President Trump will not attend the White House Correspondents Association Dinner this year, continuing a boycott that began his first year in office, the White House announced on Friday, but the president will “actively encourage” members of his administration to go in celebration of the First Amendment.

The president did not attend the annual gala last year, amid his and his press office’s antagonistic relationships with the news media. The dinner — typically a cozy mix of journalists and politicians — last year turned into an event for press freedoms.

The NYTimes reports Trump has continued to dismiss news stories as “fake news” when he considers them unflattering to himself or to his administration. In recent days he has focused his attention on The Washington Post, its owner, Jeff Bezos, and the company that made Mr. Bezos among the richest people in the world, Amazon.

But encouraging members of the executive branch to attend the April 28 dinner, even in his absence, in support of the First Amendment is a notable change.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, will represent the Trump administration at the head table, where presidents and first ladies have sat in the past.